Little DIY High Idle for you guys
 

Keep in mind this is on a 2007 (same wires for '05-7), but it's about a 10 minute job (including going back to the toolbox a couple times. Also, I took the pics after it was done.

What you will need:
1/4" or 3/8" DR ratchet
10mm socket
Wire stripper/crimper (actual stripper will extend job time to 30-45min)
Butt connector (without upfitters you will need about a 3' length of wire and a switch with a second butt connector and appropriate connectors for the switch)
1-2 beers (optional)

First you will need to locate the PTO wire bundle under the dash behind the e-brake release handle and find the Purple w/ Green stripe
Attachment 39043

If you have upfitter switches skip to next step

Find the lonely White w/ Blue stripe wire under the opposite side of dash above gas pedal (this is a +12V wire when ignition is on that goes to absolutely nothing) and connect these 2 wires to the switch which is mounted wherever you feel like at the moment (inside the cab is recommended but to each their own)
Attachment 39044

Back to the upfitters. Pull off your dash access panel and remove the 4 bolts that hold in the fuse box (as you can see I'm not cheap on tools)
Attachment 39045

Carefully pull the box out and locate the harness for the switches (4 orange bundled together)(notice that there are 2 18ga wires, these are AUX #3 and #4, and 2 ~12ga, these are AUX #1 and #2)
Attachment 39046

Pick either AUX #3 or #4 because of the lowered amperage, I went with #4 just because of it being closest to the shifter it's easy to flip it and do a neutral check, strip the wires and apply butt connector (or solder/tape if that tickles your pickle better)
Attachment 39047

Do a test run
Attachment 39048
Attachment 39049
Attachment 39050
Attachment 39051

Button her back up and enjoy :c:

Nice.

Also for you guys with 05-07 trucks without upfitters, you can add them. The dealer sells them as a kit. I think I paid ~$105 for the whole setup, wire harness, switches, relay box etc. Very easy to install too.

I know what an outfitter is, what's an upfitter? I swear, some of the terms associated with these trucks have absolutely I LIKE TURTLES to do with what they actually are.

I've been wrenchin since the mid 80s, how does degas bottle mean recovery/over flow tank!?! :argh:

Can I install them on my 04?

Upfitters are those switches that say AUX1/AUX2/AUX3/AUX4... they're used for hooking up external things that need power, it's actually a really cool setup.

If you guys have ever noticed, under the hood near the degas bottle, there are 4 wires there, I think blue, red, white, and black?... Those wires run into the truck and terminate right near the e-brake pedal, near that PTO bundle that Diesel_Daddy is talking about... also where all these upfitters wires terminate... so if you were so inclined, you could connect one or some or all of the upfitter wires to those 4 wires that run under the hood and wha-la, you have switched power from a relay to under the hood now. This is how I hooked up my fog lights on the front of my truck... just ran power wire out to them, and grounded them to the bumper. Simple!

There is also a second PTO wire you can attach to the upfitter to obtain a different high idle. There is a "battery charging" high idle too, that one was designed to keep the batteries charged and will fluctuate between 1200 and 2400rpms. I went with the straight 1200RPM setup like Diesel_Daddy did. This not only raises RPM's to build heat quicker, it also locks the torque converter in the trans to help put a slight load on the engine.

This mod is highly recommended for those who idle excessively or are running equipment off the PTO on the truck (pretty sure us F250 and F350 guys don't have this option, though it is built into the trans anyways).

Karl, the upfitter switches are the switches right under the climate control knobs (AUX 1-4), the ones installed from the factory are pre-wired and all you have to do is hook up your accessory to the appropriate one. My AUX 1 (because of the amperage draw) will likely end up being for an air compressor when I put my helper bags and air horns in.

Yes that's another thing I forgot to add, AUX1/AUX2 are 30amp, and AUX3/AUX4 are each 10 amps.

These are for 05-07 trucks only unfortunately.

You guys with the 03-04 trucks should look at the F650 lower dashes that you can add on, those are pretty cool and you can put all sorts of cool switches/gauges on those too. I think the F650 lower dash is ~$100 if memory serves.

:dang: Wish I would have known about this before I did those gauges and lights. I did see those in a tow truck once, I just figured they were part of the tow truck package.

What's the fun if you leave it the same all the time? Time to chang'er up Karl!!!:pca1:

thats only idling about 100rpms more than my truck does when its cold out now. so your saying that the bundle of 4 wires that comes out by the degas bottle are the wires for the aux switches?

When it's cold, the truck will automatically idle up a couple hundred RPM and cycle on and off but only bring it up to 1000 or so. This mod will bring it up to 12-1300 and hold it there indefinitely until you either push the brake/clutch, pop the e-brake, or turn the switch off. Yes, those are wired into the relay box so you can have an auxiliary option with a relay

fatboy, ours are on command and idle @ 1200rpms like Diesel_Daddy said, and also it locks the torque converter for quicker warm ups and puts a "load" on it somewhat. These trucks should not be idled for extended periods of time without this mod IMO. They will wetstack with no load and not enough heat to do a proper burn, so the diesel will wash down the cylinder walls and end up diluting oil with fuel. I suggest the high idle for ANYONE idling for longer periods of time.

Those 4 wires that come out from under the hood are just that... empty wires. If you choose you can hook them up to the upfitters or use them for whatever. Ford calls them customer access wires, basically eliminates you ever having to worry about running wires through the firewall for any reason. Pretty neat setup. I'm referring to the red/blue/black/white wires of course.

Just checking that it is the purple with green stripe and not the green wire with the stripe- just connected it on my 06 6.0 PSD and nothing - Test light showed the switch was working ok.

With it connected to the purple with green stripe and nothing happens is there something else I need to check or connect?

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Ok - my dumb - On mine the emergency brake has to be set to allow it to kick up the rpms - once I figured that out it works like a charm!! :argh: No more I LIKE TURTLES flying around!!

Now my question is there a way to eliminate the need to set the emergency brake and still have it work?

No, it was made to run PTO stuff off the trans, so the e-brake needs to be set, the shifter needs to be in park and your foot needs to be off of the brake. Any of this stuff changes and idle drops back down. I just click on my e-brake on to the very first click, still works. Not like you have to stomp on it. It's still a pretty cool feature. I just leave my AUX4 switch up all the time and when I want it to idle up, just push on the e-brake.

Thanks

Years and years ago when I was a kid before the days of automatic parking brake release I blew the rear tires on a car. I never used the e-brake and a buddy had set it. Enough to generate heat in the drums but not enough to make it noticeable when I drove. Damn those rims/drums were hot when I went to put on the spare :argh:.

Since then I have never set the ebrake on a four wheeler but will be doing so in the future!

Luckily in the trucks it will make a beeping noise if you try driving with the e-brake on!

that is good to know mdub thanks for heads up about leaving them idling for extended amounts of time. i usually just leave it idling for about 10 mins before i leave for work. is that ok?

The high idle trick is so easy and quick to do it is well worth the few minutes. I didn't even have to pull the fuse panel. I just reached up behind it - found the wires and made the connection. My biggest time consumer was not realizing the ebrake had to be engaged. The actual hook up of wires takes about 5 minutes if that.

fatboyslim - yeah it should be ok. Just stay up on your maintenance. It's more for trucks that are left to sit and idle all day long on a job sight kind of thing. I use it in the winter when I run in to the gas station for beers or something.

Mdub - on those upfitter switches, I found some at a wrecking yard, but all they want to sell are the switches. They say the wires pluged into it are part of the dash wire harness and want to sell that whole thing seperatly. You mentioned buying yours from the dealer, harness and all. Is the switch wiring really part of the dash harness or is there a plug already on my truck I just need to locate? They won't let me cut any wires and from what I saw they were all wraped together way up under the dash. And are the relays built into the switches?

It has it's own separate harness. Follow the wires from the upfitters, the go to the passenger side in the glove box. Open the glove box up, in the top left attached to what I would call the "cieling" of the glove box is the relay box. It's held in with 2 smaller bolts (like 10mm ish!?). That pops right out of there, and then the wiring harness runs from there all the way back over to the drivers side and it just terminates to 4 empty wires. You should be able to pull the entire thing out without cutting any wires, and no it's definitely not part of the main harness, they clearly don't know superduties.

Thanks for the info. No, they don't know superduties. I was told they don't normally get anything that new. I will run back there sometime soon and see what I can figure out. I would love to have these and get this high idle hooked up! I'll let ya all know the outcome.

Just for a point of reference you can probably buy all of the stuff new for just a hair over $100, so factor that in when you go to buy it from them...

Ok here we go, upfitter P/N's...

wiring harness part number: 5C3Z-14A303-AA ($56 from Tousley)
switch assembly: 5C3Z-13D730-AAA ($35 from Tousley)

If your truck doesn't have the brake controller (I haven't seen one without it yet...) then you also need the little cubby for next to it
utility box: 5C3Z-2513546-CAA ($14 from Tousley)

I've also attached a detailed write up on the upfitter install, in PDF format... it's a really cool document that shows the wiring as well...

Does it hurt to have it idle at 1200 rpms at first start up when it's cold?

Yeah I usually wait til it kicks into it's own high idle before switching over to the full on high idle. I have a couple times kicked it on right away, but I try not to. Probably a personal preference.

if i were to get the lower dash portion from a 05- 07, would this work in my 99? well the switches any ways. i looked at the 650 dash kit on riffraff and it's about 260 for the manual, and about 110 if you have a auto. dang manual :argh:

Well I went back and got the wire harness for the upfitter switches. What a PITA to get out. :s: Had to take most of the dash apart including the spedo and fuse block. it had a bunch of those barbed push-pin things all along it. Thanks though Mdub for the discription, that helped. And at least I didn't have to put their truck back together. :w2: Now I just gotta find time to get them in my truck and hook up the high idle, the whole point of this thread! :c:

On my 2003 F350 the wire is light blue with a yellow stripe. I applied 12V+ to that wire to test and it worked perfectly. Thanks!:jump:

Does anyone know if this is the same wire colors for 03-04 ?

re: rigwelder
 

if you are talking about the upfitter switches, im not sure. Otherwise everything is the same but with the wire color above.

just curious if this is the same color wire on the 04 f250 or what color wire it is id like to do this to my truck

IIRC 03-4 it is a Lt Blue/Yellow tracer

This was the cause of some headache on the vegistroke boards for a while, as directions would call out a certain color wire for power on, but it wasn't correct on some trucks, and it wasn't their fault. Some trucks literally had wire colors that weren't right. I know my 06 has a green/red wire. Some have blue/yellow. It's the only wire down there by itself terminated going no where.

so there should be a lonely wire under the dash just hanging out not hooked to anything probly blue and yellow is the one im looking for? i have realy looked into it casue i cant affoord oil yet to get the truck started after my injector swap and egr delete

Thanks for the DIY!! Was really helpful