Where do I even Begin.... Dodge Ram Van 1500 2003 5.2L 46RE
First I need to start by saying there is alot going on here and im sure there is more than one issue.
Problem 1: Parasitic Draw 200ma? over night battery will die in a few days and I remember some relay in the side driver pannel made it stop. However there was alot of chase down and I didnt want to deal with that right now. ( We can disregard this issue) unless someone might know of an issue.

Problem 2: Transmission shifting issues. Went to a junk yard changed out solenoids seemed to work better but would KICK into 2nd gear very harshly.
I replaced solenoids with new fluid and pan with drain bolt. Govner and the transducer on the side? Anyways I put 4 quarts of fluid and apparently that wasnt even enough. It needed more like 6 quarts of ATF4. Drove it with 4qts for abit, might have caused more issues. Also the spring in the trans was broken like most other peoples.
I could be mentally challenged because that dipstick comes out different all the time and im not sure if checked correctly. Checked running and in neutral.
Now I have a p0743 error which is the current issue along with the following in the next passage. Swapped Trans Relay with AC relay

Problem 3: idling issues/misfires and you have to give it gas and stay on the gas for awhile or the vehicle stalls or died.
I swapped IAC and MAP sensors from junk yard and it would start and stay in idle now. However if you put it in gear engine might automatically STALL and cut off along with clunking noises.
Sometimes it will stay idle sometimes it wont, and Changing the gears R, N, D, 1 will all give slightly different idle results. Sometimes while rolling around engine seems like it will die but will catch itself and rev higher to meet the engines needs without me having to gas the pedal.

Im sure there is other DTCs but the only current one was what was mentioned. Also the Oil Pressure gauge comes up and down goes from 0 to 40 randomly while in gear.
When Driving the power to the wheels feel anemic and sluggish and might stall or shut off. Smells of burnt oil and sometimes smoke. But the smoke could have came from me cleaning the throttle body.


My thoughts on some parts to throw at it unless anyone has better ideas. I would like to put the least amount of money into this vehicle.
I can go to a junk yard or buy new parts. Not sure what's worth it or if the junk yard parts are even good. Current IAC seems aftermarket no markings. I have another IAC from junk yard which is original but its results were questionable and I took that off.

Crank Shaft Sensor
Cam Shaft Sensor
O2 Sensors? ( o2 sensor fuse not blown)
TCC Solenoid
Oil Pressure Sender

 

Does it lurch when you put it into gear, and it stalls? Did you have the code before you changed parts? Did you clean the throttle body when you changed the IAC? Did you reset the PCM so it could learn the new parts?

 

When shifting into a gear it doesnt slam hard into it. It seems like a normal gear actuation. However sometimes it feels like it will stall and cut off. Sometimes it will stay in gear and idle.
When changing to a gear lets say reverse and if it feels like it about to stall, you can revive the idle by either putting into neutral or revving the gas.

The code wasn't read before part change, may have been there before changing part but I didnt have the scan tool before changing it. Throttle and IAC port was cleaned, battery was disconnected. ATF fluid level corrected
I actually started with a bunch of codes but after the reset only that one code stuck the p0743.

Previously the codes were ( some of the codes might have been educed as the air filter was off while idling).
p0300
p0304
p0305
p0743
p0442
p0455
p0711

Also another interesting thought, When the air filter housing was off and idling, Some random black particles looked to be insect debris with a light coating of oil came shooting out at me . From the breather tube at idle. Which connects to the air box. Not sure if this is relevant information.

 

Was it the trans relay? Did you check that you have 12v power at the plug on the trans? Since you replaced the TCC solenoid and you are still getting the code look into the relay/power to the trans. Could be an issue with the plug on the trans also.

P0743 Torque Converter Clutch Solenoid/Trans Relay Circuits

 

The Relay Itself I swapped around with another from the AC which was working. I actually have not gotten to change out the TCC solenoid and harness yet. I only changed out the 2 other solenoids and the spring for the accumulator?
I have not checked for power at the Transmission plug. I would assume it wouldn't go into gear at all if it had no power? It will get into gears, it just doesnt shift well and doesnt want to idle properly to get anywhere.

I hope I dont have to drop the valve body, I think that was the requirement to change out the TCC.

 

Without power, you will still have movement, but, I don't think you will have any automatic function..... Did you replace the governor pressure solenoid? Sensor??

 

Yes that solenoid was changed. with one from the junk yard. It looked to be a improved Borgwarner style solenoid. Also that transmission I pulled it from had the broken spring these 46RE transmissions are known for. I think that transmission had one of those overhaul kits done to it. Since the parts were slightly different than original.

Stalled out in the middle of a busy intersection today. Very embarrassing moment.
The vehicle would start if you feather the throttle. WOT would stall it out immediately. When I try to put in drive it would just stall automatically.
After several attempts. To get me moved out of the way, I had to start the car let it idle and then shift to neutral, increase throttle and then put into drive while increasing the RPMs or else it would stall out again. and once in drive and moving. I cannot let go of the throttle or you know.. It might stall out again.
This happened after swapping parts from the junk yard a different crank and cam sensor.

I have to get a new distributor cap mine looks to be corroding. Lot of little things going on with this vehicle.
Basically it just seems like I have a low idle problem. With Torq Pro it seems like my idle is 700 but initially it was 900.before dropping.
Do you think adjusting the throttle to make it 900rpm constant would be a good idea? Maybe the cable shifted over time.

 

PCM controls idle, and 700 RPM is indeed the target idle for a warm engine. If you are stopped, and put it into drive, and hold the brake, will the engine stay running if you play with the gas?

 

Yep sure will stay in idle feathering the gas. I think too much will choke the engine, I need the perfect amount for it to be happy. That is actually the game I had to play, to
get off the road. And the Uphill even makes the problem worse.

I dont have a fancy scan tool unfortunately to be able to do bidirectional tests.

 

Will yours show you live data?? If so, I would be interesting to see what things look like at warm idle, in neutral..... see what changes, if anything, when you put it in gear.