2015 1500 U11E9

[90GTS4]

So, I almost have my dad's truck ready for emissions and only have this code left (U11E9 for the Active Grill Shutter). I have attempted to perform some wire troubleshooting and have had some good results and others that are questionable and I will list them below

Connector at the AGS:
- Pin 1 (black): good continuity to ground (~0.4 Ohms)
- Pin 2 (white/brown): questionable 4 VDC with no keys in ignition, ~2 VDC with keys in and turned but not started
- Pin 3 (red): good 12 VDC

I went to the PCM and attempted to shoot pin 55 on it (the connector towards the driver's side) to pin 2 on the AGS and got anywhere from 600K ohms to 8M ohms, which is essentially open and part of my questionable results. I also shot power out of pin 55 (probed the back of the connector) and got a solid 12 VDC with no keys in and ~10 VDC with keys in and turned but no ignition on (which seems to be right, I believe). I also cut back the wrapping of the harness for the AGS connector until it merged with the main harness and found zero wiring that looked damaged (that seemed to be what most people dealt with, but of course, not me).

My questions are as follows:
1. Is pin 2 (AGS) to pin 55 (PCM) supposed to be straight continuity (~0.5 ohms or so) or is it going through something else causing those weird readings?
2. Could I splice in a new wire to essentially bypass whatever is causing this "open"?
3. If not, is it possible to rig something up to get rid of the code/light to get it to pass emissions (CEL is an auto fail no matter what)? Perhaps spicing 12 VDC into pin 2 and remove the shutters so I never have to worry about them closing?

Thank you for any help with this!

 

[Black-Wolf]

Give a look at this. That should help.

 

[90GTS4]

Give a look at this. That should help.

Thank you for posting the 3.6 version! (it appears to be the same pins as the 5.7L version I saw somewhere, thankfully).

Would pin 2 on the AGS plug to pin 55 on the PCM be just continuity or does it go through another computer causing my weird results? To me, it seems it should be straight continuity (maybe 0.5 ohms from pin 55 to pin 2).

I assume the "inline-body/engine" and "inline-body/front end module" are those bulky disconnects for the harnesses with those goofy levers? I tried to find them to break the system up but I had some difficulty locating those exact ones.

 

[Black-Wolf]

Thank you for posting the 3.6 version! (it appears to be the same pins as the 5.7L version I saw somewhere, thankfully).

Would pin 2 on the AGS plug to pin 55 on the PCM be just continuity or does it go through another computer causing my weird results? To me, it seems it should be straight continuity (maybe 0.5 ohms from pin 55 to pin 2).

I assume the "inline-body/engine" and "inline-body/front end module" are those bulky disconnects for the harnesses with those goofy levers? I tried to find them to break the system up but I had some difficulty locating those exact ones.

Those should either be splices/connectors that join/split other wires into different bundles. No need to break them apart - if you have continuity from Pin55 on the PCM to Pin2 on the AGS, Pin 1 on the AGS to GND, Fuse 41 to Pin 3 on the AGS, Fuse 01 to Pin 1 on the Radiator fan plug, Pin 2 on the RF to GND, and Pin 82 on the PCM to Pin 4 on the RF - with 0 or almost 0 Ohms resistance - then your wiring is good. Check the pins for corrosion and misalignment.

Next ground pin 1 on the AGS and apply 12Vdc to Pin 3 on the AGS - it should activate. Pin 55 is a SIGNAL FROM the PCM and the varying voltage tells the AGS how much to open/close. At 10-12VDC - it's probably full open, and at 2Vdc its almost completly closed. As the radiator fluid heats up, and the thermostat sends a signal indicating current radiator temp to the PCM, the hotter the anti-freeze, the more voltage gets to the AGS - opening it up more. What I don't know, and isn't clear from the diagram, is if the Pin 55 signal is 5Vdc, or 12vdc. 5 would make more sense. What you can do is run your engine (or go for a 10 min drive) and check the voltage while the engine is on. With a warm engine, you should see readings closer to a high voltage - note: I might have that backwards - meaning 2Vdc = full open, and 4 vdc = 1/4 or 1/2 closed... You'll figure that out by checking while the engine is warm - you need your radiator temp to be at or close to 180F. Either way, it sounds like everything is working as it should.

You can safely do a temporary splice to verify if you're still having problems. I recommend you use these to do your splicing because they can be reused and are pretty good: Posi-Lock connectors or Posi-Seal connectors. They have other good stuff there at Custom Dynamics - I used a universal Brake light flasher for my CHMSL and love it. I know about them because I used to ride (hopefully will again soon!). Note: You can order larger bulk packets on Amazon in some cases... But Custom Dynamics is the only place I've found that sells them as part of their inventory.

Back to the splice: Just cut the questionable wire about 3-4" away if possible from each plug, then run a wire from the plug side cut to the AGS plug cut so you make a circuit - use whatever splice you like - but again, I recommend the above. Check continuity between the plugs. If it's better, then your problem is definitely a wire. Run the truck and see what happens. If it doesn't fix the problem, you can just reconnect the cut ends of the wire bundle reusing the splices above.

Also - I see where you're confused about continuity on Pin 2 going back to Pin 55.. If connector with Pin 55 is plugged in to the PCM at the time you're trying to check continuity, you're seeing readings of resistance from INSIDE the PCM - not the resistance of the wire. If you unplug both connectors and shoot continuity, you should not have varying resistance and it should be 0 Ohms (or close). If you have varying resistance, you've got bare wire making contact with another wire or ground somewhere else causing "cross talk" or spurious voltage. Wiggle wires all the way back along the path till you see the ohms jump around as you wiggle. That should help narrow down the break.

 

[90GTS4]

I did have the PCM and AGS disconnected to shoot continuity, so if it should read nearly 0 ohms, then the wire is definitely bad somewhere. I'll splice in a new wire and come back to let you know. The main reason for this I guess was to verify that it should have been continuity or if it was going through some other weirdness. Thanks!

 

[90GTS4]

So, I rewired it from the PCM straight to the AGS and, so far, U11E9 is gone, and the CEL is no longer on! And, apparently, the fuel monitor finally completed it's testing (I haven't been able to get that complete since I started resetting with my reader and after the repair, it completed within a few minutes of the first drive).

Thank you for the help! Also, I will update this tomorrow when we get the emissions testing done.

 

[Black-Wolf]

Glad to hear that you've solved the issue! You'll need to do a more permanent repair at some point but at least those issues are resolved!

 

[90GTS4]

Glad to hear that you've solved the issue! You'll need to do a more permanent repair at some point but at least those issues are resolved!

Thanks! I soldered in a new wire and everything is good so far. Zero codes, no CEL, and passed the emissions nonsense.

Edit: drove the truck to Arizona (maybe 250 miles) and so far so good. All engine monitors have gone through their diagnostic period or whatever it's called with no codes.

 

[tssm2019]

I too just got the U11E9 (AGS) code on my 2019 Ram. Has 40K miles on it. After reading some of the posts here, and learning that the retractable grill is on the same bus, I unplugged it, (the Retractable Air Dam (under the bumper), added some dielectric grease, worked the plug in and out a few times; and walaa- no more code!

 

[tssm2019]

I too just got the U11E9 (AGS) code on my 2019 Ram. Has 40K miles on it. After reading some of the posts here, and learning that the retractable grill is on the same bus, I unplugged it, (the Retractable Air Dam (under the bumper), added some dielectric grease, worked the plug in and out a few times; and walaa- no more code!

New update: the code came back yesterday... So I did some further research, only to find that someone recommended to simply UNPLUG the connector from the Active Air Dam. I did this, cleared the codes, and the AGS started functioning again... no more CEL. Also when disconnecting the AAD, I noticed that one of the pins inside the connector end (on the AAD motor) was broken; i'm assuming from corrosion. Many have stated that the AAD is not really all that effective in imporoving mileage, etc; so I simply covered the connector/wire, and anchored it up out of the way. Just thought i'd share.