4 hours from home. Dead pedal returns yet again, Towel??

[JeepBuilder]

I can't believe this. Nearly 4 thousand bucks later, replacement flashed ECM, OFI replacement VP44, TPS x 2, Grounds cleaned, filters, and probably 10 other things I am not recalling. I have threads on what exactly I did. I have searched the internet and nothing has ever fixed it. The last run was after a ECM replacement and parked all winter. I drive 4 hours to Wenatchee Washington to Grace city church for the stronger man conference, I barely made it here. 40 minutes out it started again. 20 minutes later I was dead pedaling bad and hazards on with no where to pull over. I hate this truck. Now I will be here for a couple days and I need to get this mess home. I have my camper on the back. I don't really expect an answer. I have threads with all the good suggestions. I am probably just venting. I have a home defense class Monday night. Would those that pray please take a minute Tuesday morning for my trip home. I don't know what else to ask. I am sort of stranded. Probably the best place one could ever be stuck. At a huge church with like minded people. Did I mention I hate this truck and I really need to throw in the towel? Life has been beating me up the last year and a half. This truck is not helping. I just don't have the patience and or money to support this rig anymore. At least this post made me feel a little better. For about two minutes. Please pray for my trip home Tuesday. I really need it.

 

[JLandry]

So sorry for your trouble. I wish I could offer something that would help.

Please keep us posted… and feel free to vent anytime. Sometimes that can feel good.

John L.

 

[petersonj]

Are you getting any codes at all? At this point, can you drive the truck at all? How frequently and how long is the dead pedal lasting. I know you are probably not in the mood to answer questions right now - can't say as I blame you.

If the the dead pedal is being caused by an APPS circuit fault, here is something that might be worth a try to get back home. Since your truck is a manual transmission, try using cruise control as much as possible. Manual transmission trucks use only the ECM to control the engine when cruise control is set - the APPS is completely out of the circuit. Not saying that it will work, but it could be worth a try.

- John

 

[JeepBuilder]

PetersonsonJ that just might get me home. I drove three plus hours on cruise and never a hiccup. And thank you John L...I spent the night in the church parking lot. A fitful night. So the last three years I have had not one code thrown. I carry a nice code reader. Yesterday when I made it to Wenatchee and had a code of PO234. It was a turbo overboost code. I removed the boost fooler that I replaced a year ago chasing this same problem and plugged back in the harness. I burned the heck out of my hand in the process to rub a little salt in my day. I am still clear of codes so far. But it was only 20 minutes of stumbling my way to the church for run time after clearing the code. I mistakenly brought minimal tools. I thought I was rid of this problem. This truck is in pristine condition. But worth nothing with this issue. I would be grateful as anyone could be to really solve this. I was thinking last night listening to this busy city that I should try to find all the inputs needed for the truck to run. Then see about each circuit. I can not do much here though. I have my home on the market to sell. I wanted to move here, be a part of this outstanding church, and I have met a woman who lives here. I would need this truck to tow trailers here. My beloved Liz died in my living room. I would prefer to leave my entire area. I hope to start a new season. I guess I am all wore out. And this problem is a test of resilience. I appreciate the feedback. And support... I have said it before, I'll say it again. This is a great forum.

 

[JeepBuilder]

Lots of reading being online done again. Lots of opinions no solutions. I have found a couple threads about having dead pedal while in cruise control. So I am concerned about getting home still. I will probably make it. It just might take a really long time. I need this truck to move soon. An older 80's 4 door long bed Chevy with a thirsty 454 sure sounds good right about now. This dead pedal problem is way to common and no solid solutions seem to be out there. I have said this more than once. It's a cummins with a Dodge wrapped around it.

 

[JeepBuilder]

I disconnected the batteries and let it sit all day. Reconnected and reset the APPS. Drove home this evening on the cruise control and not one hiccup. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[petersonj]

Glad to hear you made it back without incident.

- John

 

[JeepBuilder]

I just wanted to report back. I cut the battery terminals off that were cracked and had the black scale on them from corrosion, then soldered big copper lugs on with epoxy heat shrink. I then put the heavy duty clamps back on and attached all cables. I then did the WC ground mod and transferred the alternator charge to the passenger side battery reducing the possibility of AC interference into the now rerouted and shortened ground wire. So far several hundred miles into Montana and back and no dead pedal. And recently talking to two truck owners that had the same issues one reporting a bad alternator and the other dirty battery clamps, I cleaned all that up. I just wanted to report back that so far so good. I am getting ready for another trip. Hope I did not just jinx myself ...

 

[petersonj]

Thanks for reporting back. I, for one, would like to hear if this is a long term fix. I have not heard of any negative feedback for doing the W-T ground wiring modification.

The longer you drive the truck without incident, the less you will dream about the Chevy with the 454.

- John

 

[JeepBuilder]

Funny FB market place has been bringing up Chevy crew cab 3+3's to look at. I have not looked for them. ......Nice...
So yes I plan on checking back in because I never saw in all the posts with these issues where people checked back in to say, "it is fixed and this is what it was" No one ever did. So while I only drive the truck in the summer thanks to the road salt. I will report back. BTW, I put in a reman AC Delco alternator also. Forgot to mention that. Maybe I did in my other thread.. Onward.

 

[JeepBuilder]

My dead pedal is cured. Several thousand successful miles now and it was dirty battery connections combined with semi corroded cables. I am posting this here for anyone searching later. I will write up a seperate post with my findings soon detailing my chance run in with two people who told me about their same issue. Stay tuned for the info in the correct forum section.

 

[Igottaroll]

JeepBuilder, I previously owned a 99 2500 & I also did the W-T ground wiring modification, one other thing I found on mine was the 13 ground wires on 1 lug under the drivers side headlight. It is amazing to me how many problems the Dodge's/Rams have that can be traced back to eletrical issues the list is long & does not seem to end regardless of generation. Definitely appreciate your follow up to share your results, I have been guilty of not providing follow up a time or to myself so kuddos to you for this, I will try to follow your example. God Bless & Happy Trails !

 

[JeepBuilder]

Yes it is good to post the answers to problems. I am dealing with a neon and an XJ jeep. Both with problems I believe are from bad grounds. Knowing this about mopar products is helpful. And just in case anyone was wondering...From my first post here, I don't really hate my truck.. God Bless to you and all.

 

[Timd32]

I don't think it's isolated to Ram, but for sure they are installing stuff on the cusp of acceptable, and while it works for some rigs at large some of these harness assemblies and ground points are very questionable at best.

Glad you figured it out and are down the road again!