Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) ECM Cold Start High Idle Question

[TowPro]

I am picking up a 2002 tomorrow, Is the cold idle feature I read about in the TSB turned on from the factory?



I did give the TSB to the sales guy and told him to have the tech turn the feature on (I even highlighted the steps to turn it on).



I figure that when they hook up the ODB tool, they might update the flash if needed as well.

 

[RonaldLarson]

Your

'02 should already have it, but you were very wise to request verification! Make sure it appears on a "due bill" before you close the deal.

Ron

 

[TowPro]

Well they said "we turned it on for you". Last night it was 30 deg, ram was stone cold (I don't drive it to work). I started truck, no high idle after 2 minutes.



This morning it was 25 deg. No high idle after 2 minutes. Guess they screwed this up as well. I have an appointment for an alignment Saturday morning so I may have them look at this as well.

 

[Hillbilly Hotrodder]

High Idle feature

My 02 doesn't have it activated either. I think I'm gonna live without it rather than trust those yokels to work on my truck. Besides, it doesn't get that cold here in Texas anyway

 

[dartos]

I picked up my 02 2 months ago. The high idle is not turned on from the factory due to EPA stuff. The stealer where I bought it did the flash and it works.

NOTE: The high idle starts to work about 10 degrees colder out side air temperature than advertised.

When three cylinders shut down man what a sweet diesel sound, Wake the entire neighborhood!

 

[Newf Limo]

Just to be clear, There is no Flash/Re-Flash to do. A flash or a re-flash is a software change or replacement. Think of it like this, You buy a home computer and it is all set up. You want to have a screensaver though. It is already in there, just go to control panel-setings and select which one, BUT, here is where the service tech may (and has) screwed up... . on your PC you hit APPLY then OK. The Service tech goes to, I believe it to be under systems then three cylinder idle ENABLE But he/she MUST SAVE THE SETTINGS! There is a specific proceedure for enabling the setting and getting back out of the menu and to the exit prompt. If it is done wrong, it goes back to the default setting. Oh, He can change your speedometer setting while he is in there if you went to large tires, but only to 265's. Good Luck!

 

[Amianthus]

Newf, just to be doubly clear, there IS a flash that HAS to be done if you have a 2000 or older ISB. These trucks (engines) did not come from the factory with this program in the ECM. SO, no, it's not just a matter of turning it on in the ECM. Not for some of us anyway. Just to be clear.



And you can fool your PCM into whatever size tire you're running. You need to know two things before you try though. First, how many revolutions per mile your tires have. And second, how many teeth your sounding ring has on it in the rear axle ring gear. Betwixt these two numbers you can program in any tire size you want. You'll have to fudge them a little within the parameters of the software, but it can be done.

 

[Newf Limo]

Not being one to start trouble. . . You could say I got it from the horses mouth at STAR. It is in the PCM for all 98. 5 CTD Rams and newer. It must be enabled. It will Say 3 Cylinder Idle Enable/Disable. Select then save it etc. etc.



The pcm has a max tire size setting that reflects a tire of about 265. There is no fooling it with the DRB III at the dealer. You must use another product, like the one Rickson sells. The DRB III has no other tire size "options" in it, other than revs. per mile with a max allowable input that reflects a 265 tire size. It does not allow you to manipulate settings. You may want to check with the Tech.

 

[Amianthus]

Sorry dude. I gotta call you on this one. My ECM did not have the software in it and it needed the re-flash to get it. I was standing there when he did it. I was also the one to point out that the function must be enabled using the DRB. It's under option 3 (pretty sure) of the engine menu. It's listed under the misc menu.

As for the tire size thingy, I have to call you wrong again. My dealership tech and I, sat at my truck for an hour with one of their DRB-III scan tools. You are correct that there are limited sizes to pick from. Mine only allowed two sizes to pick from. 245/65 R-16 and 245/65 R-16 (don't know why) and no others. However, if you select an "other" Dana axle option, you can program the PCM to allow any tire size. But then you run into another problem, your tire must turn more than 644 (I think) Rev's per mile. If not, then you must change the number of teeth the PCM thinks the ring gear has. Hence, if the ring gear has 200 teeth (couldn't find the actual number anywhere) but you tell the PCM it has 180 teeth, you will see a 10% increase in speed. I think the stock ring has 120 teeth, but we couldn't find it anywhere. So we were left to guess when we re-programmed my truck.

Nothing personal towards you, but this is what we (I) did on my truck.

 

[Newf Limo]

You Win!