Runaway 600

[EEngel]

Hey guys,



A fun and tad bit spooky ride home last night. Going 75mph or so up HW 35 north, just tooling along. All of a sudden the truck starts to speed up quickly and the boost gauge is pegged. Now I am at about 100mph.



Well, out of shear reaction I push the clutch in and the truck just red lines. Then out of pure stupidity I thought I would hammer on the brakes and slow it enough to shut it off. Well that really doesn't work all that well. After stomping on the pedal a few times (hard enough to kill the largest woodland animal) I finally turned the key off and let her die.



I waited for the brakes to stop smoking and then tried to restart it, the tach shot up but I shut it off right away.



I reached down and the pedal was stuck about 1/2" off the floor. Pulled it, yanked it, nothing. It was stuck really hard. Took a bar out of the box and pryed the damn thing up. Then I pressed it again and it clicked about 6 times and stayed down.



Called the road side assistance and they said they would send a tow. I was 5 miles from my dealer. They have the automatic callback system to tell you how long your wait is. When the call came it said 3 1/2 hours. I called my dealer, where the service manager told me that I had to wait for them to tow it. I asked to speak to the owner of the dealership (I already have dealt with him and he is a good guy). I told him what was going on and he said "screw that, I'll have a local tow in 20 minutes for ya". Well, there my truck sits today.



I am currently the PROUD driver of a Buick.

 

[amsoilman]

Sorry to hear you having a problem! What could it possibly be holding the throttle down? Please let us know.



Wayne

amsoilman

 

[Bertram65]

Looking at your sig could your cool down timer have somehow taken over the cruise control? Think your dealer will give you a hard time about your mods? Good luck with the dealership.

 

[EEngel]

Theory

The theory here at work is that since there is no longer a trottle cable, just a big spring and somthing like a rayostat (sp?), the spring let go.



They told me it will be in the shop at 9:30 and the will call me right away.

 

[EEngel]

Cooldown timer

Bertram65,



Trust me, all of that went through my head as I was waiting for the tow.



First I thought VA, then the timer. But after beating on the pedal and having all the clicking and grinding, I believe it's mechanical, no electrical.

 

[klenger]

Scarry. How were you able to steer the truck after you shut it down?

 

[EEngel]

Steering

Klenger,



That was my fear, and the no brakes thing. Thats why I rode the brake hard to slow before shut-down.



I just muscled the hell out of the wheel. I guess I wasn't thinking about it at the time. I had a tad bit of anger adrenalin.



Just waiting for them to call me back. I told the owner that I am very upset with this truck. I have had it in 3 time in 3 months. My 2001 was not in until 70,000 miles.



I am actually very happy with the truck, and the other 2 call were stupid ones. I am just pushing him into giving me a service contract at a good price.



I told him the turbo pegged out and now I was worried about it's longevity.

 

[klenger]

I was wondering about the steering wheel lock.



I took a written driving test once and one of the questions was what to do with a run-away engine. The correct answer was put the vehicle in neutral and drive it till you could safely stop and then shut it down. That way you have power steering and the steering wheel doesn't lock. In the case or the CTD, the ECM should be able to keep the RMP at or below redline. Glad you didn't have an accident and that you are OK.

 

[EEngel]

Tach

Klenger,



The wheel didn't lock, but the tach was at red line or around there (didn't look real close). The truck was just screaming so I just shut it off.



I joked with the service manager that if it happens again after they fix it, I will let her blow or drive it into something heavy.



I always thought if it over-reved it would shut down. I guess it just stops at a max rpm.

 

[nickleinonen]

as long as it was under 4k rpm, there should be no engine harm done, but scary as heck when that happened



... at work, i've had the pleasure of standing next to an engine doing a run check on the topdeck of the cylinders of a 16v645f3b GM emd locomotive engine. it just had a tune up done and the "rack jack" [device to hold fuel racks at proper spot for injector rack synchronizing] was still in place and the other mechanic started it up while i was up close to the right side of the engine. man that engine went from 0-1000 rpm real quick and scared the crap out of me. they have a mechanical engine overspeed shutdown system that jams the unit injectors in the down position... not something i want to experience again

 

[DLeno]

holy smokes, man, did you take your VA off? it may fuel more during the runaway than a stock truck will, but in your case I bet the ECM govenor took over and protected the engine. But they might give you a hard time about that. I always carry enough tools in my truck so that I can pull the box off. I was in just that situation with my 02 (engine died, not a runaway), and had to call the DC towing service and all of that. while I was waiting I pulled my Edge Comp off -- luckily for me I had not tapped the pump wire and my dealer is box freindly.



yea, the throttle is basically a variable resistor (rheostat) that gives the ECM throttle position information via the TPS -- throttle position sensor. There's definately some mechanical workings in there, however, the design of the pedal, its linkages and all of that. I guess you know first hand that this is a safety issue and it will probably get a lot of attention up the DC ladder. get that VA off of there. The zone rep or whatever their called may get involved. You don't know of course, but this could lead to a recall. They dont' mess around with this kind of stuff.



Get that VA off of there.



Anyway, one of the first things I do with all my vehicles, esp the truck, is to learn how to man handle it if I loose power. Drivers Ed teacher 30 years ago taught me to do that, DMV official answer notwithstanding, and I've had to put that skill to use more than once.



Yea, the official answer is to let your engine run away and blow itself up so that you have power steering and brakes longer and you have a greater chance of a short stopping distance. If they said anything else the DMV would be in legal trouble. It justs that my fear of the engine throwing internal parts into the air and possibly the cab is much greater than my fear of not being able to drive the truck with the engine off, a procedure I have rehursed before and already had to peform once on my 02. But I have to say, 100 mph on the interstate with a runaway truck, I think I'd prefer to have power brakes than to become a living missle



And even though I've driven the truck w/o the engine I've never been in a runaway situation so I really dont' know how that would feel or what I would do under that stress. yikes, that had to have been scary.



wow, what an ordeal. sure am glad you and any passengers are ok. now the fun part is how DC is going to handle this. they know if you were to have been in an accident as a result of the failure, they would be liable. I'm guessing this is going to get a lot of attention. And I'd be surprised if the mechanics of the throttle pedal are any different from the early 04's!

 

[EEngel]

VA off

Doug,



I got the VA off and the cooldown timer off before the tow truck arrived.



I will guess it will get attention after I said if it did it again, the truck would either blow or crash.



I always have the kids in the truck and I will not risk their lives because dodge saved $3 and bought a part from the lowest bidder in some country we should have leveled years ago.



I should be hearing from the dealer pretty quick here.



In fact, I think I will call them right now.



I will just chuckle if the service guy tries to start it. I did after shutdown and it rocketed again.

 

[Big_Daddy_T]

Ive been towed via a strap in vehicles that were not running. Its ok to have the engine off. It requires a lot of effort but is doable. You can get a good pump in your arms by the time you get where your going. The steering wheel doesnt lock til the last position where you can remove your keys. When I come home late I kill my truck down the street and coast in the last block or two. I hate to wake up the neighbors. Gives em something to gossip about.

Just pop it into neutral and shut her down. Ive done this going down the highway many times. My drag comp had a glitch (mine own fault not edges) and shutting it down was the only way to reset it. It didnt set codes and I was addicted to the power so I never sent it in to be fixed. I cant see this as a problem unless your in traffic or approaching a red light.



I could see where you would have clench marks on the seat though. Scary stuff.

 

[OT-OF-HERE!!]

Originally posted by EEngel

Hey guys,



A fun and tad bit spooky ride home last night. Going 75mph or so up HW 35 north, just tooling along. All of a sudden the truck starts to speed up quickly and the boost gauge is pegged. Now I am at about 100mph.



Well, out of shear reaction I push the clutch in and the truck just red lines. Then out of pure stupidity I thought I would hammer on the brakes and slow it enough to shut it off. Well that really doesn't work all that well. After stomping on the pedal a few times (hard enough to kill the largest woodland animal) I finally turned the key off and let her die.



I waited for the brakes to stop smoking and then tried to restart it, the tach shot up but I shut it off right away.



I reached down and the pedal was stuck about 1/2" off the floor. Pulled it, yanked it, nothing. It was stuck really hard. Took a bar out of the box and pryed the damn thing up. Then I pressed it again and it clicked about 6 times and stayed down.



Called the road side assistance and they said they would send a tow. I was 5 miles from my dealer. They have the automatic callback system to tell you how long your wait is. When the call came it said 3 1/2 hours. I called my dealer, where the service manager told me that I had to wait for them to tow it. I asked to speak to the owner of the dealership (I already have dealt with him and he is a good guy). I told him what was going on and he said "screw that, I'll have a local tow in 20 minutes for ya". Well, there my truck sits today.





I am currently the PROUD driver of a Buick.

EEngel

Did you get to try the VA stack b-4 this happened? If so,... how'd that go?

 

[EEngel]

STACK

OT-OF-HERE,



I didn't get a chance to stack them yet. I got the level I yesterday at work and I was on my way home to install it. They said they would call me today and let me know when I get my truck back. However, I am in Chicago until Friday, so I will have the report for you on Friday night or Saturday.

 

[EEngel]

Got the info

Well guys,



If you have a 3rd gen, start crawling under your pedal.



Doug's description :



yea, the throttle is basically a variable resistor (rheostat) that gives the ECM throttle position information via the TPS -- throttle position sensor. There's definately some mechanical workings in there, however, the design of the pedal, its linkages and all of that. I guess you know first hand that this is a safety issue and it will probably get a lot of attention up the DC ladder. get that VA off of there. The zone rep or whatever their called may get involved. You don't know of course, but this could lead to a recall. They dont' mess around with this kind of stuff.



Was correct. There is a cable that goes from the linkage to the rheostat. This cable was run in a crappy area and developed a kink. This in turn led to spring snaping and the full throttle problem.



I told them I needed my truck ASAP for the Chicago trip, so they were going to steal the part off the lot. When the tech called me back he said the other 2 trucks he looked at also had small kinks.



He is replacing those and mine.



The cable set-up is an assembly, the part # is 52010447AB. I suggest you take a look and see if you are crimped. If you are make them replace it!



This was not a fun experience and I would hate to have one of you guys with a big-a** trailer have it happen.

 

[CoastyAV8R]

Where is the rheostat located? In the cab or the engine bay? You posted some great info that may save someone's life, luckily you were able to keep your wits about ya and get it safely off the road in one piece.

 

[EEngel]

Location

CoastyAV8R,



I am not sure of the location. All he told me was that it is a short cable over the the box.



I will see the part and ask him to show me where it was.



I guess if you follow the linkage up, and follow the "short" cable... . Well, my guess is it's behind the cubby under the radio.



They said it was under an hour to replace, so I can't imagine it's hid to deep.

 

[Jeremiah]

Over-revving

For what it's worth, it's almost impossible to hurt a Cummins engine in an automotive application. The manufacturer tests them WOT for a thousand hours. They will come apart, but only beyond 4000 rpms.

 

[DLeno]

good point. its the guys with runaways caused by leaking turbochargers that have to worry. the engine diesels by itself without the ECM, with the key off, etc. now that would be scary.



I wonder if we'll see a recall notice... yikes a kinked throttle cable. that is SO BAD!