I have a '96 Ram 1500/5.2-NV3500/2WD. I was drivin' along when 'ol blue just died. I was cruising about 40 mph in 4th gear, level ground, no load, no acceleration. No drag from tranny, tach died no engine drag. I pushed the clutch, shifted into 3rd gear n letter rip...nothing, not even engine drag. I stopped, tried re-starting(starter turned engine fast enough), all to no avail. I swapped the starter n fuel relays. The engine "eventually" re-started. I tried to drive on n, once again, the engine died as soon as I gave it gas. I tried cranking again n she foinly started n gave me no more problems. I did notice when I got my scan tool hooked up to 'ol blue after I got home N HERE COMES THE REELY WIERD PART...the report said that the drive cycles were incomplete just like when the battery gets disconnected. No, the battery hadn't been disconnected. Checked battery, terminals, alternater wiring and voltage...all normal. The "cat" popped an big red X on the I/M report section of the scanner. All parameters normal on live data. Long/short term fuel trims, all temps, vacuum, fuel pressure....EVERYTHING normal. Any thoughts or ideas?

 

I did see some shiny fast moving objects heading towards Texas so ..... Actually it's more likely the PCM lost power. I'd start with the basics, power and ground connections of the PCM, anything shorting out, green crusties etc.. Possibly a dying PCM as well but rule out everything else first.

 

Check fuel pressure with a gauge, The scanner has no idea what it is.

 

I also did that. It's running around 50 psi, even under the 'ol vroom, vroom load. Of course now the engine runs....go figgur?!? Also checked the grounds. Have never had the ECM connector off the computer since I've owned it, almost 25 years. Maybe it's time, lol.

 

The PCM going bad can cause strange things to happen. I also have a '96 Ram (2500 4x4 5.9 gas/automatic trans) and I keep a spare PCM handy for times when the truck does strange, unexplainable things.