I own a 1999 Ram 1500 5.2L with a little over 59,000 miles on it. This summer the engine has just died on 3 occasions. No bucking or sputtering just silence. The check engine light comes on and the odometer reads "no bus". The first time the engine restarted again within 5 minutes the second time it took about 45 mins and the third time 10 mins. Although the problem just started this summer it doesn't appear to be heat related. Only once did it die when it was very hot outside. I've had it to the shop and of course it was working then so the computer did not reveal any of its secrets. My only alternative seems to be to hope the part in question outright dies. Which naturally means that I'll have to tow it to the shop. Has anyone experienced this before or have an idea where I can start looking? Is there a way that the average Joe can determine what fault code may exist at the time of the engine failure?

 

No bus is a common issue I believe.

If you do a search in this forum, you will find quite a few threads on that.

 

welcome to DF...

1st thing that comes to mind is the crank position sensor, then the fuel pump. next time it dies, turn off all accessories so you can listen for the fuel pump when the key is turned on... it should turn on for 2 seconds then off. if you dont hear it, have someone else turn the key and stick your ear near the driver side rear tire and try it again... 99% of the time you can hear it from the cab.

if you do hear the pump, and it wont start, check the fuel pressure, if you have 49 psi +/- 5 psi, it's most likely ok, volume would be the other issue but that's not going to kill your motor the way you describe. If the pump's ok, then go to the crank sensor. it's located on the passenger side of the motor behind the head and is mounted on transmission's bell housing. no signal, then the motor wont run.

hope this helps... keep us posted.

 

I've seen alot of posts about this on the 98+ model rams. Seems the most common problem for the no bus has been a loose connection to the pcm. Look under your hood on the passenger side and unplug and brush off all the connecxtions to the pcm. That has seemed to fix the problem for most people.

 

u can check to see the code on the odometer by turning ur key on off on off on and then where the odometer it will bring up a 4 didget code the on the internet find a check engine code list and that will tell u what is wrong at the time

 

i dont think it is the crank sensor steve because i just went through that and i didnt get any light on mine,no buss light came on or check engine light....just died so i dont know if his is the same problem.....this time to me it sounds like the fuel system but you told him how to check that so we will find out if he checks it for pressure or the pump priming....so mort keep us informed!!!!

 

the crank sensor failing may not throw a code, I mention it because i've seen it on other cars & trucks. The pcm re-connect thing is one I havent heard of until now, start there 1st I say, it's free...

 

Thanks guys for all the advice. So far its been 2 weeks between each death so I'll wait till then to try the fuel pump and the code thing. I'll go ahead and check the PCM connection now. If there is a smoking gun (pun intended) I'll let you know. My only question with the fuel pump is why would it start working after a short period of time?

 

if the failure is heat related, it may start working after it has time to cool...

one way to semi-verify this is when it dies, look @ how much fuel is in there, then dump in 4~5 gallons of (preferbly cool) gas and see if it fires up. this may work to get it going. if this does work then you know your pump is bad

visit the DIY forum for a writeup...

 

OK, FINALLY THE PROBLEM I HAVE. MY TRUCK IS A 1999 RAM 1500 SPORT 4X4 5.9L AND IT DOES THE SAME THING. IT DOES IT WHEN IT GETS HOT ( I LIVE IN MIAMI. FL) JUST TURNS OFF AND DOES NOT START FOR ABOUT 30-45 MIN. THREE SHOPS HAVE TOLD ME TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER BUT I DON'T HAVE THE FUNDS FOR DEALER REPAIRS. WHEN IT TURNS OFF THE GAUGES DON'T WORK, NORMALY WHEN YOU TURN ON THE IGNITION THE GAS AND TEMPUTER GAUGE WILL RISE, BUT MINE DON'T. I PUT A NEW FUEL MODUEL AND IT KEEPED ON TURNING OFF. MY ONLY OTHER THING TO LOOK FOR WOULD BE THE PCM. WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?