We need help! Our 2000 Ram 2500 loses power, stalls and backfires only in the winter with the snowplow on. It's connected to the hydraulics only, no lights. My husband has had the truck to the garage for this problem and it persists. The O2 sensors have been replaced. Can anyone help up on this? He just started a new job and was almost late today because of this problem. He pulled into the parking lot going a roaring 10 mph. On the possitive side, he made it there!

Thanks!

 

Hmmm I dunno. [&:] Always start with the basics though. Whats it got? V8, V10? Diesel?

Is it throwing any codes? Even if the CE light isn't on turn the ignition key to ON-OFF-ON-OFF-ON and watch the CE light, and see how many times it blinks. Check them against this site http://dodgeram.org/tech/gas/Trouble/pcm_fault_code.htm

Check the plug wires, make sure they're right. I know it sounds easy, but worth a shot.

Check the intake plenum gasket. Look down the TB and see if theres any oil pooling.

Maybe its because its cold out, not because of the plow. Have you ever took the plow off and seen if the problem continues?

I looked through some TSB's real quick and didn't see anything about it, I'll take a closer look though.

 

also check the catalytic converter... if it's plugged, it's not going to breath well and you'll loose a ton of power under load. same goes for the air filter...

 

Oh yeah, forgot the cat

Pull out the O2 sensor BEFORE the cat and see if it'll run that way. Usually that little hole lets out enough exhaust for it to run.

 

You didn't give us a whole lot of info, but...I would have someone check the alternator output. Plows take a lot of electric power to operate the pump. It's possible that the alternator/battery voltage is dropping enough that the computer is malfunctioning, causing misfire problems and injection problems. I believe that the voltage regulator is part of the computer itsself, this went bad on a Dakota I had and the truck ran worse and worse until it finally quit altogether. I was able to connect a "jump start" battery to the battery and drive it home. You might try hooking one of these up to your battery and seeing if it runs better. This would help narrow it down. A plugged cat is a possibility also - but having the plow on shouldn't make much difference - the cat would make it run bad all the time! If these suggestions don't woork - give us more info on the truck - what motor, trans, any mods, etc. and we'll try again.....

 

is the pump for the plow electric or does it run off a pulley?