Question1998 Dodge Ram 5.9 litre. My truck has 115,000 miles on it and has been running on synthetic oil since new. Recently I have had a couple of issues crop up on my truck. I've noticed that my truck was starting to run rough so I changed the distributor cap/button, replaced the original leads with bosch life time leads and cleaned the K&N airfilter. The engine started to run nice and smooth again and the plugs were only a year old so they were good. I then noticed that my engine was pinging when under load towing a 5th wheel trailer. I was using high octane gas in my truck for the last two tanks knowing I would be towing so that shouldn't be a problem. The truck never has had any issue with this before and I had no idea I had any issue. I was surprised when I only got about 15 minutes down the road when it started pinging lightly and became worse until the eng light came on. The engine showed #8 cyl firing incorrectly. I have been running bosch platnium since I bought the truck and had no issues. I ended up changing 2 plugs and the pinging kind of improved some what but it basically ended up with me doing throttle control and down shifting to prevent the engine from working too hard. The pinging has continued to get worse, it now happens without towing and the engine has since started to idle very erratically to the point where I thought the truck was going to stall. When this erratic idle hits the truck it is misfiring badly and it happens erratically as well. Along with all of this has come a loss of power off the line. The motor really starts to pull once the rpm are up above 3,000 rpm but lack till then. I experienced the poor power before with a motor that had a worn cam shaft that's behaving the same way but this has happened suddenly so I don't beleive it's that. I have read up and don't beleive reflashing the chip is going to help. I work on electronics for a living and enjoy repairing my own vehicle. I don't beleive it'll cure this issue and from what I have read, it's only retarding the timing so that it won't ping and will further reduce power. What I have found for the pinging is someone has found that there distributor gear was badly worn out and when they replaced it his problem went away. I'm beginning to wonder if I have one or two issues. If it's one problem then I'm thinking the coil could be failing. Other than that I'm not sure what to tackle. Do I have a fuel injector problem, fuel pressure or pump issue, catalitic flow issue?? There are no current codes and the only code to come up was the one for #8 cyl misfire. Anything you could do to help me I would greatly appreciate it. I have just moved and don't have or know of any trust worth mechanics in the area and I really prefer to work on my own vehicles. I have give you a lot of info so that you can understand what is happening. Hope it wasn't too long. thank-you again for any help you can provide.
AnswerTHIS BULLETIN SUPERSEDES TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN 18-05-00 REV E,
DATED SEPTEMBER 01, 2000, WHICH SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM YOUR FILES.
ALL REVISIONS ARE HIGHLIGHTED WITH **ASTERISKS** AND INCLUDE AN
EMISSIONS PACKAGE UPDATE TO THE TABLE.
SUBJECT:
1998 Model Year Engine Spark Knock
OVERVIEW:
This bulletin involves selectively erasing and reprogramming the Powertrain Control
Module (PCM) with new software (calibration level 98Cal12 and 98Cal12C)
MODELS:
1998 (AB) Ram Van
1998 (AN) Dakota
1998 (BR/BE) Ram Truck
1998 (DN) Durango
1998 (XJ) Cherokee
NOTE: THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A GASOLINE
ENGINE. SEE THE TABLE BELOW FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION.
VEHICLE ENGINE TRANSMISSION EMISSIONS CD RELEASE
AB 3.9L / 5.2L A3 / A4 Fed and Calif Use 2064
AB 5.9L A4 Federal Only Use 2064
AN 2.5L / 3.9L A4 / M5 Fed and Calif Use 2064
**AN** 5.2L A4 / M5 Fed and Calif Use 2067
BR/BE 3.9L / 5.2L A4 / M5 Fed and Calif Use 2064
BR/BE 5.9L A4 Federal Only Use 2064
BR/BE 5.9L M5 Fed and Calif Use 2064
DN 5.2L / 5.9L A4 Fed and Calif Use 2064
XJ 4.0L A4 Fed and Calif Use 2064
Legend: A3 = 3 spd auto A4 = 4 spd auto M5 = 5 spd manual
SYMPTOM/CONDITION:
Some vehicle engines may exhibit a light-to-moderate spark knock condition during
acceleration (under load).
DIAGNOSIS:
1. Verify that the following NOTE(S) have been reviewed and completed as necessary.
2. Verify that the engine coolant contains the correct mixture of a quality antifreeze to
water. The coolant mixture should consist of 44% to 68% antifreeze.
This bulletin is supplied as technical information only and is not an authorization for repair. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of DaimlerChrysler Corporation.
18-05-00 Rev F -2-
3. If the only condition seen is the light-to-moderate engine spark knock, perform the
Repair Procedure.
NOTE: VERIFY THAT TSB 18-48-98 HAS BEEN COMPLETED.
NOTE: THIS FEATURE WILL NOT COMPENSATE FOR HEAVY SPARK KNOCK
CONDITIONS. IF HEAVY KNOCK IS EXPERIENCED, FURTHER DIAGNOSIS
AND TESTING WILL BE REQUIRED. REFER TO TSB 09-05-00 FOR
ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.
NOTE: WHEN PULLING A HEAVY LOAD OR DRIVING A FULLY LOADED VEHICLE
USE A PREMIUM UNLEADED FUEL TO HELP MINIMIZE SPARK KNOCK.
NOTE: WHENEVER A POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE IS REPLACED DUE TO
FAILURE, THE SOFTWARE OF THE REPLACEMENT CONTROLLER MUST
BE VERIFIED FOR THE LATEST REVISION LEVEL. USE THE FLASH
PROCEDURE TO UPDATE REPLACED CONTROLLERS AS NECESSARY.
PARTS REQUIRED:
1 04669020 Label, Authorized Software Update
1 04275086 Label, Authorized Modification
EQUIPMENT REQUIRED:
1 CH6000 Scan Tool (DRB IIIÒ)
1 CH7035 General Purpose Interface Bus Cable (GPIB)
1 CH7000/7001 J1962 Cable
1 MDS2
NOTE: THE MDS2 AND DRB IIIÒ ARE REQUIRED TO PERFORM PART OF THIS
REPAIR. WHEN USING THE MDS2 AND THE DRB IIIÒ, THE SYSTEM MUST
BE OPERATING AT CIS CD 2064 OR HIGHER (SEE TABLE ON PAGE ONE).
REPAIR PROCEDURE:
1. Log onto the MDS2 system.
2. Connect the MDS2 and DRB IIIÒ to the vehicle and switch the ignition key to “ON”.
NOTE: AUTO CONNECTION WILL OCCUR ONCE THE DRB IIIÒ, MDS2, AND
VEHICLE ESTABLISH COMMUNICATION. THE “CANNOT READ VIN FROM
DRB IIIÒ” MESSAGE (ON THE MDS2) WILL BE REPLACED BY THE
VEHICLE VIN. PRESS THE “OK” BUTTON ON THE MDS2 TO REQUEST A
MDS2 SESSION FOR THE VEHICLE VIN INDICATED. PRESS THE “OK”
BUTTON WHEN ASKED TO BEGIN SESSION.
3. Select the FLASH tab on the MDS2.
4. Select READ PART NUMBERS FROM VEHICLE and click SHOW UPDATES on the
MDS2. Press the “OK” button.
-3- 18-05-00 Rev F
NOTE: A MESSAGE MAY APPEAR (AFTER STEP 3 OR 4) THAT INDICATES NO
UPDATES ARE AVAILABLE. IF THIS OCCURS, MAKE SURE YOUR
DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT IS OPERATING AT THE LATEST SOFTWARE
LEVEL AS LISTED EARLIER IN THIS BULLETIN. IF THE LATEST
SOFTWARE IS INSTALLED, AND NO UPDATES ARE AVAILABLE,
ANOTHER VEHICLE CONDITION EXISTS THAT WILL REQUIRE FURTHER
INVESTIGATION.
5. Select the new software part number with the light pen and click UPDATE
CONTROLLER SOFTWARE.
6. The MDS2 and DRB IIIÒ will prompt for any operator action needed during the
remainder of the reprogramming process.
NOTE: DUE TO THE PCM REPROGRAMMING PROCEDURE, A DTC MAY BE SET
IN OTHER MODULES (TCM, BCM, MIC, SKIM, ETC.) WITHIN THE VEHICLE,
IF SO EQUIPPED. SOME DTC’S MAY CAUSE THE MIL TO ILLUMINATE.
ALL DTC’S RELATE TO A LOSS OF COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE
MODULE THAT IS BEING REPROGRAMMED. CHECK ALL MODULES,
RECORD THE FAULTS, AND ERASE THESE FAULTS PRIOR TO
RETURNING THE VEHICLE TO THE CUSTOMER. ERASE ANY FAULTS IN
THE PCM ONLY AFTER ALL OTHER MODULES HAVE HAD THEIR FAULTS
ERASED.
NOTE: THE FOLLOWING STEPS ARE REQUIRED BY LAW.
7. Type the necessary information on the “Authorized Software Update Label” p/n
04669020 (Figure 1). Attach the label to the JTEC PCM and cover the label with the
clear plastic overlay
FIGURE 1
________________________
18-05-00 Rev F -4-
8. Type the necessary information on the “Authorized Modification Label” p/n 04275086
and attach the label near the VECI label (Figure 2).
1
1
2 3 4
1 – CONTROL MODULE PART NUMBER (INSERT NEW P/N HERE).
2 - CHANGE AUTHORI T Y : T S B XX-XX-XX
3 - DEALER CODE: XXXXX
4 - D A T E : XX-XX-XX
FIGURE 2
POLICY: Reimbursable within the provisions of the warranty.
TIME ALLOWANCE:
Labor Operation No:
08-19-44-92 (Reprogram PCM) ………………………………….……..………. 0.5 Hrs.
FAILURE CODE: FM – Flash Module
