2012 Misfire, Blinking CE Light and other fun anomolies

irsmun · Oct 16, 2017

So I suddenly notice my truck feeling funny on acceleration. The only way to describe it is that its jumpy. I took it into the dealership (thinking they could find any problem) and the response from the mechanic...."drives like a Hemi to me". Useless.

So now here I am to search out the problem for myself.
Specs 2012 RAM 2500 4WD with Hemi; miles 150 K

Issues: When accelerating its jumpy not smooth. It hesitates to accelerate when pressing the pedal but will eventually "catch up". It seems to be worse when it upshifts to the next gear.

It doesn't throw any codes when this happens but its consistent and getting worse.

At high speeds 60+ a hard acceleration (pedal down fast) sometimes results in the blinking CE light. If you take your foot off, the light will go away. Sometimes it throws a code when this happens (a cylinder misfire) but not always.

Other issues that may or may not be related: There is a loud tapping lifter. White smoke comes out of the exhaust in huge quantity if left to idle for a long period of time.

So, I'm no mechanic but I'm thinking maybe a clogged fuel filter. Could this cause these problems?

ExpressRules · Oct 16, 2017

Do you have a 2012 or a 2009 that it shows in your information?

irsmun · Oct 16, 2017

I have an 05, 08, 09, and a 12. This is about the 2012.

Hipps2000 · Oct 16, 2017

When was last time you changed plugs? Also pcv? Have cleaned throttle body? Have you ever changed ignition wires? Places I'd check first

WilliamS · Oct 16, 2017

If it lights up the cel it will set a hard code. Sounds to me to be throttle body related. If the blade is gummed up or jammed when you floor it, the truck tried to open the trhottle body and starts dumping fuel based on that demand. The throttle gets behind and you flood the motor. Wide open throttle use maps not o2 sensors for fuel amount. This should be pretty abrupt if this is the case.

If it were me, Id check the code. If you are lucky its a throttle position code. A can of electronics cleaner will straighten you right up. Do not use carb cleaner, use an electronics cleaner.

irsmun · Oct 16, 2017

I will check these things. But if any of this is true, then the Dodge mechanic didn't do anything. He told me there were no codes and everything was fine. All he did is reset the computer to factory so it could "re-learn" my driving habits. He made me feel like I was crazy and making the whole thing up.

Could the white smoke coming from the exhaust be excess fuel that didn't get burned?

irsmun · Oct 16, 2017

Hipps2000 said:
When was last time you changed plugs? Also pcv? Have cleaned throttle body? Have you ever changed ignition wires? Places I'd check first

I have not. I bought this truck used from a Dodge dealership just a few months ago. I do not know the history but I do know it was not doing this until just about 3 weeks ago.

I really doubt the plugs or ignition wires. It idles perfectly. Its only under acceleration that the issues happen.

Tach_tech · Oct 17, 2017

If the CEL starts blinking you have a misfire. Get the codes retrieved and see which cylinder/s are causing the misfire. Then go from there.

huntergreen · Oct 17, 2017

Start simple and run some fuel cleaner through the fuel system.

Jeepwalker · Oct 17, 2017

You probably know this but the stock spark plugs (non platinum in 2012) need changing every 30k miles. Might check them if you haven't in a while. Easy to forget about them.

Pa.hemi.ram · Oct 18, 2017

My money is on the plugs and make sure you buy good ones. The cheap ones will just do the same thing.

Demon-HeMi · Oct 18, 2017

irsmun said:
Other issues that may or may not be related: There is a loud tapping lifter. White smoke comes out of the exhaust in huge quantity if left to idle for a long period of time.

So, I'm no mechanic but I'm thinking maybe a clogged fuel filter. Could this cause these problems?

not sure why nobody has mentioned this, but a loud noise coming from my motor and smoke from the tailpipe paired with a loss of power, my truck would be parked or on a tow truck to a shop/dealer i trusted, no way would i be driving it, if the engine is making noise then you have a problem my friend and its definitely not going to be something simple like a fuel filter, if the TB is messing up you will have a red lightning bolt flashing on the gauges, if you dont see that then your TB is working...

you have a loss of power, a flashing check engine light (misfire), Engine noise, and smoke from the tail pipe... you sir have an engine problem, i strongly suggest that you park that thing before any more damage is done to that motor, im not sure on your mechanical skills but id pull the valve covers off and start checking there, check your fluids make sure they are ok, check the oil for any abnormalities, if you can post a video of these symptoms and im sure someone here can help, but with the symptoms you are describing id not be driving that truck but thats just my $.02

indept · Oct 18, 2017

The fact that you have a loud ticking along with a running issue points to a lifter problem. The noise could be the infamous broken exhaust manifold stud but that wouldn't cause the engine light to flash. see this thread in the forum in this link:
2011 ram hemi cam/lifter failure - DODGE RAM FORUM - Ram Forums & Owners Club! - Ram Truck Forum

huntergreen · Oct 19, 2017

Pa.hemi.ram said:
My money is on the plugs and make sure you buy good ones. The cheap ones will just do the same thing.

On his year truck, it would be best to to replace with OEM plugs.

irsmun · Oct 24, 2017

Given the symptoms we don't suspect the plugs or the wires. The idle is fine. It only does the power loss on acceleration and the blinking ce light on hard acceleration. It only seems to throw a code when the ce is blinking and then not every time. The code is a misfire.

No lightning bolt comes up ever. We are suspecting the throttle control module or the tps, which apparently is in the throttle control module. I ordered it yesterday.

As far as the ticking, which sounded like a lifter, it has gone away. Maybe it was just stuck. The fluids are fine.

White smoke from the tail pipe. Still a mystery. Its intermittent and I can't recreate it.

Tach_tech · Oct 24, 2017

irsmun said:
Given the symptoms we don't suspect the plugs or the wires. The idle is fine. It only does the power loss on acceleration and the blinking ce light on hard acceleration. It only seems to throw a code when the ce is blinking and then not every time. The code is a misfire.

No lightning bolt comes up ever. We are suspecting the throttle control module or the tps, which apparently is in the throttle control module. I ordered it yesterday.

As far as the ticking, which sounded like a lifter, it has gone away. Maybe it was just stuck. The fluids are fine.

White smoke from the tail pipe. Still a mystery. Its intermittent and I can't recreate it.

Have you got the codes read? That should be step one before guessing at parts. A fault TPS is not going to give you a flashing CEL, which is a misfire.

Demon-HeMi · Oct 24, 2017

irsmun said:
Given the symptoms we don't suspect the plugs or the wires. The idle is fine. It only does the power loss on acceleration and the blinking ce light on hard acceleration. It only seems to throw a code when the ce is blinking and then not every time. The code is a misfire.

No lightning bolt comes up ever. We are suspecting the throttle control module or the tps, which apparently is in the throttle control module. I ordered it yesterday.

As far as the ticking, which sounded like a lifter, it has gone away. Maybe it was just stuck. The fluids are fine.

White smoke from the tail pipe. Still a mystery. Its intermittent and I can't recreate it.

if you arent getting a lightning bolt symbol then your throttle system is working, so you ordered a part that isnt broken, the truck will tell you if any of those fail with pretty good accuracy

irsmun · Oct 24, 2017

Roger that. The current code has not been read. The prior code before we cleared it was misfire on cylinder 4.

Do the blinking CE codes stay to be read later?

Demon-HeMi · Oct 24, 2017

irsmun said:
Roger that. The current code has not been read. The prior code before we cleared it was misfire on cylinder 4.

Do the blinking CE codes stay to be read later?

unless it is an emissions code it will not be saved once the CEL goes away, although some readers can read pending codes which it could be lingering in.

i invested in my own higher end reader that shows me everything the truck thinks and it has been a life saver for troubleshooting

Tach_tech · Oct 24, 2017

Demon-HeMi said:
unless it is an emissions code it will not be saved once the CEL goes away, although some readers can read pending codes which it could be lingering in.

i invested in my own higher end reader that shows me everything the truck thinks and it has been a life saver for troubleshooting

That’s not 100% true. It all depends what on the criteria for a dtc being set, some dtcs take one failure and a code will be stored even if that fault is no longer active. Others may take several trips before the dtc is set. There’s also seperate criteria for turning off the CEL and for clearing the dtc. Once again depends on the code, but there are set criteria that has to be met and the CEL will be turned off, then more criteria has to be met before the dtc will actually clear on its own.

If his CEL has been flashing on regular basis there will be stored dtc. You also need a scan tool that can read stored,pending dtcs, not just active ones.

2012 Misfire, Blinking CE Light and other fun anomolies

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