Launch enabled, then engine bogs & loses power

[RHOfan]

Driving home from work, get to a stop sign, launch control set to 3000rpm. Hit the “Christmas tree” button & see “launch control enabled” message on IP. Foot firmly on brake, then floor throttle. RPMs won’t go past 2500, so I release the brake & truck “bogs” across the intersection. Get to a mild hill & truck feels like it won’t make it up the hill, so I pull over. Truck idling fine, so I hit the launch button in an attempt to discontinue the launch sequence & message says “launch control unavailable, RPMs too high”. It was at idle.

So, I turn the truck off & re-start. No CEL. All seem good, but throttle response is delayed. Hit the gas & turbos don’t spool up immediately. It feels like the engine is starved for fuel or air. Got home. Family has planned a long, mountainous trip over the weekend..remote location. Would you trust it? Anyone had a similar experience using LC?

 

[Banger]

Vacuum hose popping off issue

If you guys remember, my check engine light came on last week and it ended up being a small coolant hose that would pop off and made the truck idle really rough and a code reader showed that every cylinder had a misfire. On Sunday while giving a buddy of mine a test drive, after a good 5-6 hard...

www.ram-rho.com

Check this out. Could be related

 

[DCook]

Loss of power has been linked to turbo linkage or actuator something popping off . For a few people

 

[Deange2001]

Driving home from work, get to a stop sign, launch control set to 3000rpm. Hit the “Christmas tree” button & see “launch control enabled” message on IP. Foot firmly on brake, then floor throttle. RPMs won’t go past 2500, so I release the brake & truck “bogs” across the intersection. Get to a mild hill & truck feels like it won’t make it up the hill, so I pull over. Truck idling fine, so I hit the launch button in an attempt to discontinue the launch sequence & message says “launch control unavailable, RPMs too high”. It was at idle.

So, I turn the truck off & re-start. No CEL. All seem good, but throttle response is delayed. Hit the gas & turbos don’t spool up immediately. It feels like the engine is starved for fuel or air. Got home. Family has planned a long, mountainous trip over the weekend..remote location. Would you trust it? Anyone had a similar experience using LC?

Dude wtf. Didn’t you just get it back from the dealer? At this point I don’t know if I’d take the truck to a remote spot until you can get it back in to the dealer.

 

[Deange2001]

Loss of power has been linked to turbo linkage or actuator something popping off . For a few people

Wouldn’t that throw a cel tho?

 

[gram10]

This sounds like a boost/vacuum leak

 

[RHOfan]

Vacuum hose popping off issue

If you guys remember, my check engine light came on last week and it ended up being a small coolant hose that would pop off and made the truck idle really rough and a code reader showed that every cylinder had a misfire. On Sunday while giving a buddy of mine a test drive, after a good 5-6 hard...

www.ram-rho.com

Check this out. Could be related

Thank you.

I reviewed that thread & checked that connection. It was fine. I also pulled the engine cover & that tube run has a total of 4 connections. See photos. All were good.

BTW, if anyone is thinking of using stainless hose clamps to secure those pipes…in a word…DON’T. They are molded, semi-hard plastic, including the barb section…they are not rubber hoses. If they come off, they need to be replaced. Ram may decide some adhesive is also needed in the future, but that’s up to their engineers. A clamp has the potential to crack & damage the hard tubing.

So, I looked around the engine bay for anything else that may have come loose. All looked good, but some stuff is buried deep.

Took it for a spin. Other than an initially rough idle, everything, including LC, worked flawlessly. I’m at a loss.

Just FYI, your set RPM limit on LC no longer “saves”. Seems the new default is 4K RPM. If you lower it, it will save until you park & re-start the engine. So, be sure to check your set launch RPM before activating LC via the Christmas tree.

Odd, as the factory default was 3500 & changes would save indefinitely until a user changed it. Apparently, a software upgrade has changed how it works.

 

[Eighty]

Probably a long shot, but I had something similar happen a while back on my TRX. Yes, I know, different engine. But I stomped on it once and had a sudden loss of power and could only coast after that (little to no throttle response). CEL's galore. Finally discovered that the throttle body connector had come loose. It was due to the torquing of the engine on its mounts and pressing against my cold-air intake (which is mounted on brackets over the engine). Once I got it plugged back in firmly and zip-tied it down, I haven't had the problem again.

 

[RHOfan]

Probably a long shot, but I had something similar happen a while back on my TRX. Yes, I know, different engine. But I stomped on it once and had a sudden loss of power and could only coast after that (little to no throttle response). CEL's galore. Finally discovered that the throttle body connector had come loose. It was due to the torquing of the engine on its mounts and pressing against my cold-air intake (which is mounted on brackets over the engine). Once I got it plugged back in firmly and zip-tied it down, I haven't had the problem again.

Thanks. I will check that.

No CEL & it’s running fine today.

 

[rtfd333]

I’ve had the same issues when I’ve tried launching. Chalked it up to me doing something wrong or just not knowing what I’m doing. The times I have launched successfully, I don’t think the RPM’s were high enough and just sort of launched. Every time I’ve put my foot down and have held it for more than a couple seconds, it cuts out and cancels launch control with a bogged down motor. Pulling over and putting it in park then drive has immediately fixed it though.

 

[RHOfan]

I’ve had the same issues when I’ve tried launching. Chalked it up to me doing something wrong or just not knowing what I’m doing. The times I have launched successfully, I don’t think the RPM’s were high enough and just sort of launched. Every time I’ve put my foot down and have held it for more than a couple seconds, it cuts out and cancels launch control with a bogged down motor. Pulling over and putting it in park then drive has immediately fixed it though.

Interesting. I’ve used the feature successfully 2x, so I don’t think it was user error. But, you have me thinking…

Quick question. After it bogs down, you pull over, park, then drive, does the engine act boggy? Or, does everything return to normal?

Even after a shut down/restart, my truck was slow to accept throttle inputs & felt like it wasn’t getting enough fuel or air for my 1+ mile trip home. All was fine the next morning after some initially rough idling.

 

[FrankNSteinPC]

Mine hasn't thrown a CEL or required a restart like others here have, but I’ve noticed what feels like a throttle delay or turbo lag both in Launch Control and during "spirited" lane changes at highway speeds.

In Launch Mode, I follow the procedure exactly: brake + throttle, RPM climbs, and then upon releasing the brake, there’s a brief but noticeable bog before it finally hooks and takes off. I've never been able to get close to the claimed 0–60 time — my best is 5.3 seconds vs the quoted 4.6. Still good times considering the size and weight of the vehicle on 35s, but not "as advertised." I get that those "advertised times" are always recorded in the most optimal conditions, and I am probably just seeing real-world standard performance.

On the highway, if I’m cruising around 65–75 mph and punch it to merge or overtake, there’s this 2–3 second pause where the truck just feels like it hesitates before coming alive. Almost like it’s figuring out the downshift + spooling up the turbos.

This seems different from the “hose popping off” issue a few others reported, since I don’t lose all power or need to restart — but it’s not the instant response I’d expect from a 540+ HP twin-turbo.

Would love to know if anyone else has received any updates or found a way to improve this without voiding the warranty. Appreciate the shared experiences!

 

[Sweptfever214]

There was a video on youtube at trx launch control. he talked about how if the RPMS are set to high during launch the car goes into spark cut and maybe its that?

 

[FrankNSteinPC]

There was a video on youtube at trx launch control. he talked about how if the RPMS are set to high during launch the car goes into spark cut and maybe its that?

Could be, but these are different engines. I also left it at the default 3k rpm’s. Plus I get the same results at highway speeds. Not that I should be driving fast anyway due to the brakes not being that reliable.

 

[Sweptfever214]

Could be, but these are different engines. I also left it at the default 3k rpm’s. Plus I get the same results at highway speeds. Not that I should be driving fast anyway due to the brakes not being that reliable.

it maybe is still trying to learn and adapt the transmission to your driving style? I know my 2023 ram specifically will always try to downshift and stay at the lowest gear even if I blip the throttle a little, just cause I have a lead foot. Sometimes it does have a little bit of aneurism and it will downshift when it doesn’t need to. The pedal also does have input lag for a lack of a better word. Maybe try to use tow haul mode and see if it improves the downshifts?

 

[Scottie2Hottie]

Could be, but these are different engines. I also left it at the default 3k rpm’s. Plus I get the same results at highway speeds. Not that I should be driving fast anyway due to the brakes not being that reliable.

Something is wrong if it does it at cruising speed too. I would take it in for service. Just speaking from an owner of multiple turbo charged platforms, these symptoms were related to watergate, fuel pressure (responds to vacuum pressure) or boost pressure leak between the turbo and intake manifold. IF it was only showing during launch control use, I would say the programming is faulty.

 

[FrankNSteinPC]

Something is wrong if it does it at cruising speed too. I would take it in for service. Just speaking from an owner of multiple turbo charged platforms, these symptoms were related to watergate, fuel pressure (responds to vacuum pressure) or boost pressure leak between the turbo and intake manifold. IF it was only showing during launch control use, I would say the programming is faulty.

I had a little time to kill waiting on my wife and I was close to a CDJR dealer. The one I’ll probably be going to mostly, so I dropped by and asked. The service manager asked the sales manager who drives a RHO and also owns a TRX. He said it was normal turbo lag. The TRX had instant power, this truck has noticeable turbo lag. That was the answer I got.

 

[Scottie2Hottie]

I haven’t reached the mileage yet to unlock LC, but if it’s bogs like you say, RAM needs to update the software (aka better control settings on the watergate). Maybe upload a video of what’s it’s doing. There will be some “delay” compared to a supercharger but it should not bog and lose power.

 

[frogjbm]

What is a “watergate”? You mean wastegate? This doesn’t seem normal to me considering M3 doesn’t do this.

 

[rtfd333]

Interesting. I’ve used the feature successfully 2x, so I don’t think it was user error. But, you have me thinking…

Quick question. After it bogs down, you pull over, park, then drive, does the engine act boggy? Or, does everything return to normal?

Even after a shut down/restart, my truck was slow to accept throttle inputs & felt like it wasn’t getting enough fuel or air for my 1+ mile trip home. All was fine the next morning after some initially rough idling.

So far every time this has happened, putting it in park then back into drive has brought back the power. Engine acts totally normal afterwards.