04.5 Mileage dropping AGAIN months after reflash

[kernen]

reflash

I had the reflash done 5 wks ago and am very pleased w/ the improvement. got approx 13. 5 or so in town and 15 plus or minus on hwy. Now get 15. 5-16 intown and 17. 5 -18 on hwy, even saw 20. 8 on one 150 mile trip using very light foot and flat ground. Glad I did the reflash

 

[JCotte]

Kernen

Like I said. I did the reflash as soon as it came out and i had the same results. It has been done almost 4 months ago and everything was fine until about 3 weeks ago when my mileage began heading downward again. I am seeing here that others are showing signs of dropping as well. Hopefully yours will stay up but keep an eye on it in a couple of months and see if you get a decline as well

John

 

[RMarkey]

I finally scheduled my re-flash for thursday and tonight I read this. Kinda makes me wonder what Dodge is doing with the re-flash and why it would revert back to the old habits? Are these computers "learning" computers and after a while change things back again? I'm not familiar with computers in these trucks, I'm used to carbs and headers, much easier to fix.

 

[klenger]

I really don't think the reported loss of milage is related to the reflash. There is at least one post on this thread from someone that did not have the reflash that is reporting the same thing.



Just because 95% of all people who died last year drank cool-aid when they were kids, does not mean that cool-aid causes death.

 

[JCotte]

Klenger

Take time to read the post and look at the intent of it. I was not saying that the re-flash caused it. I was only mentioning the re-flash so people were aware that I had done it. I was just stating that something was causing a mileage decrease AGAIN and was wondering if anyone had come up with what was going on. The reflash Was done and mileage improved Immediatley and now something was causing it to go back down SLOWLY towards the preflash level.

 

[kernen]

reflash

could it be the cetane # of the fuel that is causing the decrease

 

[JCotte]

Usually the cetane rating is reduced due to blending but the blending has gone from a 60/40 blend down to about a 80/20 or 90/10. I have bought all of my fuel from the same place and they have not changed suppliers either. Cetane says 40+ on the pumps... I am lost

 

[kernen]

Reflash

Have you ever tried ATF type 1 , truckers call it strawberry fuel, great injector cleaner, 1 quart per 30 gallons

 

[JCotte]

I Was an Owner Operator for 16 years and I am very familiar with ATF in fuel. CTD will void your warranty if they find it in a sample should you have a failure. I use Stanadyne fuel conditioner in every tank.

 

[klenger]

Klenger

Take time to read the post and look at the intent of it. I was not saying that the re-flash caused it. I was only mentioning the re-flash so people were aware that I had done it. I was just stating that something was causing a mileage decrease AGAIN and was wondering if anyone had come up with what was going on. The reflash Was done and mileage improved Immediatley and now something was causing it to go back down SLOWLY towards the preflash level.

My appologizes for missunderstanding the intent of your post.

 

[RMarkey]

This is just depressing! When I picked my truck up, (finally,) off the lot, I thought life was perfect. Only to later find out that I may be in for way more than I bargined for. Why can't things just work like I want them to?

 

[JCotte]

This is just depressing! When I picked my truck up, (finally,) off the lot, I thought life was perfect. Only to later find out that I may be in for way more than I bargined for. Why can't things just work like I want them to?

R Markey

Its not all that bad. Did you buy a used truck? I ask because it is an 04. 5. IIt may have already had all the bugs ran out of it. If it is new based on the build date all of the latest flashes might have been done. You bought the finest diesel truck available. Unfortunatley it is a year that they made a Sh*tload of changes and there are some growing pains. My reason for the post was just to see if anyone else was going through it because I just can't figure out what is causing the decrease after the flash gave me an increase back to what the truck should be running based on my 3 previous CTD Ram trucks. It has to be something as I see many others with the same complaint.

 

[RMarkey]

I bought the truck new ($Ouch$) They didn't say anything @ the dealership, my paperwork said reflash, that was it. So I'm assuming it was the old stuff in it. I wish we could figure out why some of the trucks are returning to their old mpg. Does the white smoke and rough starts come back too?

It might just be in my head, but my truck sounded rougher/louder just running around town after the flash today. I took it out to see if there was any butt dyno power loss, couldn't tell much with the bad traffic though.

 

[RKerner]

This is interesting...

I had the reflash done last December. I dynoed it right afterwards and recorded a loss of power. I went out west at 14. 5K lbs and got 10. 8mpg average at 64-71mph over 2900 miles. I towed every weekend since January 1 for my son's racing habit and then took it back in two weeks ago for a mileage complaint and low power. The dealer tech hooks up the DRB thingy and states that I have idled my engine too much. The service manager then states that Cummins has paperwork stating that idle time percentage above 13% (or something like that) of total time will cause low power and poor mileage. WTF. He says I haven't run it at WOT enough. Hmmm... I asked for the paperwork that states this recommendation. So far I haven't received it. I went out west again at 14. 5K lbs and averaged about 8. 5 mpg at 64-75mph for over 2000 miles. (This time I had a Juice/Attitude and set it on Tow) Both times #2 was used once I got out of my local area. So, is my engine worn at 19K miles or not broken in? With mileage going backwards, the overhead off by 11% to over 20%, something is not proper. I'm thinking of buying a new ECM if there was some way to verify that the calibration flash is pre-TSB18-007 or 18-037. Can anybody get me an answer on that?



I like this truck but the mileage is killin' me.

 

[JCotte]

PKerner

Thanks for the post. You seem to be having alot of the same issues as I am and that is why I created this thread. If I do idle much I use the High idle feature so as to not dillute the oil in cold northeastern winters. I noticed simular results before the flash came out when I towed my 5er to Bloomington MN in August and returned home in Oct. Then the re-flash was done and seemed to fix it and it even improved it from 15 to 19. 8 for most of the winter. It is dropping again and no one seems to know why. It goes in the shop on Wednsday and hopefully will get something to post that will help us all. The only reason Idleing would drop your mileage is based on the fact that you are actually getting 0 MPG while you are idleing. I am not quite sure what running at WOT will do for you.

 

[RN1]

I think if prolonged idling isn't recommended by Cummins, that needs to be stated in the owners manual. A lot of people use these as their work trucks, and spend the majority of their time in stop and go traffic. I just talked to my neighbor, who has the same truck as mine, except his is SRW vs. my DRW. He gets 15-17 in town and 18-19 on the highway. Fills at the same station, doesn't run any additives. I don't think my training wheels could cause a 3-4 MPG loss. I almost asked if we could switch trucks for a week and see if it's my driving.

 

[JCotte]

RN1

There is reference in the owners manual that prolonged idling is not recommended. I am sure of that. Also there are many posts about it too. Stop and go traffic is not quite the same as idling for extended periods to warm up the truck or to cool down the interior. The manual also states that idling above 1000 rpms is recomended during periods of extended idling to increase cylinder temprature and reduce cylinder washing.

Mine is a SRW and my 02 was a DWR and the mileage diference was negligable after the reflash until i started droping mileage recently.

 

[RKerner]

Page 214 in the manual for the prolonged idle reference. It also states that an exhaust brake will avoid the too cool issue. What is odd is that the idle will increase itself to 1000RPM after 2 minutes. Then it will hold it there for X minutes, then return to 750 for two more minutes, then repeat the cycle. So one might ask is: If excessive idling is an issue, why isn't the fast idle higher? Why doesn't it 3 cylinder like older engine models? Why doesn't it shut itself down to avoid this allegedly damaging situation? I understand that idling makes overall mileage lower for that particular tank. I discount that tank for mileage calculation purposes but track it anyway. I guess I'll find 15K to tow around and see if the engine needs more break-in before making any brash moves. I am still interested in a new ECM if any parts person here can get info on that subject.

 

[rattlnrench]

The new ECM will need the program installed on it. The operating system for your particular truck is not on a new one so it will have to be flashed. Chrysler did this recently so one ECM will fit a large number of applications with the difference being the program for the application. They are not alone on this. Most OEMs are doing the same thing. They will probably update the ECM to the latest flash because that's all they will have. That's why you can't go back after the TSB. It's a program for the ECM. I'm not sure on this but I don't think Chrysler will release the original to the dealer so their hands are tied on it & yours too. A new ECM is around $1000 plus programming. That could buy a lot of fuel not to mention you would be in the same place you started because of the programming.

 

[RN1]

I have read the owners manual about the extended idling time. It makes reference to cylinder washing, etc, which I understand, but nothing about it being bad for the injectors. Living in central Texas, I don't think this is nearly the issue it would be with those of you living North. I only let my truck idle until the EGT is below 400 before shut off, not even that long at start up. Cummins is calling anything under 1000 RPM idling. Any time I am below about 40MPH and take my foot off to coast, the RPM drops to idle. They said I am at 15% with this style of driving, which is too much. I guess I too need to find 15K pounds to pull around for a while and see if that helps?