16 Attachment(s)
1996 - 2000 Vortec Black Box to LS 0411 swap
I finally gave up on tuning the Vortec Black Box. There's a lot that can be done but so much missing that it's just to hard to develop, in the end and tuning the 0411 PCM I'm really glad I did.
The swap is not new, I don't know where it originated but Lextech has documented it all. Just give Lextech a PM here and he will send you updated spreadsheets that work like a charm. He will also offer to sell you parts needed and a PCM flash tuned ready to go with no pressure if you just need the files! Stand up Guy!
There's a good writeup for the swap at:
http://www.gmtruckcentral.com/articles/12200411.html
Here's some info and pictures on my truck of how I did it. This is not complete, read the original article, the things I detailed here are what I found helpful if included with original.
First you need a cool truck! :rockon:
Yeah I know it's filthy, we just had a bad snow/ice storm and I decided to stay home and do this.
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...1&d=1360203353
Black Box ready for swap. The extra wires you see around the PCM are for my LC-1 Wide Band O2 sensor
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...1&d=1360203353
Hardest part is four extra wires needed for Transmission gear selection. You can tap into harness at transmission or behind dash. I did not want to have connections underneath vehicle so I looked behind dash and it was to easy. Need about 3 feet of Black/White, White, yellow, and Gray wire. Slip them through dashboard (out hole shown below of cluster wiring) and out to PCM. Splice into four wires in dash connection, solder and tape, reinstall dash and your done with the hard part one day and can do the rest some other day.
To tight in dash to take pictures but here's what it looks like. Look at the spreadsheet for the four wire colors (you can see then being pointed at in picture. Blk/Wht, Gray, Yellow and white from right to left) and splice the four new wires into the cluster below. There's no room to pull pins and solder so don't try, just splice as shown below.
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...1&d=1360202705
Splice mid wire.
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...1&d=1360202705
Make a hole.
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...1&d=1360202705
Insert new wire into hole.
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...1&d=1360202705
Twist, solder and tape it up. Do all four.
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...1&d=1360202705
You can do all this ahead of time and leave them ready for the swap.
Parts needed for the swap are a 0411 PCM, Plugs and you'll need a few pigtails.
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...1&d=1360203353
Prepare the 0411 PCM plugs, take out all wires, clean them up, I used a magic marker to highlight the pin numbers, also lay the 0411 PCM in place and plug Blue and Red plugs into PCM, mark top and bottom before you start pulling blue or red caps and pulling wires. Makes it way easier to get things right first shot.
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...1&d=1360203353
Next part of prep work is mark each harness from the four plugs on the Vortec Black Box PCM, if you make a mistake in wiring you'll be glad you did and can go right back to original plug color harness later.
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...1&d=1360204024
Remove the Vortec Black Box and lay the LS 0411 PCM in place. The extra wire on mine is because it's a Roadrunner from Moates!
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...1&d=1360203353
Follow the spreadsheet! One Vortec Plug at a time, one wire at a time, mark your spreadsheet with each wire done.
Vortec PCM plug separation and remove colored cap. Remember one at a time!
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...1&d=1360204024
Insert first wire into new 0411 plug.
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...1&d=1360204024
Mark your spreadsheet!
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...1&d=1360204401
Repeat that for the rest of the wires and you should have it done. Don't take off your harness markers or bother cleaning up till it's running and driving and no error codes or issues! I had missed one wire and had a ABS light on, because of the Vortec Harness marked for each plug it was simple to find.
Other then four pins needed for the trans wires I only had to extend one wire and solder another 2 together. Really a simple swap.
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...1&d=1360204993
I'll get a finished picture soon, this is how it looks before firing it up and checking things out. The 0411 PCM fits perfect into the Vortec PCM holder. The yellow wire was to hold the 0411 PCM in place, but if you grind one small spot the PCM the original spring clamp holds it in just like it was stock.
Hope this helps someone else contemplating the swap. Stock tune runs out of the box much better!
But tuning now with a four year newer PCM that is way more developed was so much easier, idle is lower and steadier, drives like a factory Wide band readings are more stable, goes closed loop real fast at cold start and saves fuel. Now that I have the tune spot on, WOT is dialed in, I'm working on the Lean Cruise and it has way capability then the old ECM does. I've been running it to come on in town at 30 MPH, but the huge resolution of the lean cruise table allows light throttle to turn it off till you reach highway speed, then back off TPS and lean cruise kicks in again.
(Need final photo)
