I have a 2003 Ram 2500 with 5.7L HEMI. I turned the key to start and heard a loud bang. The engine immediately raced to redline then died. I tried again, and this time there was no "bang" but it still redlined then died. The lightning bolt icon is lit on the dash. A friend checked codes, and it was inconclusive (unfortunately I did not think to write the code down). In so much as a visual inspection can reveal, the throttle body seems to be working correctly. Any advice? Or perhaps a process of which parts to replace first, with saving money in mind?

 

Sure sounds like you're having some kind of loss of throttle control...the "bang' concerns me though, any idea where that came from?

 

Wish I did, but no, I don't know where the bang came from. I did not notice a burnt smell of any kind, though the bang was explosively sharp. Maybe something under tension snapped?

 

Have you unhooked the battery for about an hour to try to reset the PCM?

 

I tried unhooking the battery as you suggested, but unfortunately it didn't fix the problem. Thanks for the idea, though!