timsch

Thanks. Now I see if I'd searched for "replacing seat cushion...", I'd have found several videos and writeups. Oddly enough, the ones I saw didn't go the route of removing those hex-head screws that hold the seat bottom to the seat frame. Y'all were right. Easy access to those 4 and it comes right off.

Yeah, if it weren't for this log, I'd think all was well. But if my main diagnostic software looks like this, I'm not happy. I've not pushed it yet, though. Just traveling easy around local roads @ 45mph max. My 1st shudder, and it was a biggie, happened when stomping it on an entrance ramp. Would have been easy enough to check codes when logging, but didn't. No CEL, so wouldn't expect any, other than the one that might show up because I don't have a stock lift pump, IIRC.

Man, that's good to hear; never would have thought. Yes, I only need to modify the foam to get some pressure off my tailbone. Is it pretty obvious - just start with removing trim and use your head?

Yeah, that'd make a difference. Your gap under the headlights is better than mine too though. Nice looking truck. Looks like another nice one next to it. I was thinking of just picking up a stock bumper from the junkyard, liking them well enough. Any particular reason other than preference to go to the Gen4?

Yours looks a lot better than mine. I guess its all in the brackets. I got mine like this, so no idea about it. I can't adjust it any better than it is with the holes it has that I can tell.

I haven't cleaned the ECM connection or checked the wires yet, but there have been some changes. The log below still has the dips, but they're not random, excessive and short like before. Now the dips coincide with when I'm accelerating and getting boost. Truck ran fine. I backprobed the MAP sensor connector had a Fluke 177 hooked up to that wiring, positive at the connector and negative at battery ground terminal. The meter never showed any of these dips. The slight increases at moderate acceleration did show on the meter. A mechanic buddy recommended I use the MIN/MAX feature since the digital MM might smooth out dips, so I did a run using that, and it never showed the drops down to just above zero. Min was like the shorter drops adove, at 0.321V. I also hooked up an analog multimeter, and it also didn't show dips to zero. Regarding MAP voltages, I read that the values are supposed to be between 0.5V and something higher. I get 0.51V at key on engine off. Once I start, it frequently is dropping down into the 0.4+ range and staying down there a bit, although it doesn't look like it on the graph, other than the dips. The CEL is still off. I have not run the dedicated ground from the gear case cover directly to the battery yet. It's still wired like in the post above. I need more terminal lugs to complete that.

I want to remove my driver's seat to modify the padding. The only video online I found showed that both seats and the center console came out as a unit. Several people in comments complained about how they weren't separable. At some point in time they were separate. Any advice on how to best do this?

Yes, that's the one. I thought the W-T mod had been done because the wiring going to the alternator had been modified, but I missed that they hadn't done the 4-wire connection. There is a 2nd wire coming off, but it goes to the ground on the top of the front corner of the fender (original location?), rather than the battery. I'll reread the W-T mod article again and try to get it all through my dense head.

I've decided to do some upgrades to my cables & connections before digging any deeper. Marine grade battery terminals should be in tomorrow. I need to get some more cable lugs though, because the kit I have is not up to spec. The W-T ground wire mod was done prior to me getting the truck, and it had a splice with the 4 wires connected to a 10 or 8 AWG stranded wire. I didn't know the condition of the splice and felt the need to verify it. Once I got it open, it looked to be in good shape and was well sealed from the elements. I wouldn't guess that would have been the problem, but coincidence or not, the CEL went off on the test drive after redoing the connection with all 4 wires crimped in a lug and connected to the same ground location as the single lug was. I was still seeing spikes & dips in voltage as before though. Problem is, I'm not confident in the long term reliability of my connection. The lug is bare copper, and the tab is thinner than a good one would be. I did solder the wires to the lug after crimping and put marine grade heatshrink over the joint, but I can't help think it is inferior to the wiring as it was before. I've seen mixed reviews about splicing though. Any recommendations?

I have no good reason not to replace those terminals sooner rather than later, so I'll get some on order. I've seen Marine Grade terminals recommended enough times that I plan on going with some of them. It'll be my 1st time having to deal with cables this large. I did clean all corrosion with those wire brush battery terminal cleaner sets.

Glad to hear of your success. My cable battery terminals also need replacing since one of the ground ears is cracking, but it can still be tightened down on the battery post, so don't think I'll be so fortunate.

The problems we're having appear to be very similar. My thread If you look at my October 13th post, it has a link to a graph for some logged voltages, that are erratic just as yours are. I've not figured it out yet, but tonight I plan on running some wires to my MAP sensor & ground and monitor voltages in the cab with a multimeter to see if I see the same voltage drops. Hopefully a solution for either one of us will help the other.

I was wrong to say that I'd cleaned all of the major connectors. I didn't know about the ECM. Now that I do, I can still hardly see it. I see your instructions on how to remove it, but that doesn't go into any steps before that. I suppose that removing the fuel filter housing would be a mess on top of letting air into the fuel system. I read elsewhere that removing the battery and intake would help. Any recommendations?

Fuse #3 read good. I couldn't see any crack, but am not sure how I'd detect that. Similar with the R1 relay, although I haven't checked that one yet. I'll have to look into how to do that. The W-T ground wire mod was done prior to me getting it. It all looks about the same as your Simplified writeup, but the alternator main wire still goes to the PDC rather than directly to the passenger side battery for whatever reason.

Test drove it just now. This was with the intake heaters disconnected from the battery. It seemed to run fine, but the log I've attached shows the IP voltage dropping and spiking as well as the MAP sensor (boost voltage) was dropping out. 101325.bmp

I've tried to find the best way to disconnect the heaters, but am coming up short. I'm not sure I've identified the connections at the intake manifold, but am fairly certain they are the two large cable connections at the base of the air intake housing. I didn't think disconnecting those there would be the best idea. I traced them down to the solenoids, which I thought may be a decent option, but then figured that there was probably a fuse or relay in the fuse box that I'd be better off pulling. That send me looking for a fuse location diagram, but haven't found one yet. Searching this site and the Cummins forum had no luck either. Any recommendations on where to find this fuse layout? I do have the 2001 FSM, but fuse box wasn't in the index that I saw, and didn't dig deeper. What's the best way to disconnect the heaters if none of these options are best? When looking at the heater solenoids, I found that one of the four 90deg boot connectors on top of the solenoids was disconnected. I did miss the ground cable from the air intake housing to the manifold, so just cleaned those connections up.

Agreed. I cleaned all grounds I could find, using several references on where those grounds would be. There was a ground on the firewall near the ECM & PCM, as well as near that fender. I also disconnected those three connectors and sprayed them with Deoxit 5 I didn't check the manifold heaters, not knowing anything about them. I'll do the checks you recommend and post back, hopefully today. Thanks.

I picked up a 2000 Ram 2500 with the Cummins a few months ago. The PO said that he'd replaced the fuel pump a couple of times, which I should have paid more attention to. Ran fine though for a few months. Recently I had a big miss, or shudder under heavy acceleration onto a highway but ran fine for the rest of the trip. It happened several more times on later trips, usually at gradual acceleration. No CEL at that time. I did get the 0237 code, so got a new MAP sensor hoping that would fix it, but it didn't. I cleaned all grounds and harness connectors. Since then, a few test drives have been OK, with no missing, but even though I cleared the codes, they come back. I have AutoEnginuity, so got the Chrysler enhancement package and found a few things. The MAP sensor checks out with 5.2V key on engine off. Test run yesterday, backing out of the driveway the voltage dropped to 4.93 briefly. Once going down the road, it stayed above 5V and responded seemingly correctly to acceleration. I suppose that the brief drop below 5V would be enough to throw a code. Let me know if otherwise. I haven't tried bending the diaphragm yet as described in a HOW TO DIAGNOSE VP44 FUEL SYSTEM ISSUES document. Another thing I noticed was that the VP44 input voltage was dropping from 12.18V down to ~9V. Occasionally it would jump up to 13.5V, which is what I was measuring at the battery when it was running and the alternator was charging. 12.18V was what the battery read before starting. They were brief excursions either way, but it got progressively more frequent going down to 9V as my test drive went on. I can log and provide these charts. The Banks tuner was unplugged during my testing, but was plugged in when I first started having the miss/shudder issue. I thought I might be in limp mode, but I was getting boost pressures of 5-8 psi with just moderate acceleration on a test drive yesterday. Didn't feel too bad.