One day my 2001 Ram 2500 v8, 5.9 just stopped all of sudden and would not start up again. It would crank and crank, but it won't start. A few days later and much research and help from other experts from this site, here is my solution that got my truck running like new. Good luck.

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Fixed it today and here's what I learned that I hope will help others.

It was the Crank Position Sensor and it was a real pain in the xxx to remove and replace.

The position of it is right next to the engine exhaust block where it connects to the cat converter. The two bolts that holds the sensor is almost impossible to get. Definitely need extensions and GLOVES if you don't like to bleed much. The wire to the sensor as "zman17" say is also a real pain, it routes behind the distributor cap and practically behind the stereo of the truck, but on the other side of the firewall.

Now, this is what I found extremely helpful that helped me troubleshoot the problem.
• Crank sensor tells ECU when to spark
• Cam sensor tells ECU when to send fuel (injectors)

If the Crank sensor is bad, the computer will not ground the ignition coil wire, thus you will get no spark and no power to the ignitor.

If the Cam sensor is bad, you will still get sparks and power to the ignitor but the engine likely will not start because it will tell the computer to not send fuel to the injectors.

To get the truck to display the trouble code without a OBDII, all you need to do is turn the key to the on position 3 times. On the 3rd time, the odometer will show your current milage then quickly change and it will show you the code.

Code P1388 = ASR error (Auto Stop Relay). The ignition coil is connected to the ASR and the computer controls the ASR so again, if the Crank sensor is bad, the computer will not let the ASR provide power to the ignition coil.

I really hope this will someone else out there. I am going to create another topic just to post this finding.

Many thanks to you all for your support and help.

 

im happy you found the problem , happy we could help , at least you fixed alot that didnt need fix that wont need fixed for a while

 

Im having the same sort of problem, I know there are a lot of threads here on this but im just not having any success. My truck has been sitting all summer, i have been starting it from time to time, its been gradually getting harder and harder to start. It stalled 6 or 7 times just getting it in the gar, i did a full tune up, changed cam sensor and crank sensor. I also got my hands on another coil just in case. I have been working on this for 2 days now with no luck, i have no power to the coil but i do have the 12v on the black wire for a coule of seconds when turning the key. I have pulled the neg cable a few times to reset, the last two codes were 0443 and 1282, this is really bugging me, i have done so many test and check up to this point, the only thing i havnt done is unwrap the harness and check every wire, i fixed a few grounds that were corroded. I have power to the asd and if i put in a jumper i can get power to the coil, i hve changed the relay as well. What seems strange to me is that two days ago i thought for sure i had a constant 12v at coil but no signal from pcm wich is opposite what i have now. Any help would be much appreciated!

 

Great looking truck!

 

Just wondering if you have figured out the problem with your truck? I am having the same issues but with the exception that mine will start about once a day runs great ,turn it off and all it does is crank and crank.we have replaced plug wires,distributor cap and rotor,crank sensor, cam sensor and ignition coil. Also a buddy has a 97 so we swap the ignition switch assembly,the pcm,and tps with same results and no spark????

 

DMA81 hasn't been here for a year or more.

Have you checked your fuel pressure?

Welcome to DF!

 

Going to do that tomorrow I can hear the pump kick on and after so much cranking we begin to smell gas but going to check with a pressure gauge tomorrow

 

Sounds good.

When it won't start, check and see if you are actually getting spark. (sounds like you are indeed getting fuel at least....)

 

Yes I also bought a spark checker just so I can visually see as I crank the engine vs trying to have a second person

 

I have almost 50 on the fuel pressure gauge and with the spark tester it is showing spark