Have you tried disconnecting the battery? Have you consulted the manual? (you know the book thats brand new in your glove box)

 

Pull the "PCM" fuse. I think it's 19, but I'm definitely NOT sure. Get in the truck, close the door and fasten your seatbelt (this is to get the chime to shut up). Turn the key on. You'll get various chimes and lights will come on and go off. After all that settles down (30 sec. or so), turn the key off. Reconnect the fuse (make sure you put it back where it was!!!!), and drive. If it doesn't start DON'T PANIC! You probably just put the fuse in the wrong slot.

 

Ok thanks i'll try that. I did disconnect the battery like i said above.. nothing happened. I read the owners manual when i got the truck but dont recall anything about resetting the computer in there. I doubt Dodge wants people screwing around with their electrical systems anyway.

Why would a SWB get worse mileage? The only thing hurting me is the 4x4 which is part time anyway.

 

What do you expect it to do? Engines are not run on Windows; they don't need scheduled reboots. There's no "gas mileage" flag in the code that'll get set to "good" after a restart.

The ECM is constantly adapting, thousands of times a second. Clearing it simply sets everything to "average" and it'll start correcting itself to the exact state it's in now.

If you want to improve mileage I'd start with a good tuneup. I get 9.5 mpg in town and I know exactly why -- I love the gas pedal, and I've got 55k on the stock plugs & wires. I haven't checked the EGR valve yet. There are a lot of little things to bring back into shape.

 

Change the plugs is the only suggestion I have. However, I would imagine 12mpg is pretty good around town with a 4x4 seeings how my 4x2 averages between 12 - 13 in town. It's a cold hard fact that all us Ram owners eventually have to deal with, some of us understand right away, and others it takes some getting used to, however we all get crappy gas mileage (even the guys that SWEAR they're getting over 20mpg in their Hemi's, please)

It takes a lot of power to push your 6,000 lb beast around, the power is produced by burning gasoline, sorry...

And don't feel like you're getting raped just because you bought a Ram. I have a friend with a new Tundra averaging about 14mpg 50/50 city/highway. I've got another friend with a new F150 averaging 13mpg 30/70 city highway. I average about 17mpg with 20/80 city/highway driving. If you want a full size truck, you pay to fill that full size tank...

 

You are correct -- Dodge would rather you didn't fool with that stuff. Your 4x4 might be part time, but the extra weight is full-time.

 

Very true.

You can always get an Edge Programmer. The Economy mode really helps you get about 1 - 2 mpg more. Exhaust and intake help a tiny tiny bit.

 

To reset the computer you need to disconnect the battery for about 15 minutes should do it. Then your computer will be in re-learn mode. While it's in re-learn mode it will burn a little more fuel. (Your mpg will go down). To see if your truck is still in re-learn mode, turm the key to on and wait about 10 seconds. If the check engine light starts to flash then you are still in re-learn mode. If it stays solid then it is in normal mode.

 

Thanks for the experienced advice. I disco'd my battery for a while today and the CEL blinks. Tommorow i'll start taking it easy to help the ECU learn my elderly style

 

I have a 1999 Dodge Stratus & yesterday when I shut if off & immediately restarted the car my air bag light stayed on. Not thinking anything of it & in a hurry to get where I was going I noticed no wipers, no blinkers, no dash lights, no power windows, no radio. When I got to where I needed to go I shut off the car just hoping it would restart. My 19 year old grandson was along (mechanically mind} told me to turn the key off & on quickly 5 times in a row. I did this & all things went back to normal. He also said that one could disconnect the battery too & it would reset the computer. His parents are long haul truckers with a new semi & every so once in awhile they have to do this. I am just wondering if my computer is going out since this has never happened before & the car has 144000 miles on it.