Can dealer tell if you had a chip?

[DPKetchum]

There you go!

 

[DLeno]

DPKetchum, what you say makes sense. I don't see the ECM has possessing a large amount of memory to store historical data in that sense. But is does keep track of idle time, for example, and a few other driving habbits that escape me at the moment (I think there are individual timers for idle and non-idle). probably you're right about the boost level, and that recording a WOT condition with 9psi of boost is going to look pretty funny. I thought I had read somewhere that a short moving time slice of engine data is recorded so that they always have the last < x > number of minutes history. I haven't confirmed that, though.

 

[Parshal]

Originally posted by DPKetchum

There you go!

Of course my theory makes sense but I was hoping someone knew for sure!

 

[draymorris]

Wow



What happened to the original question? Are there any service techs wiatching this that can answer this with some training or DC research under their belt?



What does the truck record?



Can it be reset?



It seems to me that the people who make these chips should also be watching TDR - they must know what their products so to the computer! Why do they seem to be vague to many of their customers? Are they hiding something? I had dealing with Diablo on a Power Puck and caught them hiding info from me!



I hope somebody can answer the original question with certainty?



And to each his own - regarding mods and warranty? I don't beleive anyone on this site is going to change the morals and beleifs of another person on this site.

 

[Mingoglia]

I'm tired of hearing the term, "I'm my own warranty station". I'm so sick of it somewhere inside I want to resort to personal insults, but I won't. . . I guess this just shows my frustration .



I 100% agree that if you're pushing big horsepower/torque and you blow up your drivetrain then you should be held liable for the repairs. But many people in the TDR seem to immediately jump to the conclusion that once you modify ANYTHING you immediately aren't entitled to any guarantees for anything in the truck whatsoever. If I cruise into the local Dodge dealer with a Edge EZ that is lucky to put out 35HP over stock to the rear wheels for a dead water pump with only 30k on the odometer I EXPECT DARN WELL that they SHOULD warranty this! This is a medium duty engine with much higher power ratings out there that go 500,000 miles. Any intelligent and reasonable person that analyzes the facts would come to the conclusion that this fueling box DIDN'T cause this problem.



Unfortunately just like the gentlemen in this post that jumped down the original thread authors throat about "my own warranty station", there's going to be service writers/technicians out there that are immediately going to point the finger at the fueling box and not actually try to determine the REAL cause of the problem. Because of this, (and yes, two wrongs don't necessarily make it right) I feel that the fueling box could be removed to avoid this situation... there's people out there like this (many apparently may even be TDR "holier than thou" members)... and it's crap! And makes ME CRAZY!



I current have a Edge EZ. Every time I changed my oil I would use my fuel pressure guage to test my pressure. I was waiting for it to get low enough to justify it's replacement When I saw my pressures start to drop I actually removed my Edge EZ because I didn't want to continue to run it until I had higher pressure. Because it was the beginning of the summer (in Phoenix) I actually left it off for the duration of summer because it was too hot to replace my lift pump. When I brought my truck in to have a window seal replaced I talked to them about my lift pump. I explained to them that in the 100 feet that my house is away from our mailbox I could get my fuel pressure to drop to 2. 5 PSI in first gear by just barely giving it throttle. Earnhardt Dodge (in Gilbert, AZ) told me that they have a new policy that prohibits the replacement of lift pumps until the truck no longer runs!! He refused to even test my lift pump pressure! I have the receipt in my truck stating the as being the resolution to my complaint. Because of this, I have ZERO problems naming the dealership and location. This is what they told me. I didn't argue with them. Went down to the local Cummins dealer, set down my $140 and got myself a lift pump and replaced it.



I could of argued with the dealer about this... . but figured it wasn't worth it. . . and we didn't even talk about fueling boxes. With a fueling box, it would of even been worse. I don't care what anyone thinks, a Edge EZ *will not* affect a lift pump. That lift pump will flow the same amount of fuel regardless of my Edge EZ. The spec has two flow settings. What it doesn't use, it returns to the tank (if I'm putting down an additional 40hp to the rear wheels theoretically it will be returning slightly less fuel to the tank but will flow exactly the same and have exactly the same duty cycle)... now when someone is running crazy HP, this may not be the case... but in my case, it didn't make a difference... but I'm sure my "educated" dealer would have disagreed.



I make every attempt in life to give more than I receive. I also treat everyone with respect and I'm sure I was at least among the friendliest customers that sat in the service writers customer chair that day and I still got screwed! Unfortunately many are not like me. If I had a very mild fueling box in and blew a head gasket after 15k miles I can sleep at night knowing that I know 100 percent that that fueling box wasn't the cause. . . and in this situation I would consider removing the fueling box for the sole purpose of not being an excuse for a uninformed or down right lazy technician/service writer to try to "void" my warranty. Now... if I blow this same head gasket because I'm running 50lbs of boost I'm not even going to get the dealer involved... I'll cruise down to the local Cummins distributor and buy a head gasket and either have them put it on, or put it on myself... even if the said engine has only 15k miles... because I KNOW I caused the problem.



Now in a gray area... let's say I was running 40lbs of boost... I would still not even consider going to the dealer... but unfortunately I'm sure there are others that won't... but that's life... on one hand you have crooked dealers making uneducated excuses, and on the other you have crooked consumers taking advantage of the system...



Almost completely off subject, I used to own a '99 Ford Expedition. It had a wierd idle since I had purchased it. Once the window stopped going up and down properly I brought it in and had them look at the very very slightly rough idle. When I got the vehicle back, the technician came out with the service writer and was extremely confrontational and asked why engine was held against the governor for several seconds... in which this may of caused engine problems. . . further more, he said that he noted this under my VIN number for any future claims. He said that this was recorded in the computer. I asked the guy why the heck I would do this to my new vehicle and explained no one else has ever drove this vehicle... To make a long story short, the service writer completely brushed off the technician and apologized that he was so confrontational and said it wouldn't be part of the "permanent" record... To this day, I don't know if the note is in Ford's system somewhere...

 

[Blue2002]

Right on. I also agree that just because someone has modified thier truck, that does not mean the modification caused the rod failure.

I would find it hard to believe an EDGE EZ itself would cause a rod failure. How about a failed oil cooling nozzle? Improperly torqued rod bolt? Seems that sometimes people are to quick to jump on a modification as the cause. Heck, maybe we need to void your warranty because of that wintergreen air freshener hanging on your mirror????

:--).

Or maybe some techs should learn to diagnose the failure and the root cause instead of pointing fingers! I also replaced my lift pump at my own expense because my original lift pump pressure was low (5psi). I felt buying the part from cummins was less hassle than trying to get my original dealer to deal with the issue. I I did not feel like ruining a VP44 to prove I might be right. (and yes this was before I placed an Edge EZ on my truck)