Service electronic throttle control / EGR tune

[fcolella]

Hi everybody. I love my 2006 Yamaha FJR and am starting to have hard feelings towards the electronics on my truck. The engine runs great and gives me great service, but... here is my story.

My 2016 Ecodiesel Ram 1500 has 75K and gave a check engine last month and when I brought it to the dealership, they got a code and said it could be 15 different things (They say they won't give me the list because it's «internal Chrysler information»... ). They started with a fuel filter change + code checking that cost me a whooping $360! And, told me the fuel filter should be changed every oil change. They sent me on my way telling me to come back if the check engine went back on.

Can you see this coming? The check engine did comeback on. I just kept driving the truck, which was doing fine until last week when the red lightning bolt went on (Service electronic throttle). It all still worked fine so I kept driving the truck and went on a 150K trip yesterday. On the way back, the truck went into limp mode. Now, I feel the bottomless spiral of dealership nightmare pulling at me.

I suspect these issues are related to the anti pollution system which dumps an obscene amount of soot in the airlflow. I cleaned the MAP sensor which was totally clogged and had a look inside the Throttle body and found it was pretty oily. But I can't erase the code without the dealership to see if the problem is fixed.

I will get it to the dealership to see what they say.
Any thoughts about my issue and about tuning the the Bowl of Spaghetti (BS) EGR out of the system.Thanks

 

[jcj1576]

The first thing I would do is do buy an OBD reset tool. This will save you time and money taking the truck to the dealer every time the SETC comes up. Unfortunately, with the age and mileage on your truck and the fact you are not running a tune, it is very likely you will continue seeing this message for various (unexplained and unfixed) reasons. This is the one I bought and it was relatively cheap and has been reliable. There are much more expensive models out there depending on what capabilities you want.

OBD scan/reset tool

The second question is whether you opted in to the AEM class action lawsuit. If you did, is your truck up to date on the open recalls (VB1, VA7, W58)? If you didn't opt in, there should be at least one open recall (W68).

Once you have the recalls completed, I would investigate getting a tune for the truck. There are several threads on here about this topic, and Sofa King and Green Diesel Engineering (GDE) are a couple of the most popular. I am running the non-compliant (pre- April 2020) GDE engine and transmission tune, and it is fantastic. It essentially turns off the EGR and prevents your intake from filling full of soot, coke, and oil. This tune not only keeps the engine running cleaner (increased longevity), it also provides very significant performance improvements.

The third thing I would recommend, based on the expertise of others on the site, is to remove all of the thick foam that lies on top of the valve covers on both sides of the engine. You should also remove the insulated metal cover from the high pressure fuel pump on the front of the motor. These steps will increase longevity by decreasing heat build up that ruins wiring and causes hoses to fail in difficult to reach areas.

 

[fcolella]

The first thing I would do is do buy an OBD reset tool. This will save you time and money taking the truck to the dealer every time the SETC comes up. Unfortunately, with the age and mileage on your truck and the fact you are not running a tune, it is very likely you will continue seeing this message for various (unexplained and unfixed) reasons. This is the one I bought and it was relatively cheap and has been reliable. There are much more expensive models out there depending on what capabilities you want.

OBD scan/reset tool

The second question is whether you opted in to the AEM class action lawsuit. If you did, is your truck up to date on the open recalls (VB1, VA7, W58)? If you didn't opt in, there should be at least one open recall (W68).

Once you have the recalls completed, I would investigate getting a tune for the truck. There are several threads on here about this topic, and Sofa King and Green Diesel Engineering (GDE) are a couple of the most popular. I am running the non-compliant (pre- April 2020) GDE engine and transmission tune, and it is fantastic. It essentially turns off the EGR and prevents your intake from filling full of soot, coke, and oil. This tune not only keeps the engine running cleaner (increased longevity), it also provides very significant performance improvements.

The third thing I would recommend, based on the expertise of others on the site, is to remove all of the thick foam that lies on top of the valve covers on both sides of the engine. You should also remove the insulated metal cover from the high pressure fuel pump on the front of the motor. These steps will increase longevity by decreasing heat build up that ruins wiring and causes hoses to fail in difficult to reach areas.

Thanks for the info.
As far as I know, the truck is up to date on recalls. Just had one done for the EGR.
Will any OBD scan/reset tool will do? Can you recommend one? The dealership told me I needed to go to them to reset the codes...
I'm looking into getting the EGR removal job done. Found someone who does that an hour away from my home.
Foam job is easy to do.
Thanks again, I'll give an update.

 

[jcj1576]

Thanks for the info.
As far as I know, the truck is up to date on recalls. Just had one done for the EGR.
Will any OBD scan/reset tool will do? Can you recommend one? The dealership told me I needed to go to them to reset the codes...
I'm looking into getting the EGR removal job done. Found someone who does that an hour away from my home.
Foam job is easy to do.
Thanks again, I'll give an update.

You're welcome and there is a link in my response above (OBD scan/reset tool) to the tool I bought. It was like $100 on Amazon.

 

[fcolella]

You're welcome and there is a link in my response above (OBD scan/reset tool) to the tool I bought. It was like $100 on Amazon.

Will definitely get a OBDscan/reset tool and save ridiculously expensive surprises at the dealership.
Just took an appointment to have the truck tuned (stage 2), found a shop in town. It will bypass the EGR system but leave the original muffler in with the DPF removed.
I'll run it like that and see if I will go with a transmission tune after that.
I'm also thinking of installing an oil catch can to eliminate oil fumes from entering the air flow. The Throttle body is all lined up with oil, which, if I got it right, mixes with the soot and creates this gunk in the air manifold and intake ports. Not too pretty.
It is also my understanding that the soot trickles down into the engine oil and acts as an abrasive on the engine parts.
This system is evil! That's what happens when you get educated, you find out what they don't tell you in the sales pitch... or at the service dpt.

 

[My 12th DSL]

My 2014 did a similar thing. I was changing fuel filters every 2 months and then it went into limp mode. The dealership reset and said the ordered the EGR that was recalled. They had no idea when it would be available so i shopped for a delete. Found Lightspeed Innovations in Red Deer, AB. Wish I had done the delete when I first bought the truck.
HD Diesel in Winnipeg also has a good delete I hear.
BTW - dealership called 7 months later saying the EGR was in.

 

[fcolella]

My 2014 did a similar thing. I was changing fuel filters every 2 months and then it went into limp mode. The dealership reset and said the ordered the EGR that was recalled. They had no idea when it would be available so i shopped for a delete. Found Lightspeed Innovations in Red Deer, AB. Wish I had done the delete when I first bought the truck.
HD Diesel in Winnipeg also has a good delete I hear.
BTW - dealership called 7 months later saying the EGR was in.

What kind of delete did you do and what are the results? Are you satisfied?

 

[My 12th DSL]

My truck now has 297,000km and runs great. I had a complete EGR removal and DEF delete done by LightSpeed. Cost CA$2200. Improved my average fuel consumption from 11.3 to 9.8L/100km. I pull a 26ft RV that weighs 6300lbs with no issue and get 16-18L/100km when pulling it. The only thing is that the exhaust has that diesel smell same as the old '92 Cummins I had. And NO codes since doing it last August.

 

[fcolella]

Had the EGR removal and new tune on april 21... truck runs wonderfully! however, When I stop at a light otherwise, the cabin fills with exhaust smell. Brought it to the shop twice and he can't figure it out. Any ideas?

 

[Tremper126]

I get the same issue. I think it’s the boot off the turbo turning down into the pipe. Or the gasket is bad. I resisted my gasket, I think I should have gotten a new one. Also I didn’t know the correct torque spec for the v band clamp so that could be a culprit too

 

[fcolella]

I get the same issue. I think it’s the boot off the turbo turning down into the pipe. Or the gasket is bad. I resisted my gasket, I think I should have gotten a new one. Also I didn’t know the correct torque spec for the v band clamp so that could be a culprit too

Thanks for the comment. I understand you're in the middle of resolving the issue. Please let me know how you resolve it. I'll follow up myself if I find the solution.