Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) 0501 Will not go away!

[C4gan]

I have replaced the one in the output shaft and the one in the rear end. I am at a loss. Any thoughts?

Chris

 

[BarryG]

I have done the same thing and it is still there. I also am at a loss. I was told the 501 is a rationality error from the speed sensor ie one or more speed sensors dont jive with one another. In the service manual it only talks about those two the rear diff and the trans. Does anyone know if there are more and if so where are they? I would think there has to be at least on more for the front antilock brakes but can find no mention of it at all in the manual.

 

[CWheeler1]

I have 02 3500 HO-Nv5600 and the two times I have lost traction it has set P1693 & p500, after about 50 starts it will go away. Don't know if this is what is happening with yours or not,but I don't worry about it as every thing else is normal. caw

 

[C4gan]

BarryG, Did you opt for the smarty or are you still running the catcher ecm? I am having this once i install the smarty. It is having the same surging issues that i was reading about. What was the final outcome of that post?

If i uninstall the smarty and plug my ez box back in i still get the code but no surging.

 

[BarryG]

C4:

I thought I had this problem/code before the the catcher. However I swapped my stock ecm back in last sunday and so far none of those codes have returned (so now I am second guessing myself as to when this really started. must have installed the catcher earlier than I thought) I also had wait to start light issues (after a while it would quit coming on until I reset the ecm then lately I couldnt go a whole day without it going out and in the winter here I have found my truck has trouble lighting up at around 15 deg and just wont start without grids under about 10degrees). Along with the other grid heater issue I was having of not shutting off when going over aprox 20mph they are supposed to shut off mine would not until they timed out at 180secs I believe. And while that doesnt sound like a big deal and probably isnt if you take many short trips in a row like I do at work the battery just gets lower and lower. I have emailed with marco and others about this and so far no one has an answer. I would have loved to get the smarty but I already have a $500 paper weight in the catcher. While it works and I really do love the way it works it has gotten to be to trying to live with it. The above issues and the surging which also gets worse as time goes by until I reset the ecm and then while not fixed is better. I think I have given up it at least for now. And am waiting to see if the 0501 code comes back. I havent really driven much since I swapped the stock ecm back in. However I may be driving to KC and back next weekend we will see what happens then.



The 0501 code is not even in my service manual so I am confused where it comes from. Marco is the one who told me it was a rationality error. Another reason I didnt get the smarty is that marco said other testers who had the surge with the catcher still got it with the smarty. Cant see spending another 500 to still have the same problem. I envy those it works well for because it is definitely nice.

 

[C4gan]

Well the situation goes like this. I had an issue with my original ecm. It would run on half power whenever it wanted to and my fuel mileage was in the crapper (9mpg) when it wa running bad. So i swapped out my buddies ecm which has the torque managment taken out of it and the truck ran perfect. No codes no power problems. So i figure that my ecm was bad. I end up ordering an ecm from Marco and the Smarty from Bob Figuring that i would install the new ecm and then the smarty and all would be good... . well i installed the ecm and the truck ran like a stock truck, no issues so i did not check for codes. Installed the #7 program from the smarty and went on my 500 mile trip to the U. P. snowmobiling. Had the surging issues there and back.

Got home and uninstalled back to stock and truck runs fine but i still get the 0501.

Pulled out that ecm yesterday morning and put my friends ecm back in and truck runs good with no codes. Changed out the ecms this morning and back to the 0501. I am really confused. on top of this i have replaced the map, iat, apps, and both speed sensors. I am getting a bit tired of chasing this problem. Bob has been great in trying to help out and is very understanding of the situation. Says that Marco is working on figuring out what the problem could be. I dont want to give up on the smarty just yet. I would like to try it on someone elses truck to see exactly how it runs. It seem like it has a boat load of low rpm power. Like you, i envy those that it works well for.

 

[Marco]

The "half throttle surge"...



I've lost several sleepless nights on this problem...



One Smarty beta tester is in Austria relatively close to me. He has that very same problem too. I HAVE seen the problem with my eyes. It DOES exist!



We started with CaTCHER ECM. He got the surge. Went back to stock, no surge. Changed out with a stock ECM, no surge. Guessing that it might be related to the ECM, I CaTCHERized this other ECM, surge was back...

At least I'm almost certain that the surge is not caused by the ECM's hardware.



Then arrived his Smarty. Then higher the SW# he uses then more noticeable the surge. Check this, check that, try this, try that, no result.



The confusing part(s). ( At least for me )



1)The truck in Austria is an 2001-Auto-Fed truck. Exactly the same truck as for example Bob Wagner's. Bob has no surge, CaTCHERized ECM or Smarty, no surge. Keep in mind, I've always used the same softwares. What's in Bob's truck is also in the truck in Austria.



2) The speed sensors are not controlled by the ECM but by the PCM. The PCM is what controls the sensors on the transmission and on the rear wheels. How could possibly changing out the ECM have any influence on that code???



3) Swapping out the parts that could possibly be the culprit does not change the situation...



I AM

WHY does that half throttle surge happen only with very few trucks, the vast majority are just a OK?



The only thing I did notice in the truck in Austria is even more confusing.

Checking out things, I've read the software revision number out of the PCM.

The number that showed up does NOT exist as per DCX's manuals. A corrupted PCM? A mistake at the factory??? Then again how could that cause the surge?????



I have the feeling that anytime the torque management allows for higher values the engine over reacts to the throttle input. WHY?



C4gan,

Could you please try software #'s 2 & 3 and see how the truck reacts?

Those do not alter the torque management.



Sorry, I do not have all the answers. If you have new ideas, I'm all ears...



Marco

 

[BarryG]

Hey Marco glad to see you are still thinking about this amidst all your other stuff.

If you come up with any brainstorms please let us know. I am out of answers and at a loss as to what to try next. However at this point everything is fine I just dont get the pleasure of using the catcher or the smarty :{ Well not without some hiccups anyway

 

[C4gan]

Marco

I will try this morning. I am headed on a 100 mile journey. I will report back in a few hours.

It is funny that you are looking at the pcm! I was already thinking of a way to change that out to see if it makes a difference. Will keep you posted on that as well.

Thanks for the response, and looking forward to the resolution!

 

[C4gan]

Marco,

One more thing that i was thinking of... ..... My friends ecm that i am using to compare to is out of a 2000 ho 6 speed dually. He sent it to someone and had the torque management taken out. Do not know if this helps. What is the downside of running the 2000 program in my truck?