If it says software upgrade, thats it. End of story

 

pretty sure thats the death flash... to be more exact you can look up the TSB and it gives more info... dodgeram.org good site on detailed TSB's and recalls



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My sticker on my computer isnt like the one posted above in the attachments. Its just another barcode sticker, its got 2 different barcodes on it. But, knowing my luck, its still probably got the death flash

 

please forgive my ignorance and dont jump all over me...but what the hell is "death flash". from what im reading, a computer "upgrade" to fix a problem that doesnt allow much power from take off? I noticed my 97 takes off like a damn turtle...cant spin the tires at all even with the brake pushed...?????????????

 

yeah i dont really know to much about it either.. i have a manual so i cant really tell at take-off.. but i know its sluggish at low rpm's

 

The "death flash" is a program put into the pcms at the factory that reduced engine timing advance and some other stuff ( I ain't an engineer, just tellin ya what I read) . I guess the original pcm's were too "hot" and they had a "pinging"/ detonation problem. So they basically detuned the engine to get rid of the ping instead of finding and fixing the real problem. My opinion. I ordered a Hypertech programmer to help mine out, don't have it yet so I can't tell you what it does. Go to the thread "2 1/2 vs. 2 1/4 exhaust" there is info on the programmer and one guys sucess with it in that thread.....

 

The PCM upgrade is know on here and other forums as the "Death Flash". It is a so called upgrade to the PCM to fix the pinging problems that come with a number of Dodge motors.... just search PING or Death Flash on here and you will be reading forever.
Once you get the "death flash" the ping usually goes away BUT you will find you have hardly any power and the MPG's usually go down too.

Dave

 

so.. would getting rid of the death flash.. for example using the hypertech programmer.. will the pinging come back???

 

The return of the pinging from using the programmer seems to be unclear. Some people claim that as soon as they use the programmer, their pinging problem either returns or gets worse than it currently is. Others (like myself) have had no pinging problem using the programmer. The pinging could also be a result of a plenum problem, so it is a good idea to take a look down the tb and see if there is any signs of a problem. I will tell you that I personally have not had any pinging problems since I put the programmer on my truck. I just make sure that I use the proper grade gas for the program I am running.

 

Just because you pcm has an update sticker on it doesn't mean you have the bad "death flash" it depends on what the part number on the controller is and when it had it's last software update (flash)
I think the "death flash" was introduced in early 2001. so if it hasn't been updated since then it still should be ok. There is no way to go back to the old factory programming if you have it unless you can reprogram with an aftermarket device. (hyper-tech, EFI Live etc)