m00d

Hi,

I just found out that my insurance company isn't going to go any further with repair efforts on my truck and have totaled it. I can take a total payoff and they keep the truck, or I can buy back my truck. I've got to let them know before close of business tomorrow.

A little history... I'll keep it as brief as possible.

My truck:
1998.5 24v Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel 2wd auto with about 115,000 miles.
I bought it eight years ago with 80K miles and its been great to this point.
It's only used for towing my RV along with the occasional drive to keep it fit.

What happened:
I'm currently Park Hosting in a campground 50 miles from my home. Two months ago there was a bad thunderstorm at which time I heard a loud bang and saw a white flash. I was in my RV and actually ducked down it was so loud. After the storm I went outside and saw a bowling ball size hole in the window of my trucks camper shell. My first thought was that something had hit the window, but after cranking the truck I decided lighting must have hit it. I didn't see it happen but that's my assumption. My RV antenna booster as well as several outside RV light bulbs were all blown out as well.

The Truck Symptoms:
After the storm I cranked the truck and didn't notice anything strange until my foot hit the accelerator pedal. Just barley touching the pedal made the RPM's jump to 1K or more, it's like I was pushing the pedal all the way to the floor when I'm only lightly pushing it. I tested a few other things: The AC, radio,compass,lights,horn, etc all work fine. I didn't see anything that wasn't working as normal other than the accelerator pedal. To get it in position to be towed I had to move it about 100 feet. It again cranked up normally, shifted into gear, then I oh so lightly touched the accelerator and the truck jumped forward hard like I had put the pedal to the metal, at that point it idled into position to be towed.


The situation:
I had the truck towed 50 miles to a mechanic who has had the truck almost two months now. It took him forever to even get started on it but once he did he told me he got a code saying the ECM could not communicate with the VP44. So he put a new VP44 on the truck and the symptoms remain the same and he is still getting the same error code, the ecm can't communicate with the vp44. He then traced or replaced (not sure) the wires from the ECM to the VP44 and said they were fine. He now wants to put a ECM on the truck saying that has to be the problem since it wasn't the VP44 but as I said earlier my insurance company pulled the plug and wants to total it out.

The insurance company has offered me 11K on the truck and I can buy it back for 3K if I want to.
I've found a couple places on the net where I can buy a ECM for about 800 bucks and as I understand it they are easy to install? If I knew or were pretty confident this would fix it I would not hesitate to buy back the truck. But I also don't want to buy it back and find myself in a never ending rabbit hole trying to find out what's wrong.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much,

Russell

Lary Ellis (Top)

I would take the money and buy something else...that thing will forever be a nightmare as all the electrical systems crap out on you.....just my humble opinion...

patdaly

First thing I would do is put a Timbo APPS on it. I don't buy the VP or ECM thing at all. The thing that TELLS the ECM is saying full throttle, the ECM is just doing what it is told.

Did they replace the APPS?

I will grant you there might be many more nightmares coming, but I am a gambler, if I had a place to store it while I worked on it ( I am assuming you can work on it yourself ), I would take the 8K and keep it.

Busboy

Agreed, throw a Timbo apps at it and see what it does then, but check and clean all the grounding points first, especially for the ECM. At least you'll have a new VP to start with.

trksrfun

If it were me, for 3k I would buy it back.. Change out the apps as others have said and go from there. The worst case scenario you could part the truck out and get your 3k back. (If you are willing to do the work and have somewhere to keep it while it gets parted out)

m00d

So even though the ECM is showing the same error before and after the VP installation yall would replace the apps before trying a ecm replacement? Can a bad apps cause the ecm to report a error of not being able to communicate with the VP?

Thanks

trksrfun

When there is an issue with the VP (commonly a "dead pedal") the apps is usually to blame. In your instance where the pedal is super touchy it could or could not be the apps (I do not personally have the exp./knowlege to give you a reliable answer). Timbo sells the apps for $165 shipped, IMHO its cheaper then an ECU and could fix the problem, if it doesn't then you know that that issue (dead pedal) has already been addressed and you wont have to worry about it down the road.

Spooler

Dump it or you will have a big pain in the butt the rest of the time you own it. I have delt with this too many times with equipment a cell towers. If it takes a direct hit, it's done.

dkenny

the electronics might be done..BUT WHAT ABOUT THE REST..mechanical item are damaged by a near by lightning hit..
so for 3k you can get your truck..that you know and love
know the problems the ?HISTORY!!
the maintenance since you've owned it..
the VP has been replaced..$1800 or so

so what's left
ECM - $800-1000
TCM - ??
APPS - $165 if using Timbo..I getting his or building my own when it happens. it shouldn't be hard to test the APPS..just an analog meter to the output..engine off but ignition on..watch the readings..nice and smooth.??

if it were me..I buy for 3k...the VP alone is 1500 or so..

is the block a 53? don't buy..

-dkenny

Busboy

Something to consider... large jet aircraft get hit by lightening all the time and they are loaded with electronics and computers all taking to each other, they don't just scrap the aircraft. Usually the damage is structural with little electronic damage and what is damaged is easily noticeable. I have done many lightening strike inspections and the vast majority sustain skin burn marks, that's it.

HMX-1

The engine is worth at least $3k, right?

Sounds like you could part out the truck to get the $3k back, use the engine as a DIY build-up, and buy something else to drive, or use the profit for a nice build-up for the engine you pulled from it.

torquefan

I am sure it would need an ECM as well as a VP44, the boards on both are most likely no good anymore. I would also be suspect of the PCM, restraint control module, ABS module, CTM, audio system, and anything else with logic circuitry, after seeing a couple of vehicles get hit by lightning. If you had the space and the inclination, you could part out the truck, but it might be expensive to actually get it to drive again.

m00d

Thanks for the reply...

It will drive right now... The radio plays and the AC blows cold as well...
But I just have to drive it at idle speed or quickly touch the accelerator pedal to provide a jolt forward. So basically I got idle speed and wide open speed...
VP has been replaced so that wasn't the issue or it didn't fix the problem.

gorms

Personally I would take that money and dump new ECM/PCM into it. Take some time to look for burnt wires and repair as necessary. Could turn out to be a bunch of work but technically you'd be getting paid pretty good to do it all.

Do consider though, around here I think you get a salvage title on the truck once it's considered totaled. Wouldn't matter if you plan on keeping the truck for a while, but if you want to keep the resale up that will hurt it a bit.

whiskers

Keep the truck but find a competent mechanic. Never needed a new IP I'd bet. APPS is most likely culprit and the error code can be caused by bad plugs, grounds, etc. I have a 98.5 that won't communicate with anything , because my dealer screwed up the ECM, but runs like top.For 8K you can replace every bit of the electronics if it needed it. But you have to have a good mechanic on it ifrst. My dealer was incompetent, but luckily my son lives a ways off, but works on big rigs and had it running in one afternoon with a junk yard ECM. The mismatched VIN's cause a no communicate thing, but does nothing to the performance. But if it was me I'd use the dough to find a good 12 valve!