I usually deal with my 77 4x4, but my wife has an 05 1/2 dodge ram 4x4 and she wantd to lift and change the tires and wheels also. I wanted a programmer for the upgrades, but mainly for speedo changes. My question is (truck was bought used) how do I put a programmer on my truck when their might be one on it already?????? If so how do I erase it all to stock and start over. Thanks for any replies.

 

I'll assume you do not have access to the programmer. If you did, the easiest way to get back to stock (which is critical to installing a new tune), is to use the programmer to flash the truck back to stock.

Take it to the Fiat, I mean Dodge dealer and have them read the calibration. If it's non-stock, have them re-flash it.

Even if it is stock, you may want them to reflash it anyway (to make sure you have the lastest).

Then you should be able to install a canned or custom tune.

 

I would check the dodge coverage, but I do know AE with regard to the 6.0s can recalibrate the speedo for larger tires, plus you get a whole lot of diagnostic abilities that would supercede that of the programmer. AE with a dodge coverage(it won't work on your 77, has to be OBD-II on up) will probably set you back the same price as a programmer, but unless you are wanting the extra power as well, AE gives you a lot of tools to do your DIYer stuff yourself. A budget way of getting near dealership coverage(atleast with the 6.0s).

This way it shouldn't matter rather or not you already have a stock flash or a non-stock flash, however, AE will also let you know what the strategy is and if you have a list of stock strategies then you could determine it yourself. I think a dealership would charge you both for the initial hookup to find out if it's stock and for flashing your vehicle as I would imagine an 05 would be out of warranty for a gasser by now.

I will add this, depending on how high the lift is for a gasser 1/2 ton, you might want to also think about gear changes as well. Might want to go lower with the gearing, I have a feeling that will help you out more then the tuning alone would be able to do.

 

thanks for the replies! I will prolly let the dealership reset all funtions to stock that way I Know that I am starting stock ecu. I knew my ford brothers (sisters too) would pull together and help me figure this out. The dodge website I went to was really no help. I will keep you up on info when we get that far on the build.