Even if the chip is not causing the problem, leave it out until the problem is fixed. Either way, I don't recommend ever reinstalling it.

 

I'm currently out here in NY state working a year long contract so, I'm not 3500 miles away as you thought.

I don't work for beer though....lol


Now, to answer some questions:

Q. 1: Magnecor ignition wires: I have them routed like a racing engine- TSB routing method is not necessary. The sole purpose / reason WHY that TSB was put out in the first place was to alleviate induction cross fire due to cheap Mopar Ignition wires and due to the change in raw materials used in the MFR of ignition wires in general. Someone found a way to mass produce them by the thousands and, for CHEAP. That was the big push that drove the change in materials and design.

The rule of thumb that I still practice is the use of good wire looms and to keep the coil wire away from any sensor based reference signal that ties into the EFI system. This is especially noticeable if you're running a capacitor based discharge ignition system to where, the voltage running through the coil wire is 45kV or greater. You want to keep that wire away from the EFI system as well as the other wires away from all sensor harnesses when using Mopar or lesser grade wiring.

If the wire has superb dielectric properties, this ensures minimum leakage thus, not affecting any of the EFI components however, I'm still stuck in old-school mode and still practice that old habit of neatly routing them away from EFI components as a belt and suspenders mentality.

Yes, I use them and, I can attest to that, under harsh conditions (towing over the Rocky Mountains, high altitude, WOT, low speed rpms uphill, etc) I've NEVER had ONE misfire and, that's on the same set of Mags from Cali to NY and back along with a trip to Oregon from So Cal to, back out to Boston with commuting from Beantown down to NY for work all in the same year. These wires are just the absolute best funking wires that I've yet to come across- period. They have been removed many times to adjust gap, check the cap and at time of adjusting spark plug gap and, time after time, no issues after removal and reinstalling either. Other wires fuse to the plug insulator over time and are a bear to remove- not these. Of course, I handle them the proper way and don't yank the crap out of them either so, it's all in the handling.

Invest ONCE and, you can forget about the need to replace them so long as you handle them with care as one is expected to with any wiring.

Q2: INJECTOR VOLTAGE: the voltage TO the fuel injectors is ~ 12V if memory serves me correct. These are not to be confused with the five or eight volt supply / source found internal to the PCM. The source for the fuel injectors are common to the ASD relay and FUEL PUMP CKT which is, apx. 12 volts. The grounds are controlled via PCM and, source is always present with engine running. I don't have my schematics to reference here at work at the moment but, I'm pretty sure this is what source is derived based on my memory. I may be in error but, I'm almost certain this to be true. As for voltage varying- voltage does not vary. It's an <ON> / <OFF> state in a pulse mode over time in the x-axis. The only change is in duration of time thus, shorter time yields leaner and, longer time yields richer. Voltage remains constant or, at least, it should under normal operational conditions.

Heads: I highly recommend Edlebrock RPM heads if money is of no concern. I've spoken to Dave Hughes ahd Kevin at H-engines about them and, he informed me that they perform better than what they (Hughes Engines) offers. But, there's also some other heads out there for a lot less that are fine too so, the choice is up to you and what you feel comfortable with in the end. I am merely offering up a suggestion to check out RPM heads.

I would also steer clear of the OEM style rockers and go with Sharps or, similar quality. And, on that note, REPLACE THE LIFTERS WHILE YOU'RE AT IT! Those OEM lifters should be changed out with high quality lifters or, at least, new OEM lifters while you've got the intake and heads already off. That is the time to do it.

CM

 

Finally a little sense of humor out of old CM

 

Sorry I've been away for so long life keeps you real busy.
The truck is still misfiring on cylinder four and its worse during cold start up. (I messed with the plug routing to re-route to spec (TSB) (or to make sure NO wires are crossing or touching )) and the darn truck had the nerve to fire off a P300 and P304 :|, I made sure all the wires weren't frayed or touching hot spots..made sure they are all firmly plugged in the dizzy and there proper cylinder. However it still misses on that cylinder..i went to advance pulled those codes..deleted them...went to dinner..fired it back up and driving back home it popped a CEL again lol..no scanner and not running my truck 40 mins to a scanner lol (Love Rural PA! XD).
I'm going to put your advise to good use cmckenna; however I hear i'm getting a $230 scanner for christmas that does almost everything+ a bit more than the stealership can . I'm going to run through the 20 or so parameters you can monitor + live data feed. If i can't narrow it down or fix it with this guy, I'm selling the truck lol!! Actron CP9580; I won't post any links, I don't want to be any troubles to the forum.
The truck currently sits and gets run a few miles everyweek to keep everything refreshed and not allow anything decay or break while sitting. I'm currently running the eco-car which was running worse than the dodge..is now running near perfect and the truck is running like **** lol XD. This will change though if we get major weather changes..even with the misfire.
As soon as I can get ahold of that scanner (which will get put to good use ), I will see what the base lines are on this Ram and run the live data feed and it does have a USB connection so I will post all my results on here and I hope cmckenna or someone can lead me into positive fixable (on a budget) solution .
I hope ya'll had a good turkey day and happy hunting!

I will repost when I have more information to bring to the table

Cheers,
DodgeRAmPower

 

Hit it with an AXE!!!

 

Something is out of whack here. The hand held tool that they / I have used was 6700.00 JUST for the hand held diagnostic and reprogramming tool. That does not account for the software and hardware package that is bundled with that hand held tool. The SNAP-ON hand held tool (multiple vehicle use) is 8800.00 and, those are not bundled with any software or hardware / firmware package.

But, again, to summarize, something with the dealership is OUT OF WHACK. It may be a case of this particular dealership is out in the hicks or, it has a very low budget therefore, does not possess the tools in discussion. But, I'm going to tell you something, that little 230.00 hand held tool is nothing more than a code reader with a 2-ch data logger. Which model are you looking at and, who makes it? If it's being bought / purchased at a local auto parts store- it's not going to be of good quality. Those have had many issues to where, failing displays or, missing characters to, failure under use over temp ranges etc etc. I would really be careful of which unit you buy. Just do some research in regards to reliability and functionality. Some of those data loggers are completely useless and, the amount of time they record along with the interval of capture do not provide enough information.

Now, I would also like to point out another fact of the matter in this case. If, this is a mechanical related issue, that hand held tool is not going to be of much use.

You see, the tool is really looking at the data and parameters inside the PCM which, is nothing more than a standard code reader with a 2-ch data logger.

In any electronic control system, if one or more of the sensors are out of whack, you get results on the code reader. If it's mechanical, or, it's a failure at the plug level, ignition level or, it's a fuel pump related failure or, if it's a clogged air filter, the results will appear to be normal. This is just a general overview of what to expect when using this type of scan tool. One still has to trouble shoot down to component level to find / determine root cause for failure.

Now, since you've got a CEL on, all that means is that the misfire is frequent enough to register a fault code. In this particular system, the amount of tolerance (number of misfires) is set to allow a fair number of misfires before writing the fault code to memory thus triggering the CEL to illuminate.

I can't go back and re-read from the beginning at current but, I also seem to recall something about swapping injectors around and, that did not alleviate the problem.

I also recall mentioning to you (at least my memory thinks I did) about CHECKING the wiring harness for the GAP to INJECTOR contact blade for a SLOPPY FIT.

WAS THIS DONE? Y/N maybe? Again, my apologies if I've mistaken this thread from another thread for, again, I seem to recall having listed out the possible failure modes and, one of those failures was a sloppy harness fit at the injector level. If you haven't done so already, you really should make an effort to get out a pair of calipers and run a thickness check on the contacts. Then, compare that to the gap of the injector harness blade contacts by the use of feeler gauges until you've measured the interference. By design, there's an interference designed into that harness and, if it's sloppy, there's your misfire right there.

What about the audible ear test? This involves the use of a pry-bar to injector case to handle to ear. Listen for steady tick, tick...in perfect sequence and timed intervals over time. If the results are erratic ticking, you've got possible injector problem. If you've swap injectors and results are same- you've got an issue at the harness level or, WORSE- the ground for that injector may be dropping out due to either, a bad injector driver or, a continuity / connection issue at either ground or, on a positive note, the B+ to No 4 injector is intermittently dropping out.

Again, please forgive me if I've never provided you with this information prior. But, if my memory serves me correct, I'm quite confident that I did, at one point in time, provide you with this information before on how to trouble shoot it down to rooting out the failure to a system level.

You may have a vacuum leak at the O-ring at the No 4 intake port thus, running that cylinder lean. Unmonitored air enters the chamber and, there's not one thing that will correct this nor, will the hand held tool detect this condition either. But, I do know a method to verify this condition or not and, that is by the use of a small diameter fuel line coupled to your ear and the other end at the O-ring to intake interface. IF it's hissing, it's allowing unmonitored air to enter that chamber. If it's not hissing, it may be fine. Now, during cold conditions, (depending on WHAT material the O-ring is made out of) it will be MUCH worse at cold vs. hot. Reason: the compliance of said seal may be too high shore rating, may shrink excessively at cold temps and, it also may be under-sized thus, not creating a seal while cold and, upon reaching a hot level, the injector and the O-ring expands faster than the port I.D. thus creating a decent seal. However, after complete warm up, the intake I.D. will expand to which, again, it may open back up.

Now, if it's mechanical, once again, this will be rooted at the spark plug level, head and / or valve-train level, or, lifter / component level.

Since you've verified the routing of ignition wires- we rule / factor that out. I believe you. However, have you measured the resistance of the No 4 ignition wire from point to point? Have you run a FLEX-TEST while measuring resistance on said ignition wire?

What is a flex test? While under OHM test- place one hand at one end, and, with the other, WALK UP the cable fist size at a time while flexing the cable hard left and hard right to 90 degrees. While under test, note any drop-outs in the reading. If it drops out- the cable is the root cause for failure. If the OHM reading is erratic or goes up while testing- the cable has an issue and should be replaced.

Last test to run would be a pull test while under test. While under OHM test, secure one end in a clamp / vice (don't squash the end) and gently pull on the cable. While under test, note any drop-outs in the reading.

I would start with all that prior to buying a scan tool unless; you have your heart set on buying one. Just my recommendations.

CM

 

Thank you all for all the great information especially cmckenna.

I finally gave up and took it too my mechanic this morning.
He calls me back about 2 hours later and said the compression on cylinder four is almost none. Then he proceeded to do a leak-down test..any takers where it came out?
Bad exhaust valve (burned).

So my christmas just got crushed.

Questions:
Where can i get decent cylinder heads (a pair not singles)? - I saw a pair of heads from hughes-engines for $850 - $425 a head is not bad I guess.
What is all involved in a cylinder head job? What will needed to be ordered? What do the new replacement cylinder heads come with?

My mechanic said that its a long probably rough job depending on the old cylinder head conditions @ $50 an hour so 6-12 hour job easily? I don't have any experience on internals so professionally is the only way for now till I can get time to learn how to engines internally..right now i'm working 7 days straight with 2 short days off..rinse and repeat XD.

Depending on the total cost on this build, I want to look at headers..because I hear you have to break them free to get the cylinder heads off..so why not replace the headers while in there? lol XD. I can dream lol

For the mean-time i'm unplugging cylinder four's fuel injector harness and running on 7 cylinders for now.

Appreciate the help from ya'll.

Have a Merry Christmas if I don't post back between now and then.
-DodgeRAmPower

 

Clearwater Cylinder Heads has replacement heads for about 270 a whack. They come fully assembled, and are better castings than the stock units. (thicker deck surface.)

There was another thread on this topic, where the member found rebuilt heads for under 200 a piece, but, I wouldn't go that route, unless money was a real issue.

Doing heads is a fun job..... if you are mechanically inclined, have the time (which, apparently, you do not....) and a nice warm place to work, it really isn't that bad of an experience. The exhaust manifolds do have to come off for this evolution, so, if you wanted to do shortie headers, it would be a perfect opportunity. Long tubes would require more work. (modifying the exhaust.....)

 

Hey guys!

Some good news..tax return came in and i have finally ordered 2 heads for clearwater cylinder heads in florida (270 a whack XD) and the shipping to PA isn't that bad for 128 lbs of metal LOL!!

Ok so far i have ordered:
Two cylinder heads
Fel Pro Complete Severe Duty headgasket/engine gasket set (every darn gasket you need..LOL).
2 sets of Head studs/bolts
JBA Cat4ward shorty stainless steel headers !!!

Do i need anything else for this rebuild? besides 5-6 quarts oil, filter, and a couple gallons of 50/50 antifreeze?

Do these clearwater heads come fully built for direct replacement? do i need push rods, springs, or anything? or once everything arrives its all ready for transplantation? !!

I hope this truck is one mean S.O.A.B. (son of a b.tch) after all this !!

I hope this solves all my problems..stupid magnum heads..too bad the block is nearly bulletproof..dodge got something right lol!!

Well I hope you all are doing well and appreciate any advice/concerns from ya'll. (I hope i don't need anything else lol..my refund will be nearly spent after this XD)
-DodgeRAmPower

 

Now, you need to take the amount of your refund and divide it by 12. That number is how much money you're overpaying each month in taxes that you could be using for other priorities. Adjust your withholding so that you come closer to a $0 refund for next year. I'd rather owe $200 than receive $2000.