Heads up on Power Pup

[RFergy]

This is my first post since joining in April. Have been lurking T. D. R. for about a year and sure have learned alot. What a great source of information. Anyway, got the Power Pup & Outlook Monitor. Couldn't wait to try it. Loaded the performance program and went for a spin. The advertised 90 HP from this program should have given my truck an additional 30%. But to be honest with you I didn't really notice much of a gain. Didn't have time to try the extreme program last night so reloaded the stock program. A few months ago i had the dealer flash my truck with TSB #18-004-04 (poor cab heat) which allows you to control the idle using the cruise control buttons. This morning I went out to warm up my truck before work and found that the TSB flash has been erased by the Power Pup. Maybe this is an isolated incident, but I kind of doubt it. I am concerned for you folks with the 600's that have had the flash for poor fuel mileage. How will you know if it's gone or not? Guess I have to face the music and go back to the dealer and have it reloaded. :{my sig. didnt show up my truck is an 04 305 555 Im returning the power pup tonight.

 

[Gypsyman]

Looks like these downloaders are gonna need some shaking out time just like all the others. Sorry to hear of your problems. Hope it all works out for you...



Richard

 

[DIESELMAN]

ibnast - The PowerPup isn't to blame here. It records an image of the program in NVRAM so that you can restore the stock program later. The ECM has its own non volatile RAM, part of it is to store the FLASH, or operating program, the brains of the whole thing, and part of the memory is to store program variables, things like codes, setpoints and switches and events.



The High Idle feature is one of these memory items.



When the dealer flashes the ECM, he loads a program into the ECM that has the ability to do an Idle-Up. He then has to ENABLE the feature. When the Power Pup saves your program, it saves the ECM program, including the feature, but the setting, as well as number of starts and stored codes and the like, are cleared as a part of the flash program.



I'll bet the feature just needs to be re-enabled, but it is there in the stock program, BullyDog will have to say what version they modified to say whether it has the feature in their version, and even if it does, you will need DRBIII, misc features, high idle feature, enable performed by the dealer.



Each program may use different memory locations for different variables, and if the ECM did not clear these, they may not mean the same thing to a new program, and may even cause malfunctions.



The same would be for the Mileage correction TSB, when the Power Pup saves the program, it will restore the same program later, but its own programs know nothing about, and gain nothing from, the flash upgrade by the dealer, it is simply saved and an entirely new image is loaded in its place.



What we need from BullyDog, is for them to be mindful of these changes, and when useful, meaningful or necessary to properly integrate operational changes to the ECM, integrate these changes into their image files, and hopefully offer updates via the web and USB connection on the box. And get rid of the 2000 RPM flat spot in my Performance program, or give us much more tourque rise (tourqe increases with decreasing RPM) at highway speed RPM range for towing, hint, hint. How about DRBIII features... . hint, hint.



Then again, maybe not.

 

[Gypsyman]

How bad is the flat spot?

 

[DIESELMAN]

Its not, I just know its there.

 

[Fuzzy Bear]

How bad is the flat spot?

On my 03 in the extreme mode its very noticeable. Trying to get a good launch and just as its getting to a good point to upshift, it just falls flat. It happens right around 2100rpm and does not seem to recover til around 2100rpm. Not a good spot when you're trying to get that edge when taking off from a stop. On a positive note, it also causes the turbo to slow down, so with all that fuel pouring in and little boost, it sure can fog an intersection :-laf Perhaps its suppose to be that way to protect those with auto trannys? Seems like that would be an appropriate spot for it to slack off and not pound the transmission so hard when upshifting. I would like it changed though so its constant power all the way through.

 

[lmills]

... . and hopefully offer updates via the web and USB connection on the box

That's what they did with the duramax guys. Gave them the tuner with a highest setting of 90 hp then came back with an updated program that the could download for a 120 hp program

 

[LightmanE300]

Lets see here, so it wipes out the tsb updates we've gotten, and wipes out the security features of the SKIM key. Arghh. . Just when you think someone has done their homework and released a great product, these side issues keep popping up. I sure hope this edge juice comes out (whenever it comes out) without bugs, I know a lot of us wanting performance upgrades are waiting and waiting for something reliable!

 

[FDavid]

I have an early 03 and the powerpup works incredibly on my truck. No flat spots and pulls very smoothly all the way to 3200 rpms. Very, Very noticible difference from stock. At 70 mph on a damp road at 3/4 throttle it broke the rear tires loose and almost sent me in a ditch. I came to a stop, put it in 4wd and spun all 4 tires about 50 feet. My truck now smokes more than my 97 with a 0 plate slid all the way forward. After the past few days of fun with this thing I cannot go more than half throttle now without slipping the clutch pretty bad. BTW have it stacked with EZ. I am very impressed with bullydog to say the least.



Rumor has it in the next month or so, they will be uploading a 4K rpm feature on the web that we can download into the powerpups and then unto our trucks

 

[DIESELMAN]

Lightman - It is reliable, and they aren't bugs, thats just the way it works. You can't meld code, you can only replace it. But it is software, and it is a better program than the factory ECM, I'm sure they will incorporate the performance mapping into the newer Flash programs and release them later... ... . As for the SKIM key, its a really weak way to cobble up your truck and does nothing to prevent someone from stealing it anyway, it only stops the idiots and causes the owner headaches and costs more for the keys.



... . And I've been hearing about the attitude/juice for 03's for how long??

 

[vagabond]

I seem to have a thick head when it comes to this. Am I to understand that my milage flash will be erased? I am not worried about things having to be enabled. If it wipes out the flash for milage I am sure Dodge would have a lot of questions for me if I took it in to have it re done. Please help my brain to absorb the answers. (a big task I know. ) Thank you Tommie

 

[travisch]

I had the -037 milage flash done before I bought a Power Pup and when I go back to stock settings the overhead is now way off (54 mpg). I had dodge re-flash again and they said the truck had reverted to and an older flash. Truck was also throwing a P0602 code. The company I bought it from is sending me another power pup to try but I'm convinced that it does not save/restore your exact settings.

 

[vagabond]

Ouch, Didn't Dodge have questions about it? Did they seem puzzled why it reverted to a older flash? Is the overhead still off after the reflash? Sorry for so many questions but I am expecting mine any day now and don't want to put it in if there are problems. Travisch thank you very much for your response.



Tommie

 

[travisch]

No questions asked. The overhead is back to the way it was after flash-037 and the mileage is back up about 1. 5 mpg. I was happy with the power increase of the power pup but if it won't go back to stock as advertised then I don't want it. Bullydog told me that the code P0602 the truck was throwing was a problem between the PCM & ECM and wasn't related to the Power Pup. I beg to differ - it never threw this code before I used the Power Pup and its not throwing it since the last Dodge flash. Could be a bad Power Pup but they didn't offer to replace it. The place I bought it from is sending me another one to try.

 

[JEly]

I just loaded the insane mode today and this thing really rocks..... alot of difference between the performance and insane modes. I will say I did throw the P0602 code when I loaded the performance mode and after I loaded the insane I cycled the key three times and no codes... ..... not even the P0602... ... ... . so I'm not sure if I'm checking the right way or I just got lucky. My truck hasnt had any flashes done to it but it did have the rev's corrected for the 315's so I'm wondering if that will be still the same.



JIM

 

[Tomeygun]

Lightman - ... ... . As for the SKIM key, its a really weak way to cobble up your truck and does nothing to prevent someone from stealing it anyway, it only stops the idiots and causes the owner headaches and costs more for the keys.



... . And I've been hearing about the attitude/juice for 03's for how long??

This is little off subject, but the SKIM DOES do something from someone stealing my truck, IT DOES NOT START when they go to steal it!



I don't believe most people have the coder to create the correct freqency to bypass the system... Then again I could be wrong, I speak from experience from my town.....



More on the subject though, I know if this DL'er effectively disables an option i paid money for, Than i will wouold be happy... The only way is to test it is with a non-skim key that was cut for your truck... If it starts and runs after DL'ing the BD program (with the non-skim grey key)... then that sinks

 

[DIESELMAN]

Tommy - Got a downloader and 8 minutes and I can steal your truck, no key needed.

 

[RFergy]

Now theres an interesting angle great tool for thieves just download to disable security key and it makes for a faster get away too. LOL :-laf

 

[Tomeygun]

Tommy - Got a downloader and 8 minutes and I can steal your truck, no key needed.

(i assume you mean the Bullydog DL'er)



Has it been proven that the system is defeated with the new Bullydog downloader ... . OR is it just throwing the code???



BECAUSE i have the P0633 code on my truck, but the key does its job, NO grey programmed key, no start, even with the P0633 code set



Has anyone tryed a regular key on a sentry-equipped truck, after the download??



(it is kinda funny though, So the thief breaks the window, takes the Bullydog DL'er and Dl's the extreme program, and the rips out the cylinder and starts truck with no bull from the now-defeated sentry key system... AND PLUS has the horsepower to REALLY run from cops, HA!!)

 

[DIESELMAN]

Tommy - no, I meant DRB, but hmmm. That wouldn't be good either. Actually I assume that since the ECM doesn't have the SKIM code, it wouldn't know whether a match existed and therefore wouldn't defeat the run, I'm not really 100% sure though. As for the column, break the column lock and snip the wires on the loom, much neater than breaking the column, though slower. Just like connecting a remote starter.



As for the original flash save, thats how it was explained by BD to me, but, I am going to set up a bug to watch and see if the ECM is actually saved, or if only the VIN/ID is saved to keep us from having puppies. Interesting.



As for enabled features, these are cleared as part of the flash process and still require a DRB to reset.