electronic throttle control light comes on

[mules4me]

09 w/23,000 miles and the light comes on and sometimes engine will not idle clear down. once had no throttle response. Is this a take it to dealer for repair or any suggestions

 

[RVTRKN]

Is it under warranty? Sounds like the TPS is faulty.

 

[bigblock_doc]

Finally someone else. I've had a dead pedal, jerking at speed, crazy downshifting. Had to dealer five times and no codes are set.
But last night the red indicator came on while stopped at a light. Went off when the light went green. Two days ago going
60mph in 5th gear (auto) pedal was totally dead going down a hill and the exhaust brake was on also. Stood on it a it
finally downshifted. Dealer has replaced the APPS, but that didn't work. Away from home right now. It never has broke down
yet, but not trusting it 100%. Mine is 2012, 59,000 miles. It started when they reflased for the EGR. They are stumped.
I say fix it or keep it.

 

[RVTRKN]

Sounds like a ECM issue, it was explained to me that the flashes can not be interrupted or corrupted files can happen and the ECM has to be replaced. Thats how they found a weak battery on my truck, its the first thing they check because low voltage can cause issues like I described. He just left a charger on the system until flash was done, just in case. Good luck with the repair.

 

[Jim W]

I had the electronic throttle control light turn on a couple of times. This was during the winter of 07-08 the lightning bolt would never come on when the ambient air temperature was above 50F. Mainly would come on under hard acceleration and cold weather operation. I had a couple of other CELS and these where P061A and P2262 also. I took the truck to the dealer for these issues and the dealer drill and cleaned the turbo under the following two TSB's; 08 11-001-08 and 11-002-08. I deleted the truck before I had any other issues with the emission controls; have run trouble free since mid 08.

I thought the J35 flash was to resolve all of these emission control issues have you had that done to your truck yet?

Jim W.

 

[Bob4x4]

With every flash there will be changes,some good some not so much. The ECM flash can be interrupted and still be fine in most cases. Battery voltage is important enough that if batt voltage is low you can not continue without over riding the warning message.
I would ask if your dealer checked the egr flow control valve for correct function

 

[DBithell]

first thing I'd try is disconnect the batteries, clean the terminals, and reconnect. had the lightening bolt a couple summers ago on my '08. swore the terminals were tight. bought battery cleaning kit, felt pads all that and noticed one was just every so slightly loose. no more lighting bolt. the no throttle response once could have been during a regen.
some act like going to the dealer is such an easy thing - it's a pain.

 

[Bob4x4]

Regen doesn't kill throttle input.....

 

[Bob4x4]

Lol-working on a truck with something like 6k possible dtc's is a pain

 

[DBithell]

Regen doesn't kill throttle input.....

depends on what you're doing. if running/working it hard - it can.

 

[bigblock_doc]

Still away from home. Now today, (also has happend twice before), hit a bump going at speed about 65mph, foot in the gas pedal, just cruising and
the exhaust brake came on. Lasted about three seconds, left foot on pedal and jake slowed truck down then it downshifted and off it went.
There is a gremlin in the truck. Will take to dealer when I get home. To me it seems like the computor. Its just not trustworthy, I drive alot of
miles a year, kinda, 55,000. Warranty will probably be off by the end of the year.

 

[bigblock_doc]

Took it back to the dealer and they said a brake light switch threw a code. It didn't so up on the dash. Replaced switch, wiggled, wet, and test drove it
for three days. Got it back and guess what, hit a bump, going over an overpass, and dead pedal with the exhaust break coming on.
Asked to trade it in and they would only give me $30,000 on a trade. Worth almost less than 1/2 of what I paid for it. No resale value here. They are
stumped as I. There seems to be no one else with this problem. No write ups with Ram.

 

[BDW]

I'm not a diesel mechanic, but have been an aircraft mechanic for a few decades now. I have run across this same gremlin in aircraft on several occasions. You have a weak/bad connection somewhere. If you can figure out the electrical path of your common failures, it could possibly be narrowed down to one connection point. Unfortunately you are limited to the info the OEM will give out, so you may be stuck with the dealer. Write a journal of all your symptoms no matter how insignificant they may seem and find a competent mechanic. Your truck can be fixed, your just need to feed the right info to the right mechanic... ... ...



Is Mike Mullenax still on here? if so maybe he can help.

 

[HBarlow]

Mike hasn't posted in a long time but I'm sure he's still around and available but the dealership where he works is in East Texas, not very convenient to Michigan.

I agree with the thought that the problem is being caused by a loose or faulty electrical connection or ground. Many dealer techs these days can only troubleshoot with a computer set of instructions to follow. Old and experienced real mechanics are not common in a lot of dealer service departments.

I would start with battery connections then the ECM. You might get lucky looking around pulling and pushing on components with a bright flashlight in hand. The new trucks are incredibly complicated so something like a bad but erratic taillight bulb blinking off could possibly cause a problem like that. I'm not saying that is the cause but that sort of seemingly unconnected and unrelated small problem could be responsible.

 

[HBarlow]

I'm not a diesel mechanic, but have been an aircraft mechanic for a few decades now. I have run across this same gremlin in aircraft on several occasions. You have a weak/bad connection somewhere. If you can figure out the electrical path of your common failures, it could possibly be narrowed down to one connection point. Unfortunately you are limited to the info the OEM will give out, so you may be stuck with the dealer. Write a journal of all your symptoms no matter how insignificant they may seem and find a competent mechanic. Your truck can be fixed, your just need to feed the right info to the right mechanic... ... ...

Is Mike Mullenax still on here? if so maybe he can help.

Cumby, TX! I didn't know anyone lived in Cumby. I lived in Suffering Springs for 3 1/2 years while attending TX A&M Commerce in the late 80s - early 90s. I loved the big beautiful lakes in the area.

 

[bigblock_doc]

In a Freightliner right now. But you are right, service manager said they only get paid a certain amount. If they can't seem find the problem, then they quit.
But if something leads them in some direction then they can ask for more time. But... ... they claim a lot but I don't see anthing they claim has been done.
Being in the repair and prototype for 40yrs, still I'm not the best at the all the computor stuff.
Anyone know a good repair in the Detroit area?

 

[BDW]

I live about 10 minutes from the college. Cooper lake wasn't in yet at that time was it?

 

[HBarlow]

Brian,

I am aware of Cooper Lake but can't remember ever seeing it. I think it was being built when I left in May 1992 but not sure.

I bought a 16. 5 foot inboard/outboard when we lived there and enjoyed taking it out to Lake Cypress Springs a lot. Sometimes when I was overwhelmed with preparation for a series of exams in a two day period I would take my books and pull the boat out to the lake. I could find a lot of serenity out there drifting in a shady cove. I miss the lakes but not the hot humid summers.

 

[mros2stf]

I have a 2014 Ram 3500 Dually, with Cummins Diesel, and have taken it to the dealer about 4 times so far for the Service Electronic Throttle Control issue. They replaced the throttle assembly last week on Monday, then on Friday running 70mph with cruise on, it did it again! OMG! How many times do you have to take a vehicle in under warranty for the same issue before they just replace the vehicle. This is ridiculous.

 

[ddogusmc]

How do you start a new topic on this forum. Thx