Have an 02 Ram with the 5.9 the check engine light was on stopped and had it checked it came up with the o2 sensors code.Bought those on the way home and stopped and got gas,when I came back out the truck started fine but when I was driving noticed none of the gauges worked or turn signals or headlights.Got home checked all the fuses etc,, all was fine but notice it looked like the dash light was just barely on,battery was dead this morning jumped it,but it would start then immediatley die,,have someone coming to check it out but does anyone have any thoughts?Thanks

 

Try and stop by an auto store to have your battery load tested and also test your alternator. Check out all the connectors under the fuse box for looseness or corrosion. Also when you're back at the auto store have them check again for any new codes.
How many miles do you have on your beast? I'm just over 200,300! (that reminds me, I need to post a pic)

 

I have right at 140 thousand on mine and this is the first real problem I have had with the truck and I have had it since it had 7 thousand on it.The repair place is saying it is the instrument cluster that is the culprit.Hope thats right because it is an expensive fix.

 

A dead IC (instrument cluster) could be one of the problems. there's been some threads about that and the IC would show "no bus" in the odometer spot. I guess that meant that the IC wasn't able to communicate with the rest of the truck's electronics. But if your's isn't even showing that, no life at all, either it completely just crapped out on you or there's something else wrong. The simple thing would be to check the main connector that plugs into the IC - you may be able to reach it from under the steering wheel, don't quote me on that. There's lots of threads about replacing the IC.
** Make sure you pull the negative off your battery first, to power down the airbag system.
You may need to spend some time under the hood and under the truck inspecting all the wires you can find to make sure nothing got frayed or chewed up. 02s - 05s use the CANbus electrical system and just a few wires can and do control many, many different systems and sensors.

 

You might check the underside of the Integrated Power Module (fusebox). There are a few write-ups here in the forum about the underside connectors allowing water to get in and corroding the contacts. This in turn makes the connection unreliable which drives that portion of your electrical system into an unhappy place.

 

New instrument cluster fixed the problem and the truck is back to normal.Thanks for all the advice it is good to know theres a place to get ideas/help from.

 

Great fix, although I'm sure the part was expensive, $250-$300ish huh? You got the new part in really fast though. Most times I've read people having to wait 3-5 days for a new one to get shipped.

 

It was bought at the dealer,they have an exchange program on them but it was still $691 for the part.I went ahead and spent the extra for the factory replacement because I did not want to do the job twice.