Hello all, I'm new to the forums and need some serious help!

I'll cut to the chase. I have an 02 Dodge Dakota Sport 3.9L Auto with 170k miles on it. Its been the most reliable vehicle ever until now. I was stopped at a light and everything just shut off...instantly. No warning.

I am now stuck with a 'No Bus' on the odometer, a blinking engine light, and no fuel pump sound when the ignition is flipped on(no start).

It will crank and crank and crank, but it'll never start.

My code reader wont work because of the no bus communication error between my cluster and my pcm. My battery is fully charged and almost brand new. The needles in all of my gauges stay at the minimum level with the ignition on.

Help Please!!!

 

sounds like a dead fuel pump

But may be an ignition problem or dead PCM

 

I had no-bus, had to replace my PCM. Got a rebuilt.

 

I've done a little research and it may sound like a dumb question, but would the ignition coil cause the blinking engine light?(some type of misfire)

 

'No Bus' on the odometer sounds more like a dead PCM. If you keep your Dakota long enough you will have this problem sooner or later.

 

No bus could be anything under the rainbow not letting the computer communicate with the cluster. That's why I gave more details on top of 'no bus'. Other threads state just going straight to the pcm for the problem is a crappy move.

10 minutes at a dodge dealer would have surfaced the pcm answer.

I will test my ignition coil and fuel pump in the morning however.

If I could get a little more insight on this it'd be much appreciated.

 

Verify that engine again? You say "coil" singular but the 3.7 had coil packs.

Do you have 3 or 4 connectors at the PCM?

 

Pretty sure he meant 3.9.

The 3.7 wasn't available in 02 right?

 

Sorry for the mix-up. It was late last night, and it IS the 3.9L. 3 plugs on the PCM.

 

That's better. The 3.7 wasn't available in '02. I wasn't sure if you had some "oddball" early vehicle.

The CEL flashes for a misfire but if you're not running it can't detect one.

Do you have spark? It could be the ASD relay but the problem is, that shouldn't kill the PCI bus. Check the cam/crank sensors and harness closely. They can fail and short out the 5 volt supply.