Oh No, Check Engine Light, What Could It Be Now?

[Venom Power]

Earlier this week, (Sunday) just before the Houston VTCoA meeting I got a check engine light. At about 2k rpm (no matter what gear) the truck would give a shudder with a slight drop in power then resume to her normal behavior until the whole thing happens again soon after. The standing idle would be high at times (approximately 1.5 - 2K), then it would be down to normal with no warning (approximately 0.85K). This was the way every time I drove her and the fuel consumption was outrageous. Many of the attending members were aware of this due to my constant pondering on what the problem could be. No major motor mods, I never take her to the strip, I haven’t been driving her fast for a long while, gas cap is tight… what the heck could it be? Well, Friday I took her down to a local dealership that truly earned my trust recently. She went in for an oil change and the check engine light. The service writer wanted me to leave it over night but I couldn’t. He said a certified Viper tech had to diagnose the trouble but his only one was on vacation. DRATS.. So I settled for an appointment next week. Well a tech (Pete) walked in and was asked by another cool service writer if he was qualified. He said he is a level 4 tech meaning they were qualified to diagnose and work on the problem without specific Viper Tech status (you guys can keep that in mind if needed). So I figured “why not?â€￾ and asked if he could check it out. Pete came back after a short while with the malfunctioning throttle body sensor in hand. When I asked if they had one in stock he said he had two but one is already installed in my truck. SMOOTH! She ran strong without a flaw after that. That night against an L proved it (read about it here...

http://www.vtcoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1200)

I just thought I should let this be known and describe the symptom so that it may be considered if this should occur with anyone else. But you SRT gurus probably already knew about that.

 

[Silverback]

Earlier this week, (Sunday) just before the Houston VTCoA meeting I got a check engine light. At about 2k rpm (no matter what gear) the truck would give a shudder with a slight drop in power then resume to her normal behavior until the whole thing happens again soon after. The standing idle would be high at times (approximately 1.5 - 2K), then it would be down to normal with no warning (approximately 0.85K). This was the way every time I drove her and the fuel consumption was outrageous. Many of the attending members were aware of this due to my constant pondering on what the problem could be. No major motor mods, I never take her to the strip, I haven’t been driving her fast for a long while, gas cap is tight… what the heck could it be? Well, Friday I took her down to a local dealership that truly earned my trust recently. She went in for an oil change and the check engine light. The service writer wanted me to leave it over night but I couldn’t. He said a certified Viper tech had to diagnose the trouble but his only one was on vacation. DRATS.. So I settled for an appointment next week. Well a tech (Pete) walked in and was asked by another cool service writer if he was qualified. He said he is a level 4 tech meaning they were qualified to diagnose and work on the problem without specific Viper Tech status (you guys can keep that in mind if needed). So I figured “why not?â€￾ and asked if he could check it out. Pete came back after a short while with the malfunctioning throttle body sensor in hand. When I asked if they had one in stock he said he had two but one is already installed in my truck. SMOOTH! She ran strong without a flaw after that. That night against an L proved it (read about it here...

http://www.vtcoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1200)

I just thought I should let this be known and describe the symptom so that it may be considered if this should occur with anyone else. But you SRT gurus probably already knew about that.

What happened to the good old days of a throttle cable and an idle adjustment screw. Won't be long and the damn hoods will be sealed at the factory and we won't even be able to look at the engine anylonger.

Glad your fix was quick and easy and all is well in the world again.:star: :burnout: :burnout:

 

[FSTJACK]

What happened to the good old days of a throttle cable and an idle adjustment screw. Won't be long and the damn hoods will be sealed at the factory and we won't even be able to look at the engine anylonger.

Glad your fix was quick and easy and all is well in the world again.:star: :burnout: :burnout:

The days of a quick fix at the corner gas station, your or your buddies driveway went away with the introduction of *Computers in cars in 1979.

This is the price we pay for cars/trucks that make big power, drive good and get reasonable mileage.


*Car computer=FRED=Fricken Rediculas Electronic Device. This acronym was coined by the engineers at GM who were the first to install FREDs (computers) in cars. I was in that end of the business when they came out and they had bad weather pack connectors, no self diagnostics and no *1 ALDL. They were a nightmare to work on. Beacuse most of the time they kinda so-so worked.

*1 Assembly Line Diagnostic Link=The plug under the dash that the scan tool is hooked up to.

 

[slow91]

Glad it worked out for you Anthony.:dancing:

 

[energetic]

So it was just a simple map sensor fault? How many miles do you have on your ride?

 

[mauiSRT/10]

A quick fix offers peace of mind!! Thats nice!!

patrick

 

[Venom Power]

So it was just a simple map sensor fault? How many miles do you have on your ride?

It just passed 15K.. well it was 14,999 when it went on.