Dead Pedal

[dripley]

Same here. 47 bucks is pretty cheap. Mine was undrivable and I did not want to pay a wrecker to drive my rig around.

[RPM]

My drivability is no different just not breaking any land speed records. My fuel mileage is great I must say, but no way will it pull anything.

I made an appointment with the stealership for Friday. When I made the appointment I told the service manager my concern about the tech reading the codes and not looking further. He guaranteed they will properly diagnose the truck. I guess I will believe it when I see it.

[RPM]

It took the dealership the better part of the day but they told me the MAP circuit in the ECU is bad. I went by AutoZone and sent in my ECU to be rebuilt. According to AutoZone I will get the ECU back on the 21st. They warrantee the ECU for a year and it was $246.00. Hopefully after three weeks without the truck I will be back up to speed.

[diesel4life]

Do you know who they sent your ecm to be rebuilt?

[Mopar1973Man]

Good question?

[RPM]

The guy at AutoZone tells me they send it out to a place called VDP. He couldn't tell me what VDP stands for, and if I Google "VDP ECU" I come up with nothing.I am in it now no matter who is really doing it. The truck is parked, the batteries are pulled and on maintainers. At least I can take it back to the parts store if it craps out again. The thing that is killing me is, I converted my son's '83 Landcruiser to a 350 over the summer. He didn't check the oil and spun a bearing. We are a three car family that will have to get by on one for three weeks.

[Mopar1973Man]

We are a three car family that will have to get by on one for three weeks.

Ouch...

[RPM]

Yup, tell me about it.:cry:Anyone know who "VDP" is? Any experience with an AutoZone ECU?

[RPM]

Anyone know who "VDP" is? Any experience with an AutoZone ECU?

Anyone............

[diesel4life]

Best thing to do is get the info from Autozone. If the guy you talked to was clueless I would be asking his manager. I dont know what theyre charging you, but I would certainly want to know what kind of work they are doing. Are they repairing your ecm? Or did you have to turn yours in for a core and are receiving a refurbished ecm inreturn? Will you have to take it to a dealer and have it flashed when you get it back or are they taking care of that for you? I went through this issue a while back with my truck and I opted for a new ecm. Im sure lots of people have had good luck with used rebuilt ones, but the thought of it kind of scared me. Theres just too many unknowns. I kind of related it to purchasing a vp with a used computer. Sure it may pass a bench test, but how long is it good for? Its already 12 to 15 years old, who knows when a connection may come apart inside or a board burn up? Sure they say its refurbished, I just dont know exactly what that means. If I stayed local with my truck, I may have thought differently. But I take several long distance road trips a year and for peace of mind I decided the extra money was worth shelling out for a new one.

[RPM]

Yes, the guy at AutoZone was clueless. The ECU was $243 and some change. I had to take mine out and send it off supposedly it will be back on the 21st. (Just in time for the world to end ) They said it will be refurbishedand guaranteed for a year . Again, it is supposedly a drop in part when I get it back. The questionnaireI had to complete was nothing less than an inquisition.

If my sons car wasn't eating a hole in my wallet I probably would have bough a new one but I just can't swing it at this moment. I figured I would go with AutoZone because it was cheap and if it goes out they are pretty much nationwide so I can cram it up someone's hoo haa if it goes out on the road. Plus if it gets me by for a year, my son's car will be done (hopefully) and I will be in a better state financially.

[RPM]

My string of luck continues.... I got a call today from AutoZone. They say my ECU is beyond repair. Really makes me wonder what they could have fixed, as the truck didn't really run all that bad. I did not have gauge malfunctions or any codes beyond the reported two. Anyway, I am faced with finding one from "Another source" or paying Dodge $1800.00 for a new one. Personally I think $1800.00 is about four times what this part is worth. In today day and age your smart phone has roughly the computing power that took us to the moon. The ECU in this truck I am sure could be replaced with what equals about a $200.00 tablet.This whole thing is really making me wonder if my truck will ever run right again.

[Mopar1973Man]

Rarely... I mean RARELY have I ever seen anyone get there ECM back from a rebuilder that actually works. If it does come back working then most times it last for short time and fails again. So as for reliable source of a ECM is the Dodge Dealer. Sad but true... The only one of this site I know of that got lucky was CajFlynn he got some fly by night place to rebuild his ECM and it actually still working the last I knew.

[RPM]

Ya, I PM'd him and he said he got it off eBay, and it is still working well. I got mine back from AutoZone and it was in a Cardone box. The seal was still intact so they must have got some fault through the plug before they took it apart. I am going to see if I can get one around the first of the year from Cardone, once they "Restock." I have been thinking about it, I have now idea how long the VP, or APPS have been in my truck. So if I pay to change the VP, APPS, ECU, over the next few months, I can P-Pump the truck and not have to worry about all the electronics that go bad. So pig headed determination here I come. I have made up my mind to P-Pump it this summer. All I need is for something to die if I am out of state with the camper.

[Power Cummin]

Did you figure out what the problem was? Im going though the same thing.

[RPM]

It's the ECU I am told. I have yet to find one and see if I get my power back.