I just got this 99 Dodge Cummins QCSB 4x4 Laramie SLT with an auto transmission on November 24th, and I drove 640 miles round trip that day to trade my 99 GMC Sierra SLT 3 door lifted short box 4x4 for it. The 320 mile drive home was harsh with shitty 305/70R16 tires, worn out steering stabilizer shock, and cruise control not working.

 

I did find out that the pickup has a Redhead steering box, BD Diesel Performance adjustable track bar setup, aftermarket boxed trailering arms, and a Skyjacker lift in it.

 

It had no CEL or any other lights warning lights light up on the test drive at the car dealer's or on the drive home. The only light that stays on, is the seat belt light blinks when starting the pickup, and then after a bit when the seat belt is buckled, the light stays lit up solid.

 

The next day it had the ABS and brake lights both come on at the same time, but the brakes were still functioning great without any issues. Shut the pickup down and the lights would be off until some random time later that they would come back on again. I replaced the rear ABS/VSS sensor as that is usually the cheap and easy part to replace, but that didn't fix it. The pickup had 3 worn out Falken Wild Peak A/T tires, and then 1 BFG M & S tire with more tread than the other Falken tires on the rear. I figured that since the BFG had more tread and was taller than the Falken tire on the other end of the rearend, that maybe that tire was essentially rotating a tad bit slower since it was taller than the worn out Falken tire, which would make that axle spin slower  compared to the opposite axle shaft. I replaced the tires with a brand new set of 285/75R16 Continental Terra Troopers, and now the ABS/brake lights only come on once in a while now.

 

I started getting the dead pedal on it and just replaced the APPS with a brand new Timbo APPS and it hasn't had a dead pedal since. Last week I put in two new matching batteries in the pickup and cleaned all the terminals very well.

 

The pickup has a delay boot up for the ECM with the WTS light and triggering the lift pump to start the engine. Sometimes the delay is 10-15 seconds and sometimes it's less than 10 seconds waiting for the WTS to come on.

 

I haven't had much time yet to check the clock spring to see if it's bad yet to fix the cruise control not working, but I plan on checking that here fairly soon.

 

The engine seems to have a very slight noticeable intermittent flutter at idle at times, but it is not synchronous as in it does not happen every 10 seconds. I don't notice it when driving at any speed down the road though.

 

The 47RE is completely painted gold with a blue pan, so I'm assuming that someone has been into the transmission at some point in time, but it doesn't have one issue when heavy acceleration or WOT use - the trans will shift from 1st to 2nd and then when it shifts from 2nd to 3rd, it immediately revs up 300 to 500 more rpm and then it shifts into 3rd, and then it will shift to OD. It does not slip at all when it does the weird shift from 2nd to 3rd and then like it shifts back to 2nd momentarily and then shifts to 3rd again. The trans fluid is up and looks fairly clean and does not look or smell burnt. The trans has a slight torque converter shudder in OD under slight acceleration, but doesn't do it under hard acceleration, so is this a mainline fluid pressure issue causing this, and which part in the trans needs to be replaced to fix this?

 

My good friend that is the IT guy and also works in the R & D Department at Diamond Eye Manufacturing hooked his Pegasys comprehensive scanner tool to it this evening, and this is what we got from the ECM/PCM;

 

1. Trans code # 1694

2. ABS codes # 37, 75, 78, 81 (pickup only has rear ABS) - does the tire size being taller than stock which makes the speedo off by 4 mph, cause these codes?

3. PCM module hardware malfunction or "Communication Failure or no Controller Available error.

 

At one point it seemed like his Pegasys scanner could not get any real time data from the system either, so should I be looking for a 99 Dodge Cummins auto trans PCM now? If so, does anyone here have a 99 auto trans PCM for a decent price? What PCM part number do I need to be looking for?

 

I bought a 99 Cummins ECM from him (ESN # 56602445, P/N 3942336, S/N 2153549, D/C 06/16/99, ECM Code J90269.05) for $50 but haven't had time to swap it into the pickup yet. I know the ECM has been changed before I got the pickup because the VIN on it does not match the VIN of the pickup. The pickup VIN is 1B7KF2369XJ553768 and the ECM VIN is 1B7KC2368XJ503078. The only real difference between the two is that the ECM VIN is from a 2wd pickup and not a 4x4.

 

I can't wait for @Chris O. to get his custom DRBIII tool available, because it seems as I will need one of them to help me get these things fixed on my pickup.

 

Thanks,

 

Doug

Edited December 15, 20177 yr by 99_Cummins_4x4

I wonder if my pumping vacuum into the vacuum line that's hooked to the vacuum servo, might have unstuck the diaphragm in the cruise control servo? For shits and giggles on the way home from work (20 miles each way) I hit the cruise control button and the light lit up and then I hit the set button and it was working. I tried the resume and accel buttons and they work too. All I know is that I'm super happy to have cruise control working for once on this pickup.

 

Now onto the trans. When under heavy or full acceleration, the trans seems like it shifts from 2nd to 3rd, and then instantly shifts back to 2nd (rpm raises 500 rpm) and then it accelerates and shifts into 3rd gear and then it shifts into OD after a bit. 

 

Can someone explain what the governor pressure solenoid, the transducer, the OD lockup solenoid functions are for the auto trans shifting? Since it seems to be a 2nd to 3rd shifting issue, and the rest of the gears feel great, no slippage, I'd like to get it fixed ASAP.

 

Thanks!

I guess the trans still shifts weird from 2nd to 3rd at any other time, and not just under heavy acceleration.

 

Might contact @Dynamic and see what he's got to say about you transmission issue. 

ECM is bad so get that one on, it is the correct part number for all 98.5 and 99.  Takes les than an hour.  Just remove bolts and plug.  Probably bad from AC from the alternator, which may be causing other issues too.    Miss may be bad ECM, if that does not fix it it may be a bad injector if it is intermittent miss when warm.  Good luck with the rest of it.

23 hours ago, bigfish95971 said:

ECM is bad so get that one on, it is the correct part number for all 98.5 and 99.  Takes les than an hour.  Just remove bolts and plug.  Probably bad from AC from the alternator, which may be causing other issues too.    Miss may be bad ECM, if that does not fix it it may be a bad injector if it is intermittent miss when warm.  Good luck with the rest of it.

 

Update, my TV cable was about 1/2" out of adjustment. I re-adjusted the TV cable and it does shift more normally now. I took my pickup to my friend that owns a Transmission specialty shop, and he drove it and said that the torque converter shudder is because the previous owner left the TV cable out of whack too long and it has ruined the lockup on the torque converter. 

 

bigfish - don't you mean PCM as it controls the auto transmission, cruise control, voltage regulator, etc?

Nope, the op stated he had a delayed boot up and WTS light.  This defines a a bad ECM and he had one already acquired.  So the first step is to fix already known problems with parts already on hand.  Yes it is separate issue from PCM.

But often lockup and OD issues are related to AC from the alternator which is also what caused the and will continue to cause the damage to the ECM.  The truck needs to be thoroughly checked for AC before before getting into the PCM or Torque convertor.  Throttle cable will cause shifting issues, but AC more likely causes lockup issues.

Edited January 16, 20187 yr by bigfish95971

Lock up cycling and converter shudder are very different issues. Keep that in mind.

Shudder is either wrong fluid used or the clutch is plain worn out. 

 

Lockup cycling in and out at 40-50 MPH range typically is an alternator AC noise issue. 

Correct.  I was just suggesting the OP start with known issues get fixed first and then see what is left and work on them.  Sometimes  fixing one thing fixes others.  I wonce had shuddering issues on a stock TC and it turned out to be too much power from the ChiP and VP set up I had.  Backed off and has been fin ever since.

Some times some shuddering, flaring or slipping can be bad clutches in the OD in it too.  Sometimes Lucas additive can help for awhile.

1 hour ago, bigfish95971 said:

I wonce had shuddering issues on a stock TC and it turned out to be too much power from the ChiP and VP set up I had.  Backed off and has been fin ever since.

 

Another valid case of overwhelming the torque converter clutch and the clutch not capable of holding the power.

Yea, I did that by accident..  I had a HO VP on it and it ran well. I put back on my BD Van Aaken Plug and Power for my SO VP.  It felt like it gave it 200 more HP and I got shudder when I gave it throttle up hill.  I took the Chip off and it ran fine for 5 years with the HO and had plenty of power (more than stock SO, similar to SO with chip) and I ran it that way for 5 years until I put an SO pump and the chip back on 5 years ago.

My trans is not cycling (hunting) between OD and 3rd at all. I just have a shudder in OD only and is only really felt when on light load throttle application. 

 

I don't have any tuners or chips on the pickup at the moment.

 

Edited January 16, 20187 yr by 99_Cummins_4x4

Are you saying  it is fine under heavy throttle?  By shudder do you mean a rapid vibration?

It is more noticeable under light throttle like when driving up a hill, but I believe it's there under full throttle acceleration as well.

 

The shudder does feel like a rapid vibration.

My thought is that the diesel engine is more capable of causing shudder in the taller gears since every time a cylinder fires torque to a turning crank it places more stress on a more slowly turning trans than if in faster turning trans or lower gears.

 

Problem is the fun of feeling the torque the cummins is capable of even in taller gears.........

Torque convertor lock up clutch slipping. 

TC slipping can be a rapid shudder.  But Lockup issues is not going in and out of third and 4th.  It is going in and out of lockup while in 4th or 3rd if OD is locked off.  It will repeatedly jump 2-4oorpm and then back to lockup, not usually called a shudder by most.