Pcm bad? P0606

[Figor]

My 2005 Dodge Cummins 4x4 5 speed just seriously lost power and is smoking black smoke heavy. These are the o ly symptoms. It starts fine, idles fine, isnt missing that i can hear. I am getting abs brake idiot lights but no CEL. I checked codes and got a P0606 which is an ecm code.

I was wondering if anything might trigger that code before i buy an expensive pcm and find out thats not the issue. Would bad injectors, FCA or pressure relief valve trigger a p0606?

i did have the code cleared 3 times and it immediately comes back.
Oreilly s has a good price on pcms but my reference# ends in AL and they cant find a pcm with that designation. I guess i have some oddball configuration. My truck just has manual windows and seats plus its a manual transmission. I reckon not too many models made without all the bells and whistles.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Ozymandias]

Please do a proper diagnosis first before throwing parts at it. ECMs fail very rarely and most of the time it is a wiring problem that triggers codes.
You need either DRBIII, wiTech or Autoenginuity to do the diagnostics.

 

[Figor]

How user friendly are those things you mention? Are they readily available or are they some type of dealer tools? I really hate to go to the dealer. I dont trust them. I dont trust the skill level, competency or honesty. Id rather watch a youtube video of how to fix something and try it myself. Im sure the result would be the same or better.

I took the truck to oreillys and their scanner just said the same thing my dash said. I had them remove the code and it came right back.

Unfortunately there arent any diesel specialty shops in this area. There is one and they only work on ford and chevy. Hes the one that said remove the code and see if it comes back to verify its a valid code.

 

[Jim W]

Here is the Autoenginuity tool from Amazon link. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=autoengi...=c&hvqmt=e&tag=tdr1-20&ref=pd_sl_4ary45l1b9_e

You will need to filter the page by model year of truck and make. You will than be able to see which one you will need.

 

[Figor]

Thanks for the link. I dont see the auto ingenuity there. Besides the ones there showing are pretty expensive.

I found a video on youtube showing that 90% of the failures are a $6 zenor diode in the pcm. I think ill pull it and have a look. Worse case scenario is thats not the issue and ill seal it back up and put it back on.

 

[Ozymandias]

Its 500$, and you buy it from factory, not from Amazon.
www.autoenginuity.com

 

[Figor]

Well i took it to the stealership. They said its a bad pcm . They said its no longer available through Dodge. They also said its an oddball. It has an AL designation on the last two leters on the engine number and one cannot be located. It looks like rebuilding repair is the only option.

 

[CharlesHoward]

My dealer told me the same thing. Auto Computer Specialists did ok by me after many months with a REMAN.... they now have my bad Cummins core witch may be repaired by now if you want a theoretical "plug and play".... They also do repairs of course.

 

[Figor]

I ended up going to Oriellys. They have an agreement with Dayco to send pcu's in for repair. The manager didnt know how much but he said buying a replacement from them is $450. He thinks a repair is similarly priced. They also could not find a replacement that matched my numbers.

Im a little leary about sending this off but it looks like my only choice. I guess if it gets lost im putting a 12 valve in.

 

[cerberusiam]

Pull the numbers off the ECM and find one the range you have, the ESN will just route them down a rat hole. You cna usually score a used ECM off of Ebay for $500 or less but unless you buy with the programming service it will need programmed to your VIN. Give them your VIN and they will load the correct flash.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2005-DODGE...=11158193502251b58013d91e4479990db1b8a66ceb04

 

[Figor]

I ended up sending it to SIA for repair. It was recommended by Cummins. $250 for the repair. It should arrive back soon. Ill update how it works out. I was on the verge of putting a 12 valve in. I hate the computer crap... At least i can work on a 12 valve.

I still have my 97 and I haven't ruled out selling the 05 but I really like the 4 door.

 

[Figor]

Well that was a fail. They said the processor is fried and cant be repaired. Back to square one...

 

[cerberusiam]

Ebay time, $700 on that link I posted. Beats $2400 plus programming for a new one. I bought a used from those guys for $500, ran a Smarty VIN recovery file, problem solved.

 

[Figor]

What is this smarty vin recovery file you speak of?

 

[cerberusiam]

Same thing you would get by buying an ECM programmed to your VIN number. The engine OS is pretty standard on these ECM's, the differences in engine management are all in the tables and variables loaded plus the PCM functionality and that is all tracked by VIN number. What it means is you can take any ECM in a range of numbers for a VIN, flash it with the files that are particular to that VIN and it functions on your truck. You can make a manual ECM work on a auto truck and vice versa by just flashing the correct files by VIN.

Since the 03-05 trucks had something like 6 revisions in the space of 3 years you have to get the correct range of ECM revision numbers to match the functionality in your truck. You can put an newer revision in an older truck but not the other way around because memory locations and such are not there.

I had a spare 04 ECM that was not in the range for my 05 so we flashed it with the recovery file for my VIN. Everything worked I could think of to test EXCEPT the throttle. The difference between the engine mounted APPS and the firewall mounted APPS is a memory address that doesn't exist in the older ECM's. Required the correct range of ECM version.

 

[Figor]

Id like to have a smarty but i know nothing about them so id probably do more harm then good.