New owner of S10CrewCab with questions

Hog18Jags · Post by **Hog18Jags** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 5:37 am

Hey guys, I'm a new owner of a pewter 2001 S10 Crew Cab. Absolutely love the truck. My wife and 3 daughters love it also. I have a couple of questions to start off with. How hard is it to add the Airbag on/off switch? Have a dealer install it or salvage yard do it yourself? Also, how much fuel do you have left when the low fuel light comes on? I have been looking at this great website. Lots of great information. I look forward to modding my truck over the years. Thanks in advance for any help.

Post by **Walt** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 5:54 am

Hog18Jags wrote:Hey guys, I'm a new owner of a pewter 2001 S10 Crew Cab. Absolutely love the truck. My wife and 3 daughters love it also.

Welcome to the site!

Hog18Jags wrote:How hard is it to add the Airbag on/off switch? Have a dealer install it or salvage yard do it yourself?

Our trucks use Blazer/Jimmy wiring, so the actual wiring isn't there for that switch. I'm sure it's possible, but it would probably take a bit of work. On the SUV's, the rear hatch/rear wiper controls normally go on that panel, so the harness is there for those functions, but since we don't actually have the rear hatch/rear wiper, GM put a blank panel there instead.

Air Bag question, Blank Panel, left of radio

Hog18Jags wrote:Also, how much fuel do you have left when the low fuel light comes on?

You'll grow to hate your fuel guage over time. Alot of us have problems with them, and some have never been able to get them to work correctly. My pump and level indicator were replaced a few months ago, which made the guage a bit more accurate, but once it hits 1/4, all bets are off. Your best option is to do some testing, reset your trip mileage counter, take some extra gas with you, and basically run your crew until it's out of gas, see how many miles you were able to get, and then use your trip counter as the fuel guage. I reset mine whenever I fill up, and when I hit 220 miles, I know I need to get gas soon.

fuel guage stuck between E-1/4, Fuel Guage problems? Look here!

Hog18Jags · Post by **Hog18Jags** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 6:30 am

Thanks for the reply. When I bought the truck the guy had filled it up and reset the trip odometer. The low fuel light come on and I filled up with gas. My trip odometer showed 263 miles and it held 15.26 gallons. It averaged about 17.2 mpg. Some of that driving was at 70 or over(I drive 32 miles one way to work eveyday). After reading some posts on here about staying under 2000 rpms and using the cruise, this tank has about 250 miles on it when I got to work this morning. The fuel gauge is showing a little over 1/4 of a tank. I'm hoping for better this tank.

I will check about the airbag switch. I know someone that runs the service department at a Chevy dealership. Again thanks...

top_sgt · Post by **top_sgt** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 11:26 am

welcome to the site!!!

2kwik4u · Post by **2kwik4u** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 11:35 am

Welcome....

I got 23mpg two days after I bought the truck on a trip to Atlanta from Louisville.....Cruising ~70-75 the whole way.

On the other hand it averages about 16mpg around town

but I have a heavy foot, so I'm sure that contributes to the madness.

Post by **Walt** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 12:05 pm

2kwik4u wrote:Welcome....

I got 23mpg two days after I bought the truck on a trip to Atlanta from Louisville.....Cruising ~70-75 the whole way.

On the other hand it averages about 16mpg around town but I have a heavy foot, so I'm sure that contributes to the madness.

Wow....you guys have me beat. I get about 13-14 around town and 17 on the highway with the wind at my back.

And I don't consider myself an aggressive driver

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 1:46 pm

Walt wrote:
2kwik4u wrote:Welcome....

I got 23mpg two days after I bought the truck on a trip to Atlanta from Louisville.....Cruising ~70-75 the whole way.

On the other hand it averages about 16mpg around town but I have a heavy foot, so I'm sure that contributes to the madness.
Wow....you guys have me beat. I get about 13-14 around town and 17 on the highway with the wind at my back. And I don't consider myself an aggressive driver

Walt, stop whining! That is what I normally get

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 2:08 pm

Those who are getting more than 20 mpg in a crew cab really need to scrutinize their speedometer accuracy.

I thought mine was getting that kind of mileage too, but soon learned that my speedometer was off nearly 6% from the factory.

jeff024 · Post by **jeff024** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 2:10 pm

welcome

As far as the gas light I usually stopped for gas at 265-300 miles and I think the most I ever put in it was about 16.5gals so you might have 2gals or so when the light comes on

Post by **Walt** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 2:40 pm

f9k9 wrote:
Walt wrote:
2kwik4u wrote:Welcome....

I got 23mpg two days after I bought the truck on a trip to Atlanta from Louisville.....Cruising ~70-75 the whole way.

On the other hand it averages about 16mpg around town but I have a heavy foot, so I'm sure that contributes to the madness.
Wow....you guys have me beat. I get about 13-14 around town and 17 on the highway with the wind at my back. And I don't consider myself an aggressive driver
Walt, stop whining! That is what I normally get

Yea, but you are in law enforcement. A heavy foot is part of the job

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 5:20 pm

Walt wrote:[color-white] Yea, but you are in law enforcement. A heavy foot is part of the job [/color]

Hey, I "resemble" that remark.

I'm actually retired and just an 8-5 federal judge body guard now. Haven't had a gov't gas card in 4 yrs. I never paid attention to gas prices until May of '02 and never drove the speed limit until then either. My Crew's mileage is so bad, I stopped keeping track of it. Like I said, the best I ever got was 20 mph and I had 100,000 lbs. coal trucks passing me

2kwik4u · Post by **2kwik4u** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 4:36 am

HenryJ wrote:Those who are getting more than 20 mpg in a crew cab really need to scrutinize their speedometer accuracy.

I thought mine was getting that kind of mileage too, but soon learned that my speedometer was off nearly 6% from the factory.

I have to trust the GM calibration as the truck has just a shade over 30k miles on it with the factory tires still......I'll run GPS on it this weekend and see what I come up with, but 23mpg on the highway doesn't sound out of place to me. Roomates '02 4.3/Auto Xtreme got 25mpg on the same trip last year with 65k miles on the clock.

Sadly my 4cyl got near 30mpg on that trip several times

I sure wish it was sill running

Hog18Jags · Post by **Hog18Jags** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 10:14 am

I filled up this morning and it held 15.1 gallons and I had 310 miles on that tank. That averages to about 20.4 My low fuel light was on for about the last 15 miles. Now if I can just drive normal I may be ok. Thanks.

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 10:47 am

Hog18Jags wrote:I filled up this morning and it held 15.1 gallons and I had 310 miles on that tank. That averages to about 20.4

That's pretty good gas mileage!

Are you running the stock size tires, and what rear end ratio do you have?

Steve

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 10:57 am

2kwik4u wrote:I'll run GPS on it this weekend and see what I come up with, but 23mpg on the highway doesn't sound out of place to me.

I mentioned this problem over at ZR2.com once, so I'll mention it here also. GPS is not accurate for speed calibrations. It is only accurate for determining position. I'm sure someone will try to argue this, but do your homework first!

Only the military has accurate speed GPS.

Steve

Hog18Jags · Post by **Hog18Jags** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 12:32 pm

Stock 235/75/15 tires...I have no idea what gear. Truck is totally stock (so far). 68000 miles

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 2:48 pm

Hog18Jags wrote:I have no idea what gear.

Here is a link on how to decipher glove box RPO codes.

The ones you are looking for are GU6 (3.42 ratio), or GT4 (3.73 ratio). There are other rear end ratio codes like GT5 (4.10 ratio), and GU4 (3.08 ratio), but I don't think either one of these came stock with the Crew Cab.

Another code to look for would be G80 (automatic locking rear differential), aka Gov-Loc.

Steve

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 8:26 am

killian96ss wrote:
2kwik4u wrote:I'll run GPS on it this weekend and see what I come up with, but 23mpg on the highway doesn't sound out of place to me.

I mentioned this problem over at ZR2.com once, so I'll mention it here also. GPS is not accurate for speed calibrations.

Accuracy of the original GPS system, which was subject to accuracy degradation under the government-imposed Selective Availability (SA) program was an issue with speed and position. The military released their hold on the WAAS technology quite some time ago. While not all GPS receivers have the same accuracy, many are extremely accurate. The VBOX is an example of some of the newer applications using the GPS technology.

If there is any doubt there are other methods.
Radar. Those digital displays set up by law enforcement would be preferable to pushing the cop for a speeding ticket.
And of course timed is indisputable R=D/T ( Distance=Rate x Time)

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 1:19 pm

Brule, you make some good points, but civilian GPS units are not all that accurate.

Here is some good GPS info for fun.

My dad has been an air traffic controller for the military the past 40 years and assures me that the average civilian GPS unit has it's limitations. Even the most accurate civilian GPS units are affected by numerous variables like atmospheric conditions, terrain, satellite clock errors, speed variations, etc. If you really want to know how accurate your speedometer is, then I would suggest going to a testing station where they can verify it. Your local police dept or highway patrol can usually recommend the best place to go.

Steve

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 2:23 pm

Steve, You need a GPS Receiver

- GPS Accuracy

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 10:27 pm

HenryJ wrote:Steve, You need a GPS Receiver - GPS Accuracy

Yeah I know!

I really wasn't trying to start a GPS debate here!

In perfect conditions they are pretty accurate. I was only trying to point out the variables that can cause their accuracy to drop. Having your speedometer tested is the best way to know for sure just how far it is off. I'm sure people will find all the posted info very educating, I know I did!

Steve

loki · Post by **loki** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:27 am

Hey hey!!

I don't know about the actual workings, but my Xtreme had a air bag off switch, so I don't think it should be to hard to get one put in

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 8:09 am

loki wrote:Hey hey!!

I don't know about the actual workings, but my Xtreme had a air bag off switch, so I don't think it should be to hard to get one put in

Please see post #2 above.

Walt already explained why it won't work.

Steve

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New owner of S10CrewCab with questions

New owner of S10CrewCab with questions

Re: New owner of S10CrewCab with questions