03 bad surging problems,any suggestions

[kdbvulcan]

I have and 03 auto and it must be bad surging problems or something,whenever you set the cruise it just wants to go and stop go and stop,is not smooth at all,the turbo boost gos from 5 to about 15 or 20 and just terrible jerky,and if youre just driving regular on the road,you barely hit the accelerator and sometimes it just wants to jump out from under you and then it will slow down and go a little more and it will do the same thing,its hard to drive smooth,any body ever experienced this before :-{}







03 auto,4x4,dtt transmission,triple dog,tst,mp8,airdog,mac filter,sittin on 20's,wants---turbo,cp3 pump,injectors,etc :-laf

 

[TCDiesel]

I also Have it for over 2 years,THE dealer and DC blame the mods installed, although we have had several complaint's at the shop with NO mods. I have done everything I know PLUS the knowledge of ON Demand. I think it is a communication issue from PCM to ECM,and DC won't do a thing for ya... .

 

[Reb.B]

Easy way to find out, pull the mods to zero and drive. All the dodges 94-up have problems with cruise after you mod them with lots of torque

 

[kdbvulcan]

Easy way to find out, pull the mods to zero and drive. All the dodges 94-up have problems with cruise after you mod them with lots of torque

does youre truck surge like that with all that power,its weird cause mine used to not do that,it mainly all started when my tst started acting up and they sent me another one back,its like it caint wait to jump out from under you,its hard to drive it smoothly,its weird I turned all the power down to stock and it still acts that way some,course its a whole lot worse if you turn the power on

 

[Reb.B]

when you add any low end fueling, (inj. , low end fuelling map, sensitive map fuelling) the cruise is going to act up.

 

[RDyson]

I've read on here that it has something to do with the fact that our 03 trucks have a vacuum operated cruise. Mine surges some when I am running below 70 on cruise. When I'm running 75 or above it is OK.



Because mine isn't that bad, I've never really checked that out. I'd read that someone had cut the vacuum line and installed a small plastic tube like one that comes on a can of WD-40 to splice the line back together. That is supposed to restrict the flow to the servo and calm down the surges.



It is supposed to be warm here tomorrow and I am off, so I think I'll try it.



Randy

 

[kdbvulcan]

I've read on here that it has something to do with the fact that our 03 trucks have a vacuum operated cruise. Mine surges some when I am running below 70 on cruise. When I'm running 75 or above it is OK.



Because mine isn't that bad, I've never really checked that out. I'd read that someone had cut the vacuum line and installed a small plastic tube like one that comes on a can of WD-40 to splice the line back together. That is supposed to restrict the flow to the servo and calm down the surges.



It is supposed to be warm here tomorrow and I am off, so I think I'll try it.



Randy

Okay,I am a little new at this,can you tell me exactly where the vaccum line is and where to cut it,and what to use to use to connect small plastic tube back together with the original vaccum line... . Ken

 

[kdbvulcan]

I've read on here that it has something to do with the fact that our 03 trucks have a vacuum operated cruise. Mine surges some when I am running below 70 on cruise. When I'm running 75 or above it is OK.



Because mine isn't that bad, I've never really checked that out. I'd read that someone had cut the vacuum line and installed a small plastic tube like one that comes on a can of WD-40 to splice the line back together. That is supposed to restrict the flow to the servo and calm down the surges.



It is supposed to be warm here tomorrow and I am off, so I think I'll try it.



Randy

please let me know how it turns out for you?

 

[BLambert]

03 bad surging problems

Check (or have someone check) the Fuel Actuator. Mine (on an '03) went out @ about 155,000 with similar symptoms (and no codes) and this was what it turned out to be.

Good luck,

BLambert

 

[kdbvulcan]

Check (or have someone check) the Fuel Actuator. Mine (on an '03) went out @ about 155,000 with similar symptoms (and no codes) and this was what it turned out to be.

Good luck,

BLambert

What,and Where is the Fuel Actuator,is it hard to change?..... Ken

 

[WPeschel]

What,and Where is the Fuel Actuator,is it hard to change?..... Ken

Yeah what he said... . I too am having this problem... .

 

[kdbvulcan]

I've read on here that it has something to do with the fact that our 03 trucks have a vacuum operated cruise. Mine surges some when I am running below 70 on cruise. When I'm running 75 or above it is OK.



Because mine isn't that bad, I've never really checked that out. I'd read that someone had cut the vacuum line and installed a small plastic tube like one that comes on a can of WD-40 to splice the line back together. That is supposed to restrict the flow to the servo and calm down the surges.



It is supposed to be warm here tomorrow and I am off, so I think I'll try it.



Randy

did you have any luck on youre vaccum line?

 

[RDyson]

did you have any luck on youre vaccum line?

No, I got busy hauling off tree limbs that had fallen after the ice storm last week. Working tonight, so I'll try it tomorrow.



Randy

 

[WPeschel]

No, I got busy hauling off tree limbs that had fallen after the ice storm last week. Working tonight, so I'll try it tomorrow.



Randy

ICE STORM?? :--) ? Where the hell in Texas you livin??? LoL

 

[BLambert]

03 Bad surging problems, any suggestions

Trying for the second time.

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you.



The Fuel Control Actuator (FCA) is located on the back of the High Pressure fuel injection pump. That's on the driver's side of the engine, at the front and not too low. The FCA is a little solenoid widget on the back of this pump. To take it off, first clean the area with an evaporative type cleaner, disconnect the electrical connector, then losen two bolts. Check it for damage and shake it. If it DOESN'T rattle, replace it.

To install the new one, install o-rings, then lube them with a light grease. Using new mounting bolts, first tighten them to 3 N-m (27 in. lbs. ). Then tighten them to 7 N-m (62 in. lbs. ) DO NOT PAUSE MORE THAN 2 MINUTES BETWEEN TIGHTENING STAGES as the bolts may lose their ability to retain torque. Make sure the FCA is mounted flush to the pump. Connect the electrical connector. Start engine and check for leaks.

Sorry I can't remember what this gadget costs. Shouldn't take much more than an hour but you need a good t-wrench.

It cleared up my surging problem.

Good luck,

BLambert

 

[kdbvulcan]

Trying for the second time.

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you.



The Fuel Control Actuator (FCA) is located on the back of the High Pressure fuel injection pump. That's on the driver's side of the engine, at the front and not too low. The FCA is a little solenoid widget on the back of this pump. To take it off, first clean the area with an evaporative type cleaner, disconnect the electrical connector, then losen two bolts. Check it for damage and shake it. If it DOESN'T rattle, replace it.

To install the new one, install o-rings, then lube them with a light grease. Using new mounting bolts, first tighten them to 3 N-m (27 in. lbs. ). Then tighten them to 7 N-m (62 in. lbs. ) DO NOT PAUSE MORE THAN 2 MINUTES BETWEEN TIGHTENING STAGES as the bolts may lose their ability to retain torque. Make sure the FCA is mounted flush to the pump. Connect the electrical connector. Start engine and check for leaks.

Sorry I can't remember what this gadget costs. Shouldn't take much more than an hour but you need a good t-wrench.

It cleared up my surging problem.

Good luck,

BLambert

I s this something my local dodge dealer or any mechanic would tackle,sounds like a little to deep for me.

 

[kdbvulcan]

Trying for the second time.

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you.



The Fuel Control Actuator (FCA) is located on the back of the High Pressure fuel injection pump. That's on the driver's side of the engine, at the front and not too low. The FCA is a little solenoid widget on the back of this pump. To take it off, first clean the area with an evaporative type cleaner, disconnect the electrical connector, then losen two bolts. Check it for damage and shake it. If it DOESN'T rattle, replace it.

To install the new one, install o-rings, then lube them with a light grease. Using new mounting bolts, first tighten them to 3 N-m (27 in. lbs. ). Then tighten them to 7 N-m (62 in. lbs. ) DO NOT PAUSE MORE THAN 2 MINUTES BETWEEN TIGHTENING STAGES as the bolts may lose their ability to retain torque. Make sure the FCA is mounted flush to the pump. Connect the electrical connector. Start engine and check for leaks.

Sorry I can't remember what this gadget costs. Shouldn't take much more than an hour but you need a good t-wrench.

It cleared up my surging problem.

Good luck,

BLambert

is this something my local dodge dealer would tackle?

 

[RDyson]

ICE STORM?? :--) ? Where the hell in Texas you livin??? LoL

I live in Pampa, about 60 miles NE of Amarillo. We had about 1/2" of ice. Amarillo had it worse. They had a few inches of snow on top of that. We see some wierd weather here in the panhandle. The western part had mostly all snow, ice in the middle, and about 2" of rain in the SE.



Randy

 

[RDyson]

did you have any luck on youre vaccum line?

I went to Oreillys and bought an inline vacuum restrictor. It is a 3/16 X 2" straight plastic connecter. It has a hole in it about as big as a thumbtack spike. It is a Dorman #47311. Not sure if they make any others. That is the only one they had.



The vacuum pump is on the passenger side at the firewall. The cruise servo is under the drivers side battery. There is an 1/8" vacuum line that runs from the pump, up into the cable tray above the engine and then down to the servo. Behind and above the fuel filter, there is a 90* connector in the line. I removed that connector and replaced it with the restriction connecter.



It did seem to settle it down some. I tried it at 55 and it still surges alot. At 65 is was better that before. Mine has always been good at 75. I only drove a couple of miles, all on level ground so not sure how it will work on hilly roads. It did seem to take a little longer for the cruise to take over, so we will see how good it works.



Randy

 

[kdbvulcan]

I went to Oreillys and bought an inline vacuum restrictor. It is a 3/16 X 2" straight plastic connecter. It has a hole in it about as big as a thumbtack spike. It is a Dorman #47311. Not sure if they make any others. That is the only one they had.



The vacuum pump is on the passenger side at the firewall. The cruise servo is under the drivers side battery. There is an 1/8" vacuum line that runs from the pump, up into the cable tray above the engine and then down to the servo. Behind and above the fuel filter, there is a 90* connector in the line. I removed that connector and replaced it with the restriction connecter.



It did seem to settle it down some. I tried it at 55 and it still surges alot. At 65 is was better that before. Mine has always been good at 75. I only drove a couple of miles, all on level ground so not sure how it will work on hilly roads. It did seem to take a little longer for the cruise to take over, so we will see how good it works.



Randy

where exactly did you cut the vaccum line,close to the pump or where abouts,what did you use to connect the to back together?