I decided to take a look inside the pcm. mabey this is my problem? It looks to me like a capacitor has gone bad, from the green stuff on it and the black all around it. Do I have any options , as far as repairing it? Ive heard of it being done, but is it worth the trouble, givin the odds that it will last? I guess I could afford one from a salvage in a week or so, but a new one is way outta my budget.

 

Does the PCM just come apart after you remove the screws ?
You could just get a new capacitor, for a few bucks, it may be worth a try. Just get the same values.

 

It doesnt pop open real easy. kind of had to pry a little, and it was sealed with some kind of epoxy or something, but I was pretty carefull not to break the board loose or damage any thing. I guess there should be some numbers on the caps, but I have no idea where to order them from. Im going to inspect the board real good with a magnify glass today too, because Im a little concerned about the black color around the cap on the board itself. I may end up purchasing the whole unit any way... but I have an obsession with trying to fix things most folks would toss out.

 

I had forgotten that a dodge 3500 is a rare thing to see in a salvage yard. Sheesh. update: I spent all day yesterday driving around Jacksonville looking for the right pcm. Seriosly, I saw thousands apon thousands of vehicles of every make, model, and year EXCEPT.. not even ONE dodge 3500. Not one. There were a few 1500's but very few. These trucks just dont die and go to the bone yard. Anyway, after hours at u-pull it's, LKQ's a bunch of private yards.. about to give up, I found a private yard that had one. But it was from a light duty 3500, where as mine is a one ton. There was one number that was off, and the computer said it was not on the list of compatible pcms, of wich there were only three. But the pin out was the same, and I decided that since every other option had been exausted, I was trying it any damn way. Besides, they were good enough to give me three days to return it, knowing there was a chance it might come back ruined. But, .. the ol girl fired right off. Like a new truck. We'll see what happens. Drove it to work today, no issues, but the check engine light came on. I'll see what thats about. Thanks for the help guys. So appreciated. What a relief to get out of my buddies lil toy and back in Big Red.

 

Read the codes, see what its whining about.

 

OK, I got one code only. Cant remember exactly what the scanner said, but it was an o2 sensor error code. The tech said it was the left bank, and behind the catilytic converter.
Soooo... do I look into replacing it? Or could it be the result of that one number differance between the old pcm and this one?

 

The sensors behind the cat just monitor cat efficiency. Do you actually have cats? Or are they hollow?

 

they were actually cut out before I bought the truck.

 

That's probably what it's whining about then.

 

Time for the non-fouler trick or a new cat