about a week ago i was driving down the road and out of the blue everything cut down, headlights, dash lights, radio. the next day i took a look at it and checked fuse box and relays everything was fine connections were fine cleaned out with cleaner anyway, found out my alternator wasn't putting out, replaced the alternator, still wouldn't work or charge, had my mechanic trace the lines"wires" to check for breaks or shorts everything is fine, now it looking like the computer,pcm, or ecm whatever you prefer to call it is bad. also about 2 weeks ago i had another engine installed because my old one had bad rings. It ran fine but when in park it idle'd a little high. any help would be appreciated.

1999 dodge ram 1500 5.9l v8 4x4 ext. cab automatic with overdrive and a/c

 

Pull the alt, and have it tested. Also have the battery tested..... If the alt is ok, the regulator is more than likely the problem, and it is indeed internal to the PCM. (which really doesn't strike me as a good idea...... oh well)

Did they do anything about the plenum pan when they had the intake off?

Welcome to DF.

 

yes the first thing i did was have the new alt tested it wasnt showing as charging, but of course their is no type of charge getting to it, and for the battery advanced auto parts said it was good, but i must ask if the battery come up bad would it have anything to do with it being extremely low charged, and yes regulator is internal inside the pcm, a real flaw by Chrysler if you ask me, I have a "Actron Autoscanner plus" that set me back 250$ but i thought was worth it. It gave me these codes, P1682 charging system to low-fix- replace altenator, replace pcm, p0743 torque convertor clutch solenoid circuit-fix-replace pcm, asd relay, p0753 overdrive soldenoid circuit-fix-pcm ,overdrive solenoid, p1765 Transmission voltage relay circuit-fix-pcm,transmission wiring harness,trans solenoid,replace alt wiring, replace tran control relay, i showed these codes to my mechanic and he said the pcm might be generating these diffrent codes because its bad.

 

Pull the connectors at the PCM. (disconnect battery first, and wait about five minutes for all the caps to discharge.....) and see if you don't just have some bad connections. If the connections all look clean..... might see if you can find another PCM in the scrap yard that matches your year/engine/trans configuration, see if that helps at all.

 

" yes the first thing i did was have the new alt tested it wasnt showing as charging, but of course their is no type of charge getting to it"

Huh?

 

ok, that will reset the pcm as well correct? and yes auto zone and advance want 300 plus for a new pcm, but auto world wants about 150, and on ebay theres a company named "auto computer exchange" that has them for 162$ programs it for your VIN and has a lifetime warranty. but my mechanic says he might have found 1 for about 100$. Ive called every local salvage yard and none have one for a 99 ram 5.9l. i gotta ask if i get a used one does it neeed to be reprogramed for my truck? or does the 99 not need it.

 

sorry i mean their is no juice, power getting to alt, as their wouldn't be if the computer is bad and telling it not to charge.

 

auto computer exchange does NOT have a good rep........

 

Ok, So it was tested while on the vehicle. I'd take it off and test it alone.

 

oh? well who would you recommend to get one from? I live in mobile, Alabama so the closer the better.