Dear All,
I want to share my experience with SKREEM malfunction that is causing Start Error, temporary fix and GDE Tune to eliminate SKREEM.
About a year ago, I had Start Error with fan on and after much research, I determined it was bad ECU. New ECU cured this Start Error problem.
Over this Christmas, I was vacationing in Brian Head, UT, about 10,000 FT high up in mountain in freezing temperature. Start Error came back about two months ago WITHOUT fan on, so I assumed it was the SKREEM module going bad. It is especially chilly in the morning even in Southern California this year, down to about 36 degrees in the morning which is kind of unusual in Orange County. However, I was able to start my car after several tries, every single day after "Start Error" message. So, I ventured out to Brian Head and it finally quit on me in the morning of 12/23/2015. It was about 9 degrees outside with snowing and car wouldn't start with consistent "Start Error."
I thought the time had come to order GDE Tune with SKREEM Elimination, thank God I had my laptop to program GDE Tune, so I frantically called Keith at GDE and he was gracious enough to overnight GDE Tune for 24th delivery. But it was snowing so bad and also being 24th, I had to make several calls to Fedex to track down to see if package would arrive on 24th. Online tracking system posted "Delay beyond our control" in Indiana and I found out there were series of tornadoes in the region. At this point I was going nuts because we were supposed to check out of hotel the next day(24th) and head to a hotel in Zion Canyon. If the GDE Tune does not arrive on 24th, we were in big trouble since there were NO hotel rooms available in Brian Head except extremely expensive suites. After several calls to Fedex, thankfully the package arrived around 3 pm local time and I immediately installed and read my ECU file and send back to Keith, hoping to receive the tuned file back relatively soon. But being 24th, and GDE closed, I was under the mercy of Keith for the file. I decided to send my wife and 3 children to a hotel one hour away from Brian Head and I remained in my RV with 2 dogs for the night. Keith at GDE once again came to the rescue and sent me the tuned file early morning on Christmas day! I can't thank him enough! So, with the tuned file in my possession, I immediately installed back to my ECU. That was around 7 am local time in freezing temperature, snowing hard. But to my surprise it still had "Start Error." I tried to install twice and still gave the same result. You can only imagine my disappointment at this point! I kind of assumed that it is something to do with existing "Start Error" when I turn the key to on position to re-program with the GDE tuned file.
So I had to come up with a different way to start the car for the time being. I borrowed a hair dryer and an extension cord from the hotel and fired up my generator (thank God I had enough propane to run the generator). I took off the top cover of instrument panel and warmed up SKREEM module and other electronics around for about 5 minutes. Bingo! I no longer had "Start Error!" My guess was right since I got "Start Error" only in the cold morning in So Cal. Once the engine starts, the error message would not come up the rest of the day.
Having the "Start Error" problem resolved, the engine would turn now, but due to the cold weather and having 3 of 5 glow plugs dead (my bad, I am in So Cal and who needs glow plug in So Cal?), engine would not start. I warmed up the engine block with the hair dryer for about 20 minutes and after multiple cranking, the engine finally started, Hallelujah! It sounded so sweet! I picked up my family and drove all the way home, taking 13 hours, dropping by Zion Canyon, a restaurant for dinner, stopping at a gas station, all without turning off the engine, just in case!
After arriving home, because the car is warmed up, I didn't get "Start Error." So, I re-installed the GDE Tuned file with SKREEM Elimination. After the installation, I tried using a spare key without the chip and it started. Also, for 3 days in a row, I am not getting "Start Error" in cold mornings. I am pretty sure GDE Tune file is working fine now, but will report back to you in about a month.
Lesson learned here is that, I am not sure if this can be applied to other Sprinters,
1. Warming up the SKREEM module and electronics around could be temporary solution to "Start Error." I guess you need to carry something that can warm up the module.
2. You can read from ECU while "Start Error" is on, but you CAN NOT upload (re-program) when "Start Error" is on as it was in my case. It won't bypass SKREEM if you do that.
3. Don't take your Sprinter to cold places if you are having "Start Error" problem due to SKREEM module. Get GDE Tuned with SKREEM Elimination prior to going to cold places if you want to make sure.
4. After the GDE Tune with SKREEM Elimination, my car is very responsive due to higher horsepower, has a bit of louder engine sound, saves gas for sure, EGR is bypassed, and SKREEM is bypassed and I no longer have to worry about "Start Error!", and I can use the spare key with no chip to start my Sprinter! Remote lock and unlock still work fine!
So, they fixed the WSP and synced the keys and engine computer to it. The company guy said that the WSPs are the most common problem on these due to processor failure. They supply them when needed (no extra cost).