2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

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steven kiser
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2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by steven kiser »

banging my head here. my top tech's been working on this off and on for a week. came in with no power. driver claims it would lose power occasionally and then just flattened out. we're having trouble communicating with pcm. the egr was jammed and i read that it would cause a no power and mess with communication. we replaced it and made no difference. the exhaust went from black to blue when clearing it out.

we replaced all the injectors about 8 months ago,. the problem started as an intermittent one one about 4 months ago and like i stated above 2 months ago just went to no power at all. i would bet it's in limp but can't get any reading to back me up. there is a list of issues with these and the dealer even balks at this model. i'm leaning towards a computer but just need a little back up on this one. every other "limp" i've dealt with there was a check engine light involved. the exhaust was dropped to eliminate a restriction issue. we disconnected the sensors one at a time to see if one was shorting out the pcm but didn't get even a flicker.

dealer will not work on this. reminds me of when g.m threw out the dsl cutlasses with only head modifications and lit prayer candles until these went out of warranty.
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by mopwrforme »

off hand i would have you ck. the resenator coming off the turbo to the intercooler it looks like a gennie lamp and has a seam in it which is glued. when the truck warms up the glue separates on some which will give you a intermitant loss of pwr.because when it cools down the gluse reseals also ck your intercooler hoses ive had issues with them as well. if the intercooler cks. fine. the inlet temp sensor in the plastic housing for the inlet intercooler hose is an area of concearn as well if its oil soaked you can get a false reading which screws with the fuel equation ie no pwr. also you may have comm. issues when trying to comm. if you dont have a multiplexing box i ran into this issue when i started trying to use aftermarket scanners . i had to get a drb3 w/sprinter card and the multiplexing box to decode the mercedes logic. i havent tryed the snap-on scanner yet. as you well know there are several issues with this system the 2 ive touched on were the most common i was the only tech. in my area which would even think about working on them and that was do to me working at a dealer who wouldnt turn down anything. my sm called me hes specalist so every cummins,sprinter,hard hit electrical,and lets not forget the viper was in my bay, it made for some interesting pay checks. ill ck back later good luck buddy i hope ive helped 8) 8) 8)
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by ricmorin »

Wow! Now I know who I'm calling if I have a Sprinter problem. LOL!
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by steven kiser »

i checked the intercooler and it tested fine. pressure sensor also looked good. we leaned it, it was a bit dirty but not sludged up. it's not an intermittent issue any more. it's just flat. almost feels like when a throttle body starts to go on a volvo. if i hadn't dropped the exhaust off i would swear it was plugged. feels just like that and we can't communicate with it. if it were an american car a limp mode comes to mind.
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by mopwrforme »

sir its a shot in the dark but ck your fuel preasure and volumn to the fuel filter low side system a drop of over about 3-5psi from between the inlet and outlet would justify replacement. its going to be hard to fix it without access to the datastream.
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by steven kiser »

thanks for the responses. it was a shot in the dark for me. we disconnected the inlet to the intake and there was plenty of pressure when the turbo spooled up. i sprayed wd40 into the intake when the rpm's flattened out with no increase. i know i'm the one legged man in the a** kicking contest and i need to replace the pcm or at least reprogram it. my issue is that the dodge dealers will not work on this one and freightliner flat out told me this model was a hand grenade and they wouldn't work on it as well. my issue, being a stubborn german/irishman is i refuse to wash my hands of this because it will mean admitting defeat. the customer is a friend of mine. loves this tank and completely understands the situation i'm in because he's tried to bring it back to the dealer and been told they won't work on it. it feels like it's starting out in top gear. it will take a hundred yards to reach 50 mph. even when you floor the pedal with it in park it takes about 15 seconds to reach the rev limiter. this is one of the situations where i've eliminated 90% of the possibilities but since this isn't a common vehicle in my shop and i've never replaced a pcm in one of these i'm second guessing the crap out of this. i just can't take the shot in the dark i need to take and order a pcm. the other issue is i can only get a reman and in the past i've had huge issuers with chrystler reman's that still are carrying old information or acessories that aren't on the vehicle i'm working on. i can't begin to count how many remans i've installed and the security light has come on and the vehicle doesn't have the option.
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by brianp87 »

Never done more then maintenance on one. I wish I was of any help.
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by steven kiser »

any and all replies i get are of help. some times they force me to look at something at a different angle and see the forest through the trees.............
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by mopwrforme »

you are right in that if you cannt comm. with the vehical your fighting a losing battle it can be almost anything. at this point i can tell you in 4yr. of dealing with the 2.7 sprinter on a daily basis i only replace 1 ecm and it was due to the customer replacing his air filter and not pluging in the mass airflow correctly and shorting out the driver in the ecm. have you used your scanner to talk to this vehical in the past is it compatable. in the past ive tried to use aftermarket scanners and got no comm at all or it would pull up codes but they were the wroung codes sprinters get real weird do to the multiplexing box that is required when you use the factory scanner do you have the option of maybe trying to use the factory scanner for the day. or if you can get your hands on a used controller out of a salvage yard just to confirm your idea that its a controller issue which it very well maybe. even if it doesnt have the correct options it still should run good you do need to know if it has security or not i have access to chrysler dealer connect and can run the vin # for you to ck. without comm. the only quick fix would be fuel filter or intercooler problems which you have already cked. one more thing and ill stop some models had a clear hose going to the high side pump from the filter you can try to ramp it up then return it to idle and see if there is air in that line. it doesnt feel like ive been much help ll ck back monday
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by brianp87 »

I serviced one last week a 3.0 L and my verus was able to communicate no issues. I tried it friday just to see.
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by mopwrforme »

2006 or older va body line with a 2.7 5cyl. is the problem child. the 2007 vb body with the 3.0 diesel or with a yes 3.5 gas you will not have a problem with. it doesnt use a multiplexing box for comm. any generic scan tool will work on the newer ones.
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by brianp87 »

You jinxed me i got the damn thing in with check engine light and complaint of no power up hills. Head on desk. Ill let you know results its a 3.0L 2008 104K. I thought I got off easy with lof, brakes and new invertor last week.
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by brianp87 »

dirty mass air was mine. code 2011
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by steven kiser »

ordered a new pcm. it's going to take a few days to get it so customer decided to use the sprinter. had a big job locally and needed his supply truck. came back in a few minutes. won't shift out of low now. can't manually force it. all roads lead to pcm. light a prayer candle........................
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by brianp87 »

steven kiser wrote:ordered a new pcm. it's going to take a few days to get it so customer decided to use the sprinter. had a big job locally and needed his supply truck. came back in a few minutes. won't shift out of low now. can't manually force it. all roads lead to pcm. light a prayer candle........................
and leave it next to a gas can next to the sprinter :lol:
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by steven kiser »

a effen men.........................................................
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Re: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter - No Power?

Post by steven kiser »

ended up installing a dealer reman pcm and it didn't resolve anything. the old one (in a moment of frustration) was tossed across the shop against a wall. told the tech to send the reman back and get another one. a while later the tech came in and said he installed the original "sail" pcm and it's shifting normal and the power is 100% better. owner took it and called later saying he's happy with it and doesn't want to screw with it anymore right now.
never argue with a fool, they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience
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