Hi all. I'm hoping someone here can shed some light on a problem I'm having with my 01 Durango. First, it will not start and idle in the morning. Cranks fine, but will not run if your foot is not on the gas. If you have 15 extra minutes or so to fool with it, and are able to get it up to normal operating temp, it will start and run fine for the rest of the day. Until the next morning....

We've replaced the TPS sensor, didn't help. The battery checks out fine.

Also, I'm not sure if this is related to the problem or not, but the check engine light is on, giving a code of P0601 - Internal Control Module. I've read some posts, and it seems that this could be the Powertrain Control Module? Does this sound right?

Of course, the PCM is not covered under my warranty.....so I'm hoping it is something else. We've only had this car about 6 weeks (after wanting a Durango for years), and I'm hoping I didn't get screwed, but it's sure looking that way.

 

MG:


First off, is your battery the oem unit, or is it more than 4 years old??? These Durangos are VERY sensitive to a battery that is not 100%. if your battery is not newer that 4 years, or is oem, I would change it on principle.

Now, if your battery is ok, take a look in the owners manual in the warranty section. I think your PCM may be covered for 8yr/80k as an emissions piece.

However, I would still be thinking battery until you have properly discounted that aveneue. FYI, there have been several folks who have had their battery "good" tested at the local auto parts place. Then proceeded to spend much time and uneeded bucks on things such as starters amd alternators.

Although pcms do go bad sometimes, from what I have read the 98-00 D's seemed to have that more than the 01 and up.

Good Luck .. Don

 

Thanks, Don!

Unfortunately, my Durango has 82 K miles on it. SoI would be out of luck in regards to the 8 yr/80k warranty.

I'm not sure of the age of the battery, like I said, we've only had it 6 weeks. What is OEM if you don't mind me asking???? Sorry, might be a stupid question.

I would LOVE for the problem to be the battery, so I will definitely try that first.

Is it strange that it only does this in the morning?

 

I would suggest new plugs at the very least. I bet the previous owner did not do a tune up on it at 60k miles and it is giving you grief now. Pull the old plugs and check the gap, it should be at .040. Also the only plugs you want to put in there are are the OEM (BTW that is Original Equipment Manufacturer) Champions or Autolites (What size is your engine and we can tell you the right model #). I would also go with a quality rotor, cap, and wires either OEM, MSD, or Accel. If you go with crap in any of these departments you will get a poor running D, especially at idle. One more big no-no is that you do NOT want to put platinum plugs in the D. I actually had problems keeping my engine running cold when I put Bosch triple plat's in as soon as I got Champions the thing just smoothed right out.

 

Thanks guys! I appreciate your help. We'll try battery and plugs and see if it takes care of it.

Would this also causethe error code? Or is that something I should check in to?

 

You can spot that the batter is OEM because it will have the MOPAR labelling on it. Plus, the factory battery is HUGE. It may take 2 people to remove the battery or get a big guy to remove the battery if you have a bad back. I almost hurt my back pulling that monster out. It's HEAVY.

 

The battery that is in the truck right now is a Dewalt battery. So, not an OEM I'm guessing!

I guess it would make sense that during the day while running, the battery is charging.....so when the battery was tested (around 6 in the evening), they told us the battery was good. But with it sitting overnight, maybe it doesn't have enough charge the next morningto keep the truck running?????? Just grasping at straws, here.

 

I've been going nuts on all the similar problems out there that my 99Durango is having. I posted earlier with a problem starting and told how to reset the PCM. I also had the idle problem and this fixed it temporarily. Anyway it doesn't cost anything to give this a try and rule out this possibility.
I have had various symptoms on my 99. I would reset my PCM and that works for about a month. The first time D wouldn't stay idle. Second Third and Fourth time D wouldn't start. Also while under steady throttle it would sputter as if fuel starved. I checked on another forum and this is a common problem with the older D's. To reset your PCM disconnect your battery and wait, not sure how long I usually wait about an hour, then reconnect your battery and be ready for the alarm to sound as the first time I tried this I put my head through the hood. Then turn on all of your accessories such as lights, A/C on high, radio, fog lights etc., start your SUV and let idle until it has reached operating temperature, then turn off the SUV and restart.That should reset the PCM. It is not a permanent fix as I have stated, but a PCM is expensive and hard to find. My cheap butt is still shopping around.

 

Okay, so we put a brand new battery in last night - no change. Check engine light was still on, but then went off after a while. Also, the truck had a HORRIBLE miss. Could barely keep it running with your foot on the gas. Would absolutely NOT idle. We could hear the fuel pump kicking on when you turned the key, but it acted like it was starving for gas.

Now what? I'm at a loss.............

 

MG:

Sorry I did not get back sooner, but I see that plenty of other folks who hang here jumped in with some good info.
Since your D is an 01 like mine, which engine do you have??? Its either the 4.7 or 5.9. The 8th digit of your VIN will be an N for the 4.7 and a Z for the 5.9.

Do this:Turn yourIGN key on (to run not start) and off three times starting from the off position. It should end up in the RUN position at which time any trouble codes stored in the computer will display in your odometer read out as P****. Tell us the code and we can tell you what it means.

Since battery was a DeWalt, you are correct that it was not the factory unit. Did you do a PCM reset after the install?? Disonnect the negative lead, and then step on the brake pedal for a minute or so.Then reconnect and fire it up. You may get a bit of a rough idle for a few minutes, but it should smooth out as the computer relearns things. Based on your engine type and what code you see, we can lead you from there.

Don