In other postings elsewhere it seems like the two symptoms are related. Once Lifes2 determines that his fuel pump is working fine then I think we would both be on the same page then.

Lifes2--are your gauges working when you turn the key?

 

They sure can be related but, it also may be a failsafe event that is being triggered thus cutting ALL power to the EFI system. This can literally explode into many failure modes. This is why I wanted to start another thread for your issue. But, let's start troubleshooting your vehicle here and see where it goes.

In his case, his doesn't run AT ALL. I know this system inside and out and, I can help you at least pinpoint all the possible failure modes.


Intermittent issues: Let's get some more information.

Do you lose everything when it goes intermittent- meaning, you lose power to everything other than the headlamps or, do you have power to everything and, it just stops running?

We need to know what kind of failure and at what level we are dealing with before assessing anything.

CM

 

NO everything in my truck works perfectly fine just no fuel gauges and everything are all systems go, update: still raining drive way is flooded looks like it will have to wait until tomm. Thanks guys as soon as I get a reading I will let you know!!

 

Ok. No problem.
CM

 

AH this is killin me another long day of work and coming home in the sunshine on the bike, close the garage door BOOM thunder lightning and more rain!!! So here is too tommorow and having better luck, sorry to keep you all waiting.

 

Something that just came to mind (must have been the lightning bit that sparked me brain) is that there's TWO types of FUEL PUMP harness connectors and, depending on WHICH fuel pump you've got, it MAY not have the RED wire as I described.

When you go get around to working on it again, look at the connector (middle of the pump by the way) and see if it's got 4 wires on ONE ROW or, if it's a TWO ROW, 6-pin-offset connector.

If you've got the first type, RED is going to be far R and BLK is going to be on the far L. The remaining two middle wires are for the sensor.

If you've got the latter, the pinout is a bit different. In this pinout configuration, RED is going to be at the lower row, far right pin.

BLK is going to be in the UPPER ROW, far left pin. At least, this is how I remember it being wired. It's been a while so, if something does not match up, let me know what the color codes are and, how many pins you've got and we'll go from there. Should only be four but, it's always best to treat it case by case as, I'm not 100% familiar with every Dodge RAM made as they've made quite a few changes over the years.

NOTE: IF YOU NEED / DESIRE to remove this connector- AN ORANGE / RED SAFETY retension mechanism (ON TOP) must be slid to the LEFT to UNLOCK it. You may have to use needle nose to do so. Some are stubborn buggers.

Then, you have to push down on a grey release mechanism to fully release it so you can slide it off the connector. This grey release mechanism has a thumb action lever at the rear of the connector. Firmly press it with your thumb. It will raise the opposite end up in the air thus allowing you to pull it off the FUEL PUMP.

CM

 

I understand what you are saying but has the fuel pump failure been established yet?
I would like to know if his gauges (BAT FUEL TEMP and OIL) are working when the engine is cranked after stalling. Mine didn't until it restarts. Then all is OK- BTW, everything electrical still works when this happens.
Today, the engine died 3x (within 5-10 min) while driving-- I coasted to the shoulder- It restarted (after about 20 attempts) and ran fine after the third time and I made it home. It started and ran fine later on in the evening. It seems to run fine while cool and acts up after a few hours of run time.
I read a posting elsewhere about a frayed/worn 12V connection to the PCM I'll check that tomorrow a.m.

 

I believe all systems function normal minus the pump (fuel gauge) is what I gathered from the above statement.

NO: the fuel pump electrical test has not been conducted yet. It has been raining he said. Just waiting for the rain to stop and take a voltage measurement at the pump to verify if power is being sent to the pump or not.

CM

 

In your case, it dies but, makes me stop to think.

<IF> it was a spent pump, you wouldn't lose your cluster which, also does not coincide with the above quote. The reality is that, everything does not work as indicated by the loss of your gauges. Those are ALL electrical CKTs so, there's a failure and, it's an electrical failure as well.

<IF> the pump was shorting out intermittently, the FUEL PUMP FUSE WOULD BLOW and trip a permanent shutdown command at the PCM. So, since you've been able to restart it umpteen times, it's not a shorting pump motor.

<IF> the FUEL PUMP as a whole was not putting out FULL PSI, this would lead to the PCM shutting down the system due to insufficient fuel flow rate and, it would shut the system down. BUT, it would not take out the cluster and all gauges.

<IF> You've got a SHORT condition in the 5-volt sensor supply, that WOULD take out the cluster AND the PCM. It may also be intermittent as well. Another failsafe event would occur in this case for sure.

<IF> it was electrical failure of some sort, it could be intermittent and, depending on WHAT CKT / CKTs was being affecting, it may not take out the entire system. It could be a simple loss of ground or, it could be a simple corrosion issue to where, there's a voltage drop in the SUPPLY.

<IF> it was a corroded battery connection, it would also die sporadically, you'd hear the starter clicking, you'd see lights flicker, go dim, to dead and then back on very bright and, the voltage meter may produce erratic readings.

So, in YOUR case, what we need to ask here is this:

Q: is this problem related to a failsafe event?

Probably, YES. WHY: due to you losing your cluster is an indicator that you are losing communication with the PCM. If ALL your gauges are out, this is indicative of a COMM failure at some level between the PCM and the CLUSTER.

Since all messages are relayed through the cluster TO the PCM, this is a very good indicator that something is triggering a failsafe event thus, shutting down the EFI system as well as the cluster itself.

So, in order to assess your problem, we need to find the answer to that and, I'll tell you how to do so.

THe next time that occurs, take a minute to note the following:

- Is there power to the COIL?

- Is there power to the FUEL PUMP?

By finding the answers to just those two questions, you can learn a lot here.

This is the first place I would be checking.

<IF> there's no power to either, you've got a failsafe event occurring and, we would need to start measuring and factoring out all possible failure modes.

Start there first. Let's just see what we are dealing with in your case. I treat every case as a separate case because, what may be affecting someone else, may be totally not what is happening to you.

There's a lot of things that will induce a NO START condition such as the following:

COIL FAULT

FUEL PUMP FAULT

GROUND FAULT

SOURCE / SUPPLY FAULT

SENSOR FAULT

PCM FAULT

CLUSTER FAULT

ASD EVENT

BAT VOLTAGE SENSE LOW

BAT TEMP OUTSIDE NORMAL RANGE

CHARGING SYSTEM FAULT

IGNITION FAULT

The list mushrooms into a hundred items as each one of those flows down thus, the possible failure modes increases and, it increases significantly. The magnitude of this is overwhelming.

So, to get things under control, one must start somewhere and start taking note of what the conditions are.

So, if we can at least narrow it down to an EFI event or not, it will at least give us a starting point or baseline to start working off of.

CM

 

ok got some time today got under there and I cant even see the pump to get to a connecter so I am going to go ahead and drop the tank. I only see bolts on the passanger side am I missing something? Well going to go attempt it now will be back hopefully within 30 with results!

WTF Ok so I got the first bolt loose but the second one wont budge!! Put some PB on her and cant find my dang breaker bar AHH never fails going back at it.