I have a problem with my dodge, and no one so far knows what it is. Here's the situation. I have a 2nd gen Dodge Ram 2500 w/ 5.9 Cummins. About 5 months ago, when I would stay at a pace of 45-50 mph, the rpm's would flutter, hiccup, or jump. which ever you call it. I cleaned the battery cables and posts, And fixed for a month or so, and started back up., doing the same old thing. I changed the Fuel Filter, and that only fixed it for another week or so. So I took it to a tranny shop, and they said it was the transmission. (the truck had 190k mi), They dropped it, and it was pretty burnt. About to go out, per say. So I took a loan out, and bought a rebuilt one. w/ torque converter, etc. That seemed to have fixed it until about a week later. Started to buck and jump rpm's when kept in that range. So I took it to a mechanic, and he said "its the crank and cam sensors". So I went out and put new sensors in it. DIDN'T help at all. Fed up with everyone telling me different solutions, I took it to the DODGE dealership. They said and I quote "We have no idea. We would just start to replace things until it stopped". They did inform me that is wasn't a transmission problem. (Which it better not of been since THAT had been replaced.)

Now for the kicker in all of this. What I have been doing that seems to help the most, is every day while I'm here at work, I will unhook both battery's from the cables, and let it sit with no connection. And believe it or not, That works for a while. But every day when I get close to home, It starts up again.

PLEASE PLEASE tell me I'm not the ONLY Cummin's Owner that is having or had this problem!!!! NO ONE ELSE KNOWS, SO PLEASE HELP!


Thanks, I appreciate any information that comes about.

 

Are there any PCM updates. A good dealer should be able to tell you. Could be as simple as a re-flash. You could pm dodge cares on here your vin, and he can tell you if their are any tsb's that cover this.

 

There are more grounding points than just the battery posts. There are grounds on the transmission/engine/body/ECM. They ALL need to be cleaned. What is happening is your torque converter is locking and unlocking. What you are describing is a VERY common problem with the 2nd gen auto transmission. The tell tale symptom is the rpms fluctuating around 45 mph. Your problem and the lift pump dieing and taking out the injector pump are probably the 2 most common issues with the 2nd gen dodge rams.

 

could this ruin my new torque converter? thanks

 

I take it you have a 24v but the alt putting ac noise into the system can mess with the lockup on the tranny. Take a meter and test to see how much its putting out into the system. Shouldnt see anymore than .020

 

Yes mine is the 24v, willl do. thanks

 

so, with this happening, could this mess up a new torque converter?

 

Not sure how the throttle is setup on your year but... I had picked up a 2000 Dakota a while back which had a dirty throttle position sensor... at cruise the TC would lock & unlock as the noise from the TPS went to the ECM. Pulled it, drilled a hole in it and sprayed an electronic components cleaner in the hole, rotated the input several times to distrribute the cleaner & allow it to make it over the contact area. Popped it back in and problem solved.

IF you can get a scan tool to monitor the TPS (APPS) sensor maybe this is what is happening to your truck.