[Gregski]

OK so bear with me as I try and explain the method to my madness.

The 2002 Tahoe VIN is 1GNEK13V32J326764 we know that as a matter of fact

My ELM 327 Interface (which I do not recommend for this action, I just happen to have it for some reason) reads it as: 1iGNEK13V3:2J32

OK, let's set those over each other

1iGNEK13V3:2J326764
1iGNEK13V3:2J32

so the "i" is meaningless and so is the ":" but note how it only reads the first 13 characters out of the 17 possible?

OK, so now let's reverse engineer what the ELM 327 Interface had for my ECM (we must do this manually as the online VIN checkers won't help us since we don't have enough digits)

1iGTEC!14V01Z19V

using what HATZIE shared with me and the InterWebs we go about deciphering the digits

1 = US

G = GM

1GT = according to the World Manufacturer Identifier ... [wait for it] GMC holy snap, BONUS, cause you know my truck is actually a GMC

E = Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, or GVWR, is revealed by the fourth character. E for 6001-7000

C = RWD instead of K = 4WD awesome that's what we wanted

1 = Identifies the body style, number 1 is used for a 1500

4 = Identifies the body type, the number 4 is for a two-door cab

V = this 8th digit is the engine designation V = 4.8L LR4, T = 5.3L LM7 so this sucks but maybe the computer is not original to this motor so fingers crossed as we drop the pan and check the number on the crank

0 = A Check Digit used to algorithmatically validate the entire VIN (blah blah blah)

1 = Indicates the model year ie 2001, more Awesomeness aka Drive By Cable

Z = plant in which the vehicle was manufactured, couldn't care less

1 9 V _ _ _ = The last six digits are used to identify a specific vehicle within the border Year/Make/Model class, not sure why there is an alpha "V" in there