Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
The ever re-occuring VP-44 subject in another thread reminded me of 2 incidents I have had with my truck, and I wonder if any other late 2nd generation, manual transmission truck owners have seen this.
I have been slowed down when RV towing in the hills by traffic and road conditions, and so involved watching vehicles around me, that I wasn't noticing that my RPM's had dropped too low to properly maintain speed or accellerate - even tho' I still had the pedal down trying to gain speed as conditions improved.
The truck eventually gave a "hiccup" - or momentarily cut out, bur immediately resumed proper operation, and of course, I realized my RPM was too far down, so downshifted, and all was normal - except for a "check engine" light on the instrument panel, and a P0216 code that went away after a few routine engine starts.
The last such incident was nearly 2 years ago - NO further incidents (OR lugging by the driver!) and no codes or poor engine operation at ANY time.
Anyone else ever done that, and got similar results with the CE light and resulting code?
My theory is that the ECM sees the RPM and accellerator position, and matches that with the failure for the engine to gain RPM, and assumes a problem with the injection pump and sets the code and CE warning - perhaps a normal result of lugging for any extended period of time?
Dunno if this would be a possible circumstance only with specific year trucks, depending on varying ECM programming for various years - so it might require another '02, manual transmission truck to get a meaningful comparison - I'm not concerned about this, or worried about my VP - just curious as to whether others might have had the same experience, and if my theory is accurate...
Any help?
I have been slowed down when RV towing in the hills by traffic and road conditions, and so involved watching vehicles around me, that I wasn't noticing that my RPM's had dropped too low to properly maintain speed or accellerate - even tho' I still had the pedal down trying to gain speed as conditions improved.
The truck eventually gave a "hiccup" - or momentarily cut out, bur immediately resumed proper operation, and of course, I realized my RPM was too far down, so downshifted, and all was normal - except for a "check engine" light on the instrument panel, and a P0216 code that went away after a few routine engine starts.
The last such incident was nearly 2 years ago - NO further incidents (OR lugging by the driver!) and no codes or poor engine operation at ANY time.
Anyone else ever done that, and got similar results with the CE light and resulting code?
My theory is that the ECM sees the RPM and accellerator position, and matches that with the failure for the engine to gain RPM, and assumes a problem with the injection pump and sets the code and CE warning - perhaps a normal result of lugging for any extended period of time?
Dunno if this would be a possible circumstance only with specific year trucks, depending on varying ECM programming for various years - so it might require another '02, manual transmission truck to get a meaningful comparison - I'm not concerned about this, or worried about my VP - just curious as to whether others might have had the same experience, and if my theory is accurate...
Any help?
