P0234, White Smoke, black Smoke, Gadzooks!

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Hey Guys, First post! I recently picked up an 02' Ram (in my signature) with the HO 245HP cummins and 6spd, it's got 100hp injectors and a 4" exhaust and no chip/tuner This last weekend, I went for a 250mile drive, and all seemed to be well and got back home sunday morning.Sunday afternoon, I was heading out for a drive and noticed some white smoke at idle, when warming up AND while warm while at idle. While under ACCELERATION/LOAD the truck will now put out more black smoke than usual. The truck was idling fine and nothing seemed out of sorts. Figured I'd pull a code so I quickly pulled over and checked and got P0234. I contacted the folks at BD diesel (they are local-ish and familiar with the truck) and they reccomended I clean the map sensor, but Ive been reading that it may be wastegate related? Anyway, All input is appreciated, i'm just hoping that it's not the VP44. :\ Thanks and take care! -Jeff

[Mopar1973Man 7,294 5 Vehicles]

It is not the MAP sensor....

P0234 - Problem detected in turbocharger wastegate.

Monitor &

Set Conditions

Turbo boost limit is monitored when ignition is on. DTC may be stored if Engine Control Module (ECM) senses engine speed is greater

than 2200 RPM with no intake air pressure sensor out of range DTCs present.

Possible Causes

[*] Mechanical Wastegate Failure

[*] Wastegate Stuck

Testing

1. Turn ignition on with engine off. Using DRBIII® scan tool, check for DTCs. If DTC Good Trip Counteris not equal to zero for P0234, go to next step. If DTC Good Trip Counter is equal to zero for P0234, replace wastegate. It may be necessary to replace turbocharger and wastegate as an assembly. See appropriate REMOVAL, OVERHAUL & INSTALLATION article.

2. Ensure ignition is on with engine off. Using scan tool, read and record FREEZE FRAME data. Road test vehicle under conditions displayed in

FREEZE FRAME data and note DTC Good Trip Counter for P0234. If DTC Good Trip Counter does not change to zero, test is complete. If DTC Good Trip Counter changes to zero, replace wastegate. It may be necessary to replace turbocharger and wastegate as an assembly. See appropriate REMOVAL, OVERHAUL & INSTALLATION article.

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Thanks for the Prompt Reply, and an excellent website you have! So...its the wastegate!Any experience/tricks with loosening them up? Does the wastegate sound typical for the white smoke at idle and lots of black smoke at acceleration? Im relatively new to turbocharged (and diesel) vehicles, so my knowledge in this area is very small (but growing :P ) Thanks and take care!

[Mopar1973Man 7,294 5 Vehicles]

As for the white smoke (I'm going to be honest..) It not a good sign typically if you check you might find a P0216 error code which happens to be a death code for the VP44 injection pump. This goes hand in hand with the fuel pressure if the pressure is too low it causes this damage to occur. As for the black smoke it could be the wastegate, boost leak, or a plugged up air filter. (Lack of air - Boost) typically a boost gauge is handy for figuring this out. So you got a few things to check fuel pressure and error codes... As for the fuel pressure we need both idling anf WOT operation at highway speeds.