Hi all,

New to this forum, although I've browsed it a few times in the past looking for advice on random issues with my pickup.

I have an '06 Ram 1500 Big Horn edition with 110k miles. I've had it for about 3.5 years now, and have had a few issues but nothing that has been a game changer to this point. One problem I'm currently having is that my RPM gauge seems to be out of whack. Ad idle and at cruising speeds it is reading lower than I would expect, and lower than what I'm sure is accurate. We're talking about just barely above 0 at idle, and about 1000-1200 at 70mph cruising. The truck sounds fine and seems fine as far as power and fuel economy compared to what I've seen since buying it. It's had regular maintenance including a tranny overhaul about 9 months ago. The only thing that I know I'm behind on is getting my plugs swapped out, as these have about 50k miles on them.

My questions are basically what do you think would be causing my RPM problem, and then also how serious is it? I have read some older threads referencing getting the cluster replaced, but that seemed to be more for when the RPM's were up and down and bouncing all over. Mine are just consistently reading low on the gauge. The follow up is how serious of a problem do you think it is if the engine seems to be running fine and there has been no loss in power or MPG? The power is all still there when I step on it and need it, and my fuel economy hasn't changed at all both in traffic and on the highway.

Thanks for any feedback.

Zach

 

I would be tempted to plug a scanner into it, and see what the PCM thinks RPM's are. If the PCM has the right numbers, and it's just the tach that is lying.... Might be a cluster issue....

Post up in the third gen ram section, if this is a common problem, someone else will have the fix for ya.

Welcome to DF!

 

Welcome to DF I moved your post to the 3rd gen ram section, so you don't have to do all that typing again.

 

I second "HeyYou"'s comment about plugging a scanner in to see what the PCM is reading.

That is the only way to know for sure what the issue is, if the PCM is reading that low then you might want to look into some other sensors and make sure they are working correctly.

 

Thanks, I appreciate the reply's. Any suggestions on a cash flow friendly scanner that would be adequate?
Is this likely something that can be handled by the average guy who isn't a mechanic? I've done some relatively basic hardware fixes on my truck, but I have never played around much with the electrical side, I've always paid to have it done.

 

Just get an OBD-II scanner that is able to show you "live data" and you'll be fine.

 

Thanks, I'll shop around a bit and see what I can get one for. Looks like the going rate is $250+.

 

I use a software based scanner: something like the follow
There have them that link with apps or tablets or smart phones now.
http://www.scantool.net/scan-tools/p...5-compact.html

 

You should be able to goto Autozone and get them to hook up their scanner for free, most of them use scanners that show live data.