I haven't posted here in a long time. I've got a 1999 Dodge Dakota R/T which is running fine but a friend of mine is having problems with a 2004 Dodge Dakota SLT 4x2 4.7 automatic with 190,000 miles on it. We've replaced the cam sensor every year for the past 2 years from a parts store because of the same code. A month ago we replaced it again with a factory Mopar sensor and I was just informed that today the P0344 code came back up and it was running rough. There's no power when you press the gas so they shut it off and then restarted it and it was running normal so they were able to get home. He checked the dash for codes and there was a P0344 and P0517. He said he's never seen the P0517 code when he's used his code reader before but it was also the first time he's tried it using the dash to check the codes. I know he doesn't have a battery cover over the battery like the original should. It's very cold now and his battery is about a year old, so that could just be a bad battery. He says most of the time the P0344 doesn't cause any problems but when it does it won't hardly run. It's obviously not a failed sensor since it's been replaced 3 times now. He said he read about the wiring connector failing but upon checking online through old posts I haven't seen many complaints that required a new connector change. I told him if it's intermittent like that to wiggle the connector while it's running normal and see if it changes. I saw on one old post from 2004 in response to the same code someone posted about a cam sensor shim kit that was in a service bulletin but haven't seen anyone needing that out of all the posts I've looked over. Is there anything we can check to try and remedy this problem? Anything else that usually causes this or should he go ahead and replace the connector? He's in a very rural area where there isn't any service shops to take it to so he's kind of on his own. He use to be a mobile mechanic years ago and still does light repair work once and while so he can do pretty much anything provided he has the tools needed. Which he doesn't have many fancy diagnostic tools anymore so he couldn't further scan the PCM to see what's going on.

 

Check connections at the PCM as well. The wiggle test should be adequate. May not hurt to physically inspect the harness running to the cam sensor either......

 

is this a common occurence on these 4.7 equipped Dakotas? My friend has read that it was but I could not find a whole lot of information on it being problems with the connectors.

 

When you've previously removed the sensors, have they had any signs of wear on them? You might go ahead and have them pluck the current sensor just to examine visually.

Neither DTC is listed in my 2001 FSM, so they must have been added at some point later. Looks like 0344 began in 2003.

The 517 is a circuit-high error. That could be a grounding failure from the sensor itself, or the battery could simply be consistently overheated. At some point the PCM will cut the alternator off and prevent charging.

 

What kinda wear are we looking for? He still kept the old sensor. We didn't notice anything unusual when we replaced the cam sensor. I'm not sure how hard it will be to inspect the wiring from the cam sensor plug all the way back to the PCM. It's definitely not a "ghost" code because it does affect the way it runs dramatically. He's got to shut the engine off and restart to get it back to running normal enough to get back home from wherever it's happened. I checked the battery when I visited him about a month ago while we were changing his fuel pump, spark plugs, and air filter out. The battery was a new battery not one of their remanufactured batteries from a battery remanufacturing facility. They didn't have a remanufactured battery that size so he had to sell him a new one. It's not a store brought brand though so there was no cranking amps listing on it. So I think I tried it with two different cranking amp ratings. One test it failed and the other it passed. I charged it while we were working on the truck but it didn't take maybe 30 minutes. He does park the truck outside and it has been quite cold the past month. It may be just a bad battery causing the the temp sensor code. His fuel pump went totally out. It was only putting out 20 psi. While we were doing that we replaced the cam sensor and cleaned the connector out. He said after we installed the new fuel pump and changed the spark plugs it had so much power he didn't even realize it was ever that bad. We used the factory Champion spark plugs gapped to whatever the specs were and the cam sensor was a Mopar sensor that I was able to order from Rockauto. Then he called me a couple days ago saying the cam sensor code came on and it started losing power.