Loose PCM Connector

[Mr300]

Hello.
I have an electrical problem with my 2015 1500. Symptoms are - intermittent stalling with a message to service EBT and the immobilizer light is blinking and the truck will not start. No Crank. This is intermittent because at some point the problem stops and the immobilizer light stops blinking and the truck starts right up and runs like normal until it happens again.

I have tracked it down to the wiring harness connector that connects the wiring harness to the PCM.

It fails the wiggle test. With the engine running, I wiggle the connector and the engine dies and all symptoms reappear. If I push on the connector the engine starts. If I let go of the connector the engine stalls.

I used a zip tie to pull the connector tight back towards the PCM and the problem is fixed.

I believe the female pins in the connector are not making good consistent contact with the male pins in the PCM.

Because the repair shops will probably want a staggering amount of money to fix this problem, I am looking for advice from professionals like you.

Is this a real problem? Can I fix this myself?

Let me know
Thanks

 

[crazykid1994]

You may want to pull the connector and check the pins. Could be corrosion inside that you can spray clean before it gets worse. Downfall is if it’s corroded too bad it may not work if you disconnect it and reconnect it after cleaning the pins. It’s kind of a Schrödingers cat situation. Otherwise you may never know the extent of the issue. If it’s a bad pcm you can order a replacement. If it’s the connector on the harness it’ll be a bit more involved to repair

 

[Mr300]

Thank you for the reply.
I pulled the connector. Checked the pins in both the Connector and the PCM.
Clean as a whistle. Shiny and no corrosion.

I reinstalled the wiring harness. Locked on properly. It's as tight as it can be but the truck would not start.

No Crank. The immobilizer light is blinking and the service ETB message is on the dash.

I got a Zip Tie and used it to pull the wires to the right and back. See picture.

The Zip Tie fixes it.

No immobilizer light. No message on dash and truck starts up and runs and drives no problem.

Is this common. Do people drive around with Zip Ties on their Wiring harness?

I am afraid to drive the truck like this. Not knowing if it will stall when I hit a bump in the road.

I'm thinking about looking for another 2015 ram wiring harness connector in a salvage yard and splicing the wires.

Is this sometimes done is situations like this.?

You mentioned that it may be the PCM . How do I check it.?

Thank You.

 

[cammed]

Hey I did the something you did with the zips but @ the middle back fire wall back left of motor 2016 Ram

 

[Mr300]

Okay. I will try that also. How has it held up? Will this be a safe fix?
It looks like this is a common problem.

 

[cammed]

I have had no issues with it. It has been almost a year now

 

[Mr300]

Thank you for the reply.
I am curious to know if you were having the same issues like the no crank and the immobilizer light coming on and stalling or if your loose connector was giving you different issues.

 

[cammed]

Nothing like that just engine light and all kinds of crap here and there TB . TEMP things like that

 

[jws123]

Not really common on these trucks but the old grand cherokees use to have this issue with those I wound up making a bracket/clamp piece of metal across all plugs center with 2 bolts to clamp it down.

 

[cammed]

Not really common on these trucks but the old grand cherokees use to have this issue with those I wound up making a bracket/clamp piece of metal across all plugs center with 2 bolts to clamp it down.

I think all my probs came from doing cam swaps from bending back the wire harness