I'm brand new to any forum. I have an 08 ram single cab 2wd 4.7 auto 148k miles. When I drive down the road and hit a bump the red "lightening bolt" light in the dash comes on, the truck either dies or goes into low power mode. I put it in neutral, cut the key off and crank it right back up and no issues until I hit another bump. (yes I know if I didn't bumps it wouldn't happen ) No engine light or codes. I have searched high and low on all platforms. Have seen many with this problem but no one has ever posted how to fix it or what they found. I have changed: alternator, cam sensor, crank sensor, O2 sensors. I have replace all the ground cables from the battery to the frame and block. I cleaned the throttle body. I have checked all the grounds I can find, all seem good. I cleaned battery terminals. I checked all under hood wiring and all seems solid. I have checked all the connections behind the fuse panel and checked the plugs to the ECM. I even used a dead blow hammer and bumped around on all the components while sitting at an idle. Got nothing!

Please help!!!! Any and all advice/wisdom will be appreciated.

 

Decided to give up after wasting a weekend changing $500 worth of sensors and fuel pump. I will be scheduling an appt with a trusted mechanic shop that specializes in electrical issues. I will post what the problem was when I get it back. Wish me luck!

 

If it’s when you go over bumps it definitely sounds like a loose connection somewhere. I would first check pcm connectors and make sure pins are good and they’re secured in.

also I’ve heard of cluster connectors coming loose

Otherwise if would be something I’d have to physically look at to give a good idea on what it could be

 

Thank you for that advice. I ended up taking it to a shop that specializes in diagnostics. I will list all the work I did and what I changed and then tell you what the shop found.

I changed all the ground wires from the battery to the frame, cam sensor, crank sensor, ignition switch (not the key switch, the one inside the column). I changed both speed sensors in the trans, the ABS sensor in the differential and the fuel pump. I checked all connections behind the fuse panel, all the connections to the PCM. All the ground wires I could find. Pulled the bed off and inspected all the wiring. (changed the fuel pump while I was there). I had battery, alternator, starter tested. I tapped everywhere with a dead blow hammer on all the components I just named. I used my scan tool to look at throttle position to make sure it was working without a glitch. I pulled the throttle body and cleaned it thoroughly. I cleaned the MAF and verified all connections to the engine were connected. So about $1000 worth of parts and a lot of bad words later I took it in.

They found after all that, the plug to the throttle body was loose! I'm not sure how that happened unless it was lose before I started. I pulled the red retainer clip back, removed the plug. cleaned the throttle body and put it back together. I pushed that plug in really good and pushed the red retainer clip back in place. I pulled on it also to make sure it was secure. (all the plugs, pcm throttle body etc. were really difficult to get back on properly) The shop bill was $326 two hours of diagnostics. Truck runs great, went over some terrible railroad track crossings and it never wavered.

My only conclusion is, I fixed the problem with one of the parts I mentioned above but didn't seat the throttle body plug good. Or it was not plugged in good when I started working on it and I just put it back in the same spot..... I know this is not the answer anyone including me was looking for but that was the outcome.

After reading the same stories I just typed out over and over again in these forums, I did the same thing with the same results. My advice for anyone. Find a good diagnostic shop before you do what I and many many other gear heads did and parts change. I'm sure most of us could be shop mechanics and some probably are. Our only drawback is the lack of diagnostic tools. The shop I went to had better diagnostic tools than a dealer has.

Hope this helps someone. Good luck.