Hey guys, about 4 months after installing a rebuilt ECM on my 2001 Ram 2500 4x4 automatic transmission truck, I pulled out on the road in front of my house and started accelerating up the hill. the truck stumbled really bad, seemed to catch and then went dead. I rolled backward down the hill and rolled back into the yard and started working on the truck. It would not do anything, it would just crank over and not even try to start at all, after trying a couple of times, the fuel pump came on and would not go off until I pulled the relay/fuse. At this point I pulled the smarty out from under the seat, I hooked it up, and it gave an ERROR COMM. TIME OUT, after calling smarty, they said that there was no communication with the ECM and I should start there.

 

It threw a couple of DTC's that were P0230, P1693, P1694, that I got from cycling the Key.

 

P0230: TRANSFER PUMP CIRCUIT OUT OF RANGE

P1693 Companion Code

P1694 No CCD Messages Received From ECM.

 

I contacted the ECM re-builder as it was under warranty, they gave me the runaround for a bit by sending me all kinds of circuit checks and test to try before sending it back, everything I did, pointed to the ECM, After several weeks they finally consented to look at it, I sent it back, it was burnt, they said it received voltage of over 18V.

 

Message from Re-builder,

 

Hi Customer,
Your Auto Part has completed testing and simulations. Please find our results below:

Customer Complaint:

VIN: Correct
Part#: Correct
Connection: Good
Circuitry: Burn / Over Voltage 18+
Traces: Burn / Over Voltage 18+
Bench/Simulator: Fail
Vehicle/Motor Test: N/A
Engineer: Victor T

Conclusion:
It has been determined that the ECC has received 18+ voltage supplied.
The ECC cannot withstand voltage over 17v.
Issues must be resolved within the vehicle prior to re-installation of another ECC

Possible Causes:
Overcharging
Corroded connections
Extensive Cranking
Faulty Harness
Blown fuses
Burned fusible links in the electrical system
Battery jumped reverse polarity
Bad Battery
Bad Alternator
Shorted Coil
Faulty Ground
Faulty Crank Sensor
Faulty Solenoid

Warranty Coverage: Replacement
Please note this will be your final replacement under your current warranty. If you are interested in an extended warranty please contact us within that time frame to purchase. There is no warranty on this replacement/repair as it is likely to damage the ECU for failure to properly repair vehicle.

 

While I was waiting on the ECM, I pulled the alternator, it was in rough looking shape and it failed a bench test. I bought a new one from O'Reilly Auto Parts and installed it. I did the charging cable reroute with a 150amp breaker, and the PCM protection fuse while waiting on replacement ECM. I had already done the W-T ground mod 4 months earlier at the time of first ECM failure, I checked the batteries, checked the grounds again. I also put in a new Camshaft position sensor.

 

However this evening, I installed the new ECM, not my original, but a warranty swap out that I received. I connected everything back up, hooked the smarty up, everything connected, set the truck to stock because the I wasn't sure how the smarty would marry to that new ECM since I could not "unlink" it from the vehicle when the ECM went out. It was no problem.

 

Truck fired up as soon as I turned it over, ran for about 10 secs and then things went south so to speak. brake light came on, check engine light popped on, Check gauges light came on, water in fuel light, temp was pegged out at highest reading, oil pressure was showing 90psi, and then dropped to nothing, truck runs great but will surge every few mins. Alternator was charging at a steady 14 volts on the gauge, and the fuel hand never wavered.

 

Plugged in the Smarty and got 9 DTC's,

 

P0177 Water in Fuel

P0522 Oil pressure switch low

P0112 intake air temp sensor 

P0237 MAP sensor voltage low

P0562 charging system voltage low

P1488 Auxiliary 5 Volt Output to low

P0342 camshaft position sensor voltage low

P0606 ECM Failure

P1693 Companion code

 

Do you think the PCM got fried at the same time as the original ECM, or a bad ECM from the rebuilder??? Is there a chance something I did on the PCM protection or charging re-route could cause this problem. I cleared the codes, restarted the truck, all of them came back. checked the pins on the ecm and plugs, this truck only has 115,000 on it and it is clean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 9, 20204 yr by livewire

Did I post incorrectly or make an obnoxious post somehow?

Several views but no replies, no advice/opinions on whether I should send back the ECM or rebuild the PCM.

I would say send them both out to ACS (Auto Computer Specialist) but that's just me. If you have warranty then I would use it. I know ACS has also a loom rebuilding division as well. So if there is a short or wiring issue they can handle both the computer and the wiring too.

All those codes are relater to either the ECM or the wire harness.  See FSM pages 8W-30-32 through 8W-30-34.

Well, the replacement they sent me is not covered by the lifetime warranty that was on the original ECM purchase, never use All Computer Resources, their communication is not good at all. Per the message above, I expect they would blame my truck if something was not right if I were to send it back.

Did you try erasing them and seeing if they come back? After I installed my ecm it popped up with a bunch of codes. Most of yours and then some... Cleared them and they haven’t came back and drives like new.

Sounds exactly like what happened to my truck as well( stumble and died) when the ecm died. I believe not doing the W-T wire mod in time caused that for me though. 

Edited July 9, 20204 yr by ColoradoColt

On 7/9/2020 at 10:52 AM, Mopar1973Man said:

I would say send them both out to ACS (Auto Computer Specialist) but that's just me. If you have warranty then I would use it. I know ACS has also a loom rebuilding division as well. So if there is a short or wiring issue they can handle both the computer and the wiring too.

 

I second this! My ECM and PCM along with both engine and transmission harness are currently with ACS getting looked at/fixed. Great communication and respond quickly to emails and phone calls.