Well I am still chasing a pretty infrequent problem where every so often the ETC (Electronic Throttle Control) dash lite will start flashing, sometimes the engine will go into limp mode or outright die when this happens. It's been a particularly nasty bug to track down because it only happens maybe once every 2 months or so, and is not repeatable. And while sometimes the error will hang around for a few restarts, most often it just goes away on its own not to return for some weeks or months on the next engine restart.

So I have replaced the throttle assembly, cam position sensor and crank position sensor. Nothing made a difference, problem still comes back every month or two. I have pulled codes when this happens, and torque-lite says no stored or pending or historic codes???

I have also searched thru the Service Manual, and it seems that one possible reason for the flashing ETC light is an intermittent connection/reading from the cam and/or crank (or throttle) sensors. If it were the cam or crank sensors though I would have thought there should be a stored engine code for them???

The manual does mention that when the ETC light is activated, the PCM will store the DTC code. Errors like this line shorted to ground etc should be there giving me a good clue where to look. Reading these PCM codes seems to be beyond what Torque-lite and my bluetooth adapter can do; so I am wondering what sort of reader do I need to be able to pull these codes? Would an independant shop have one or is it a dealer only thing?

Suggestions?

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2006 KJ CRD