Hello all -

A few questions, if anyone's got the time to help out...

The truck is a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 / 5.9 ctd / Edge Juice with Attitude / AirDog 150 / MBRP 4" exhaust / K&N intake / TransferFlow 75Gal Aux tank.

Last year, I had an odd issue with overdrive and the lockup clutch 'fluttering' when it would try to shift to overdrive. Based on some recommendations from other people on the forums with the same trouble, I got some new batteries, cleaned all of the connections, and took off the negative battery cable where it attaches to the bottom of the engine block and cleaned it and put it back together. It worked PERFECTLY.

Until this year... same thing happened. I figured it's been a year, maybe corrosion has built up again and all of the connections need to be cleaned.

I waited a little longer than I should have to actually do it, since I knew (thought I knew) what the problem was.

Well, a week into it (just been turning OD off...) The engine throws P0341 (Cam Shaft Position Sensor). Three miles after that, the Tachometer is reading zero. A mile after that, the engine can barely run.

I get home, take off all the battery cables and clean everything just like last time, and it works like a charm. OBDII scan checks out, Tach is back, OD is working, engine is running perfectly. Drive it about 20 miles to test, still perfect.

This morning, on the way to work (10 miles into the trip), the light comes back on, and it's giving a P0341 code again. Tachometer goes to zero, engine sputtering a bit, but still running.

I pull over, clear the code, and the tach comes back and the engine runs fine.

20 miles later it comes back.

This time, it clears, and then comes IMMEDIATELY back.

SO: My questions are these...

1) Am I on the right track with checking the grounds, and are there more that I should check?

2) If it's actually a bad sensor... why would cleaning all the grounds (or clearing the code, for that matter) have brought it back, temporarily? Was it just "on its way out" and working intermittently, and now it's "all the way out"?

3) Can the sensors be damaged by operating for a prolonged period with bad grounding? That is, did waiting to resolve the smaller problem result in a larger one?

4) Does the tachometer actually rely on the signal from the Cam Position Sensor, or are those going to be two separate issues?

5) Does it make sense at this point to buy and install a new Cam Position Sensor, or are there other things that I could/should do to troubleshoot?

Any help greatly appreciated, thanks!!!

 

i cant remember the year splits, but you should have two sensors, crank and cam, there is a split somewhere around 01, one uses the cam sensor for the tach, the other uses the crank sensor for the tach,

ground problems cause alot of hell with these trucks, if you havent, also check/clean the body grounds as well, but i bet you have a failing sensor

 

dodgetrucker75 - Thanks for the reply!

If there are any models that use the cam sensor for the tach, I'm going to bet that's mine... the tack dies the exact second the cam sensor code is thrown (P0341).

So, guess I'll pick up one of those sensors on the way home.

When you're talking about the body grounds... I've seen two under the hood... are there any more hidden around?? I'm with you all the way on the problems those damn things cause, I just don't know where all of them are!

 

i believe there is a body ground from each barrery to the fender, there should be one near the pcm on the fire wall, abd there should be a frame ground also, there may be more but i am not sure

 

[ground from each battery to the fender, there should be one near the pcm on the fire wall],

Found these.

[there should be a frame ground also],

Can't quite find this one.

[there may be more but i am not sure.]

After taking a closer look at the way some of this is wired, I can't imagine that they WOULDN'T have hidden a few in places that are both likely to corrode and impossible to find.

There was one wrapped tightly around the back of the alternator, making contact with a sharp surface. Engine vibration over time appears to have used that surface to saw right through the insulation and expose the wire... I wrapped that up, and everything tested good for 50 miles. I really thought I had it, that time... then it threw the P0341 again.

I've already bought the sensor in case all the grounding isn't the trouble, but it sure is a bitch to get at...

At this point I think you're right, it's both problems. A sensor on it's way out, complicated by a lot of bad grounds.

Thanks for the help!!!