Driving on '09 RAM that I've had for about a year with 90000 miles on it. A few week s ago while driving on an unimproved road, I got a P0038 code and a check engine light- complaining about an O2 sensor. This eventually cleared itself up after a couple of days. After that, when the first real cold days of winter hit, I started getting the dreaded Electronic Throttle Controller warning - flashing lightning bolt. It was fairly inconsistent- sometimes I would get this error, and sometimes I could drive for a couple of days with no problem. I could usually get this to go away by turning off the truck and restarting. Some research on the Internet suggested that some Rams don't like the cold and it throws this error.

This wee, I had to make a trip to Boise, about a 4 hour drive. I was doing about 70 with the cruise control on. Temp was in the 20s. I had driven for about 3 hours with no issue. Hit a bump on the freeway and BONG! Flashing ETC warning, no check engine light. Truck is now in limp mode, so I can't get into 5th and cruise is disabled. Make it into Boise and park overnight. The next day, I get the ETC warning, but seems to go away after the engine warms up and I go through the reset procedure. While driving back, about 2 hours into the trip, hit a bump and BONG! ETC warning. I stop at a rest area to answer the call and try to reset the warning light. It takes a couple of starts before the warning will clear. So as I'm pulling out of the rest area, I drive over a cattle guard and BONG! Now this is really bad as the computer cut the throttle as I'm trying to merge back onto the freeway. I spent the the rest of the drive locked out of 5th and no cruise control.

Take it to a mechanic, explain that this seems to happen when I hit a bump, maybe it's temperature related. The mechanic drove it for a while day trying to force an error, but of course, the truck operates perfectly except for what he called a "strange episode" where he had stopped for lunch and the transmission THUNK'ed and locked into 4th gear. Wouldn't shift until he cleared the code- he said the computer was complaining about a solenoid and it's a common problem with Rams. I've never seen this problem before. The mechanic checked his database and mechanic websites and thinks that the ETC problem is coming from a short and that's shorting out the 5V reference voltage for that circuit, possibly the oil pressure sender. He disconnected the oil pressure sensor (truck is considerably upset over this) and gave me the truck back and told me to drive it around to see if it's the oil sensor. Drove it back home last night with no issues.

Started it up this morning and started driving. It was 35 degrees outside. Drive maybe 500 feet, hit a bump on the road (ice and snow) and BONG! ETC warning. Drove it to the gas station to fill up. Cleared the ETC warning, and as I was pulling onto the main road, slight bump pulling off the driveway and BONG! again. Drove to the donut shop. Cleared ETC warning again, and was I was pulling out, BONG! when I bumped from the driveway to the road. So this seems really bump sensitive.

Truck sat in the driveway for the rest of the day. Temperature drops to 25, I drive the truck around town some more. Lots of bumps due to snow and ice, but NO ETC warning. Drove it back home after dinner, took the long way home and drove some of the county roads as they're not plowed as well as the city roads and couldn't get the ETC warning to come on. So this is getting really inconsistent, but when it happens seems to come on after hitting a bump in the road. The mechanic is stumped but still thinks it's a short somewhere but hasn't the slightest idea where to start. I think we've shown that it's not the oil sensor. Anyone wiser than me have any ideas what this could be?

 

Check your wiring harness connections esp drivers side,unplug and see it there's any visible signs clean and plug back in. Sounds like you have a lose connection. I had sorta this problem on an 09 1500 Ram 5.7.

 

2009-up had a ton of issues with dirty connectors and pushed out pins, as well as wiring harness on the heater tubes and down by the front accessory drives. Also had a few with the wiring rubbing on the drivers head rear just above the bell housing where it makes the bend coming up.


The most issues I see with the 5V #1 CIRCUIT, which is Crank, ETC, APP and Oil Pressure switch....is the OP switch shorting the 5V. Those OP switches are absolute junk.

 

My mechanic checked his database and said that according to other mechanics, 90% of the time it was the oil pressure switch. He disconnected the switch but I'm still getting ETC warnings.

 

Basically every OP switch aross the board is junk in Chrysler vehicles.



These issues were actually STAR cases in Chrysler database. We also use Identafix, which has a great database also. Lots of things in each that the other doesn't have. I have fixed several problem cars the dealership with Identafix. TBH, a few with Google too haha. We chose it over all the rest of the services. The price is better and the content is better.


The problem with the Chrysler database is that it's incomplete for things like this... much of the time. This is due to the Technicians not posting their resolutions OR posting fake resolutions in STAR cases. This happens because most of the Techs in USA hate FCA...lol

 

Truck's back at the shop being looked at. Hopefully it's just wiring. Seems like it. At least they're only charging me $45 to find the problem.

 

Hi Cthulhucalling,

Sorry to hear about this! If you decide to visit your local dealership for further diagnosis I'd be happy to follow up with them for you if needed. Just PM our page with your VIN and let me know!

Andrea
Dodge Social Care Specialist

 

Just as a followup: my local mechanic has had the truck for about a month and gave up trying to find out the cause. At least he didn't charge me for the time, but I'm still stuck with a limp truck, no 5th gear, no cruise control, and no fuel saving mode. He's certain that the problem is electrical and that it's losing the 5V reference voltage, but can't find anything to support that theory. He said that he's followed that circuit all over the engine and can't find anything wrong.

Doesn't seem to be entirely bump related, I've managed to trigger the throttle warning while parked, or while creeping down a parking lot with my foot off the throttle.

I may have to take this to the dealer, but I know I'm going to get raped on labor and not entirely confident that the dealer isn't going to just start throwing parts in at random...

 

Post a list of every code it has ever set during this time.


Did you ever address the O2 sensor code that set first? It is conceivable that sensor is still bad and a hard bump can cause a short inside the O2 body.


Sometimes it's the smallest clue that will get you there. I do this type of nutty crap every day. P0038 is left bank downstream O2

 

The only code it's thrown was P0038 back in November before the throttle problems started. The problem went away after a couple of days, and my mechanic said he replaced the O2 sensor while trying to figure out the throttle problem. I never get a check engine light when the ETC warning comes on, and don't get any codes.

The mechanic said that while road testing the truck the tranny locked into 4th and threw a code but didn't tell me what it was. He said that it was the solenoid pack and "it's common on Rams". He cleared it and it has never come back. I've never seen it before, and I wonder what the hell he was doing to cause that to happen.

The temperature's been dropping since I got the truck back and I've been getting ETC warnings while stopped or barely moving. Happened like this while I was in Boise and it was pretty cold.