Dodge Key

[HBarlow]

It's hard to do unfortunately. I or someone asked sag2 that question several years ago. For expertise on the Cummins engine his advice was insist on knowing if the tech is a certified Cummins tech. He said there are four levels of training and certification with level four being the most highly trained and qualified. For general Dodge platform repairs I don't know how but the odds of getting a good one are not great.

I was very fortunate to meet a good one when my first Dodge Ram was relatively new. He was a young man who worked on my truck at the dealership. I observed that he was smart and interested in learning so I cultivated a friendship with him on the spot. He's been a friend and my mechanic for about ten years now.

Try asking fellow TDR members in your state. Someone may have a friend or relative who works in a dealership or have been fortunate enough to run across a real mechanic.

I don't normally go near dealerships but for some things we have to. I drove my truck all the way across the state back in '08 or '09 to take it to TDR member Mike Mullenax to install a software upgrade. Mike works in a Dodge dealership in east Texas. A fool can screw up a lot if he doesn't perform a reflash correctly.

 

[puller]

Thanks,

I called Dodge and got them involved. now I will have to wait until Monday to see what will happen. I really like the Cummins, and the rest of the truck has not been bad.

While I was at the dealer I talked with a sales person about a 2013 Longhorn Laramie. What is the difference between the 68RFE and the Aisin transmissions.

I would like to have a 2013 but they are way to expensive for me to take on right now.



puller

 

[HBarlow]

From the driver's seat the MOPAR 68RFE and Aisin AS68xxx are both six speed automatics with double overdrive gears for fifth and sixth. They feel about the same.

All 6. 7 powered cab and chassis trucks 3500, 4500, and 5500, since day one, have had the Aisin six speed automatic while pickups have had the MOPAR unit. Aisins have been used in a limited few class 6 Freightliners as well and perhaps 100 other car and truck models. The owner of a transport company I worked for had a late '80s or early '90s FL with a huge, fancy sleeper, 12 valve Cummins, and Aisin five speed auto I drove a couple of times.

Aisins are used in all Hinos, many Toyotas, Mitsubishis, some German brands, GM, Furd, and Chrysler cars, and lots of other cars and trucks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisin_Seiki_Co. There are additional wikipedia links which list all the vehicle applications where Aisins are used. They also build manual transmissions for many vehicles.

TDR member EB has an '07 3500 C&C with over 400,000 miles, probably approaching 450k now, on the clock. His truck pulls a very large, tandem axle dual wheel gooseneck flatbed trailer hauling oilfield equipment and supplies every mile, every day, usually overloaded, and on highway as well as rough oilfield dirt and gravel roads. His Aisin has had regular oil and filter service. Nothing else.

I'm pleased with mine but it only has 120k miles on it. I think the Aisin is the best transmission Ram has ever offered.

 

[puller]

The truck is still at the dealers, however there is good news instead of the $850. 00 for a new Total integrated power module with no guarantees. The call to Dodge payed off the price now is $250. 00 with the guarantee if it does not correct the problem they will send a super tech in to find out what is wrong with no additional cost to me.



puller

 

[sag2]

Just read back through the story. If the batteries are going dead over night and it does it often the dealer (or you) should be able to find the draw. Do you know if they duplicated the draw, and if so did they pull all the fuses to see what made the draw go away? If they didn't you just wasted $250, and Chrysler wasted another $600. Finding draws is far from rocket science as long as you can duplicate it.

 

[puller]

I would agree with you 100 %, but the batteries do not drain every night. There have been times that it goes 3 to 4 days in a row that everything is normal, then all of the sudden dead batteries. Hard to find a problem like this.



puller

 

[HBarlow]

Puller,

How are you able to determine the current draw is intermittent? It may just take three or four days before the truck batteries are low enough to be unable to start the truck.

If you pull battery cables and insert a multimeter set on current (amps) between one red post and the pos battery cable you will be able to immediately determine if you have parasitic current draw. Pulling fuses, one by one with the ohmeter attached will identify the current draw.

Our trucks draw a small milli-amp current while parked to maintain station presets and clock times, perhaps other loads I am not aware of. That is normal but normally won't drag the starting batteries down in three or four days.

You could have one or more bad batteries, even if they are fairly new.

 

[puller]

Well we got the truck back today. Guess what new Total Integrated Power Module in place. DEAD batteries at the dealer. Good news no charge. bad news I have to leave for Florida so I will have to utilize that cutoff switches until we get back then it is back to the shop to throw more parts it the problem.





puller

 

[JLeake]

First question to ask directly of the service people is how many people are Cummins certified technicians do you have employed and what level are they, and may I see there certifications please? Then I would get the Mopar regional support people on the line with the dealership's service people explain the situation in detail and work out an approach to get the problem resolved with you getting regular updates. In my view they are simply tossing parts at is, and that is why Mopar wants only certified Cummins mechanics working on them. I can tell you a horror story of a Dakota for 12 years that intermittently died, finally the ECM died, problem went away with a different ECM, after 200,000 miles and 20 years.

The newer the vehicle the more it is a mechanical computerized contraption that has to talk to "mama" occasionally or it goes nuts. Lots of benefits from computerized control, etc, HOWEVER some of it is just nonsense as far as I am concerned. For instance, if you take a ECM from a Chrysler Corp car off the shelf that has never been used you can power up the ECM and motor and reuse the ECM. However, if you power up the ECM in a car, immediately the car burns the VIN number in the ECM (or something like that), and it is no longer any good on any other car. Apparently the reason behind it according to those I know, is "theft deterent", inquiring minds question that.

 

[puller]

Well the problem continues, back to the dealer and now they want to replace the ECM, at a cost of $2000. 00.



I have contacted the Mopar Regional people and they tell me that if they can they will have a regional tech stop by the dealer and assist them. This is really getting expensive. Many more parts and it would be cheaper to buy a new truck.



puller