Have you double checked all of the grounds? It could be a bad ground somewhere causing the issue.. Its worth a shot.. You could also find a PCM out of a junkyard and have the dealer flash it to your vin.

Edit: Nevermind.. JUst saw you checked all grounds.

 

I had the no bus comming up...but it was comming on and off. What happened was the po had taken the gauge cluster out for some reason and the wires in the back were loose and screws were missing. I tightened up everything and never had the no bus problem again. I got lucky that my PCM wasn't going out on me. Oh and its an 01 1500 318 with 113,000 miles.

 

No bus just means the cluster has lost communication with the PCM. Could be as simple as a bad connection at the back of the cluster.... or any of 100 other things..... Look for posts by cmckenna, he has some really good troubleshooting lists for no bus errors.

 

i get a no bus and dead cluster every once in awhile. so far - mine is always a matter of unplugging/replugging the large white cluster connector in the pdc box. the one with the bolt in the center.

 

sorry for not understanding the whole history here, but give me a quick summary - is this the original pcm or a refurb. and if its a refurb is the problem new to the refurb unit or a continuation of the same old problem from the original pcm.

 

I bought the truck used, and it had a refurb PCM in it. I had an ASD/stall problem that was obviously a flaky solder on one of the connectors on the PCM as it would start up every time after I popped the hood and pushed on the center connector. I bought a new refurb (from the same place, ACE) and have been dealing with this heat problem ever since (not solved by pressing on connectors). That reinforces to me that they keep sending me bad replacements rather than the PCM being a red herring.

I think I'm on my fifth "new" PCM. The first one was DOA (should have called my CC company right then....). The second one worked until the first hot day and had this heat issue. The third one had the bad solder issue (who knows, maybe I got my original PCM back). The fourth one was DOA (and they accused me of blowing it). The fifth one is back to the heat issue.

Yes, I know I'm probably an idiot for keeping at it with them rather than just giving up, but I have the luxury of dragging this out since my truck is not a daily driver. But, I'm getting to the end of my rope. Everything points to bad PCMs, but I'm re-evaluating all of my original assumptions before I move on. I have not done any diagnostics in the cluster, and that's probably my last stop.

 

You have more patience that I do.

I think going to NAPA, and getting one, would solve your issue..... if you want to keep at it with ACE, that is up to you, but, I am thinkin' the dead horse is lookin' pretty much the worse for wear.

 

I'm getting pretty close to that HeyYou....

Just reread the SM looking specifically for heat-related components, started thinking about the O2 sensors. I can't tell from the SM if they're active but ignored by the PCM in open loop (meaning they could still hose the bus even in open loop) or if they're inactive until closed loop (tying in with my hot=stall symptom). Will have a look tomorrow.

 

how much is one from napa?

this place offers "lifetime warranty".
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-1500-2...c77c46&vxp=mtr

i also see listings from cardone. they're a reputable company that's likely to test their products.

 

So they're saying it's testing fine on the bench and even in a test vehicle they have on site. I've told them I think it's heat related, and they said they let it run for a while in the test vehicle to make sure.

Is there anything else on my end I could be overlooking, another sensor that's causing the ASD (like my oxygen sensor but only after the engine goes closed loop)? I suppose it could be that heat is affecting a connector or wire bundle somewhere too. Or heat could be a complete red herring (although I don't think so since it never happens in the first 15 minutes or on a cold day at all).

The one at Napa is $319+tax. But now I'm questioning what else this might be. They seem to be playing me pretty straight.... ugh.