2009 Cummins ISX CM871 communication error? or not?

[codlv]

2009 Kenworth W900L, 3 weeks ago just cruising down the road the truck stumbled, a quick intermittent power (electric?) loss, got to the shoulder and she just shut right off. Would crank but not fire up right after that. While sitting on the shoulder and turning the key most times there would be no lift pump sound. Fortunately only 40 miles from home so I towed it. Installed Cummins ReMan ECM, lost communication on first test drive, stalled out but fired back up. Got it back to the shop (experienced hands not a fly by night) and we then replaced both ECM wiring harnesses and the ignition switch. On Wednesday I took the truck on a 30 mile drive and had no issues. 2 hours later I go back and it was hard to start. Eventually fired up. Yesterday I wanted to take it on another test drive before I had planned on going back to work this week. I drove 27 miles, no issues, I get back, truck sits for 2 hours, go to start it up to put it away and it will crank but not fire. The ABS does it check but the lift pump made no noise. The only code that showed up on the dash was J1939?? At one point my ELD which always come on when the key is turned on did not come on which was a first. So after disconnecting the batteries for 5 minutes I turn the key, now the I hear the pump, she started, ran rough for a few minutes then smoothed out. I got her parked and continued to shut her down/start her up several times, no issues.
Once she started it would say No Faults Found. Batteries are 1 year old and all the connections were cleaned Thursday.

So what the heck can be causing something like this after changing what we changed? Could it possibly be my 7 year old Omnitracs power cord interrupting the system? Or something else on the truck we've overlooked?

[Bengy88]

I wouldn’t rule out your omnitrac, that would be the easiest to check, unplug it and run it. We have all seen e logs cause issues. But my personal opinion it sounds like you have power or ground problems to your ecm. The absolute first thing I would check is the wiring between battery power and ground to the ecm. Check for corrosion, loose pins, hanging wires, etc. ohm the wires from one end to the other. You can also pull each end of the wire loose and power a headlight through the circuit to make sure the bulb burns bright. Not saying it’s your issue but it really sounds like that’s where you should start

[Rawze]

What you describe is typically one of 2 things.

A known wiring issue that Pete and KW trucks suffer. read this post...
ref: http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...05#pid3505

===========
OR.. a bad/flaky ecm.

If that ECM was not purchased form a stealers#$it and from some place that does repair etc. or online.. then you very well could have another bad ecm on your hands. - i know of one person on that went thru 4 of them, 3 of which were NOT from OEM .. before they got a certified one from a stealeres$it and all his issues went away.

And even if you got one from a stealers$it there is still a chance you got a bad one.. though it is far more rare.

The CM871 ecm's are notorious for getting flaky like that and cutting out .. but there is a way to test them.. By hitting it with screwdriver of socket extension bar. here is some detail...
ref: http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...7#pid76607

[codlv]

(09-25-2023 )Rawze Wrote:  What you describe is typically one of 2 things.

A known wiring issue that Pete and KW trucks suffer.
===========
OR.. a bad/flaky ecm.

I purchasesd an OEM Cummins Reman ECM and had it programmed at the stealership, that is all they did, work is being done at a different location. Had a small fleet up til last year and had an 09 Volvo with the same engine, it started acting the same way and after chasing the problem before finally determining it was the ECM I decided to go ahead and start with the ECM this time, but that hasn't solved the problem just yet, even with the 2 new engine harnesses. We'll check those spots for sure.

[Rawze]

(09-25-2023 )codlv Wrote:  

(09-25-2023 )Rawze Wrote:  What you describe is typically one of 2 things.

A known wiring issue that Pete and KW trucks suffer.
===========
OR.. a bad/flaky ecm.

I purchasesd an OEM Cummins Reman ECM and had it programmed at the stealership, that is all they did, work is being done at a different location. Had a small fleet up til last year and had an 09 Volvo with the same engine, it started acting the same way and after chasing the problem before finally determining it was the ECM I decided to go ahead and start with the ECM this time, but that hasn't solved the problem just yet, even with the 2 new engine harnesses. We'll check those spots for sure.

To check the ecm ...

New or not ... Testing the ecm for this known issue is as easy as banging on the ecm (almost hard enough to dent its casing bit not quite) while engine is idling. If it cuts out then its a bad ecm. Simple as that.

[codlv]

(09-25-2023 )Rawze Wrote:  

(09-25-2023 )codlv Wrote:  

(09-25-2023 )Rawze Wrote:  What you describe is typically one of 2 things.

A known wiring issue that Pete and KW trucks suffer.
===========
OR.. a bad/flaky ecm.

I purchasesd an OEM Cummins Reman ECM and had it programmed at the stealership, that is all they did, work is being done at a different location. Had a small fleet up til last year and had an 09 Volvo with the same engine, it started acting the same way and after chasing the problem before finally determining it was the ECM I decided to go ahead and start with the ECM this time, but that hasn't solved the problem just yet, even with the 2 new engine harnesses. We'll check those spots for sure.

To check the ecm ...

New or not ... Testing the ecm for this known issue is as easy as banging on the ecm (almost hard enough to dent its casing bit not quite) while engine is idling. If it cuts out then its a bad ecm. Simple as that.

It passed the bang test but KW is going to bench test it in the morning regardless. We jiggled wires, checked fuses, just about everything you can think of. My harness doesn't go around the back of the engine like the pics I saw, but it does go around the front, and it's brand new now. And my fuses are on the firewall and not in the battery box. By the time we were done monkeying around we were no longer getting power from the ECM. The truck ran and shut off on its own 3 times during the days events.

[codlv]

Correction, I do have this fuse in the battery box

[trucklogger2]

Did you guys open up ESA to look for clues? It could help. also as I am finding out with my 09
is there is green goblins in most of the harnesses on the modules like the modules behind the gauges in the dash that runs signals and windows and door locks and such.This is probably from bad ground engine to frame.

Also take a look at CECU under coffee cup holder right next to accelerator pedal, which is also above your abs module; look at the contacts in the harness and tap on cecu also with key on and check voltage- as this is multiplexing with your ecm signals as Rawse was saying.

Spread the prongs in your ecm power harness too if you haven'i and add dielectrc grease too.

[codlv]

(09-26-2023 )trucklogger2 Wrote:  Did you guys open up ESA to look for clues? It could help. also as I am finding out with my 09
is there is green goblins in most of the harnesses on the modules like the modules behind the gauges in the dash that runs signals and windows and door locks and such.This is probably from bad ground engine to frame.

I was a little pressed for time so I took the new Re-Man ECM off and let KW test it. At first they said it was fine after performing a bench test. I towed the truck over to them after that to see if they could trace down another issue, and here is their diagnosis...



So ECM # 2 arrives tomorrow