1999 Ram 5.2 died, shop is baffled
#1
08-11-2021, 10:21 PM
Join Date: Aug 2021
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1999 Ram 5.2 died, shop is baffled
I have a 1999 Ram with a 5.2 auto, 150,000 miles, and was driving July 20 and the truck just died like it ran out of gas. Cranked but wouldn’t fire. Has gauge had read fine. Added gas anyway to try, no go. Had it towed to a seemingly reputable shop who determined it had a bad ground battery cable connection, it was barely making contact, so they repaired that and then said after a “tap test” the under hood power/fuse block had corroded connections. They initially ordered a used block that they were going to use to replace it, then decided that it was less trouble to clean all the connections and put it back together. $450 and 2 weeks later, I walked out hoping the problem was fixed. Two days later it did the exact same thing, and was showing No Bus in the odometer digits. Had it towed again back to same shop last Wednesday the 4th. To this day they are stumped, and now the starter won’t even crank. What’s my next move?
Really, I am asking if I should pull my truck from the shop and take it elsewhere. They’ve had it three weeks and they have four or five locations in town, with seemingly good Google reviews, I just can’t figure out why they haven’t been able to find the issue in that timeframe. And I baby that truck, it’s not like it’s a beater or has crap bolted on all under the hood, it is factory original and pretty much pristine.
Really, I am asking if I should pull my truck from the shop and take it elsewhere. They’ve had it three weeks and they have four or five locations in town, with seemingly good Google reviews, I just can’t figure out why they haven’t been able to find the issue in that timeframe. And I baby that truck, it’s not like it’s a beater or has crap bolted on all under the hood, it is factory original and pretty much pristine.
Last edited by 4stgs; 08-13-2021 at 02:41 PM.
#2
08-12-2021, 12:39 AM
#3
08-12-2021, 12:43 AM
I have a 1999 Ram with a 5.2 auto, 150,000 miles, and was driving July 20 and the truck just died like it ran out of gas. Cranked but wouldn’t fire. Has gauge had read fine. Added gas anyway to try, no go. Had it towed to a seemingly reputable shop who determined it had a bad ground battery cable connection, it was barely making contact, so they repaired that and then said after a “tap test” the under hood power/fuse block had corroded connections. They initially ordered a used block that they were going to use to replace it, then decided that it was less trouble to clean all the connections and put it back together. $450 and 2 weeks later, I walked out hoping the problem was fixed. Two days later it did the exact same thing, and was showing No Bus in the odometer digits. Had it towed again back to same shop last Wednesday the 4th. To this day they are stumped, and now the starter won’t even crank. What’s my next move?
Starter not even cranking is one. There are many possible solutions but if it were me I would start with the fuse box and battery terminals since they were in there.
"No bus" is the other. That means that the cluster list communication with the PCM. Usually it's a sensor on the 5V reference that is bad, but I have seen wires that were frayed. Unfortunately both these problems will require a test light and multimeter to diagnose.