03 Dakota 4.7LV8 no bus and gear indicator lights cycle
 

A few months ago my 03 Dakota 4.7L V8 Automatic wouldn't start. A couple times it would start and die 2 seconds later; but then it wouldn't crank at all. All the gage lights would stay lit. Eventually "no bus" appeared in the odometer.

Had it towed to shop two days later. When it got off the tow truck it started up and ran fine, with no engine diagnostic codes stored; so I drove it home.

It ran fine around a month and the problem occurred again. This time it won't crank or start. With key in ignition turned to "off" the gear indicator lights will cycle through "P" "R" N" "D" "2" "1" continuously. With the key turned to "on" the gear indicator lights continue to cycle sequentially on and off, the gage/indicator lights with light and stay lit, the odometer with flash several times and then "no bus" will appear in the odometer.

Replaced the battery....no change. Saw other forum posts about replacing the crankshaft position sensor and/or PCM, but don't want to proceed with those without a stronger indication they are actually a problem.....

Any suggestions?

Move thread to 2nd gen?

Welcome Mr Mayor. Good luck. Do you get any error codes with the OBD?

EDIT: Check your grounds! On my wife's 99 D I had a no bus error, and it ended up being the kick panel to the right of the passenger's feet. Check it out. I have a thread with a picture in the Durango section, but the wire is easy to find.

im going to move this to 2nd gen for ya, they might have a better idea than we do.

Did you check your grounds yet? You really should check the ground near the passenger kick panel.

Attachment 82205

It only takes a few screws to access. Remove the trim on the floor where the passenger might step when entering the truck, which allows you access to the screws holding the kick panel on. The bolt you see in the picture was backed off quite a bit. Let me know what you find.