Truck wont restart. Stranded

Rcharlieo · May 5, 2015

Hey guys, I've got an 03 Ram 1500, 4.7L v8 thats having issues.

Started up and drove today no problem, then it died at a stop sign and will not start again. It turns over but there's no hint of a spark or it trying to start.

OBD Codes when I first pulled over were as follows:
P0016-Crankshaft Position - Camshaft Position Correlation (Bank 1 Sensor A)
P0038- •P0038 HO2S Heater Control Circuit High (Bank 1 Sensor 2) ((I do not have a CC hooked up))
P0300-•P0300 Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
P0315-•P0315 Crankshaft Position System Variation Not Learned
P0335-•P0335 Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit Malfunction
P0339-•P0339 Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit Intermittent
P0499-•P0499 Evaporative Emission System Vent Valve Control Circuit High

Bought a new Crankshaft Sensor and installed it but it still won't start, and no change in it trying to start. Now when I hooked up the OBD code reader only 2 codes came back: P0038 and P0499 - Both shouldnt effect the ignition.

Can anyone help me here? Only thing I can think of is maybe the Camshaft Sensor is preventing it from starting.

Rcharlieo · May 6, 2015

A couple people I've asked have commented about my fuel level. It's at
1/8th of a tank, which should be more than enough to start. They claim that not enough, or dirty gas is the culprit or a funky fuel filter. I have not checked these yet, (At work till 5pm central) could they be right? Sounds a little too simple of a problem for all the codes it was throwing.

preachp · May 6, 2015

Hi Op,

First one fault can trigger other faults. In other words if your cam sensor is bad it can cause a plethora of codes. Secondly multiple misfires, Evap error could very easily point towards a fuel delivery problem.

preachp

Rcharlieo · May 6, 2015

preachp said:
Hi Op,

First one fault can trigger other faults. In other words if your cam sensor is bad it can cause a plethora of codes. Secondly multiple misfires, Evap error could very easily point towards a fuel delivery problem.

preachp

Thank you. I was reading the same thing just a little while ago, that sometimes cam sensor could cause crank sensor codes and vise versa. I haven't checked all 8 banks to verify spark yet - I need to. The Evap module makes a high pitched noise, like it's not venting or working properly. I didnt think that would effect it starting. I've gotta pull the bed off to access the top of the fuel tank correct?

(Forgive me, I'm new to all this truck mechanic stuff. I mainly work on motorcycles so I understand the basics but not all this technical electronic wizardry.

WulfGang · May 6, 2015

Have/is your truck tuned by a Tuner? ( ie, Diablo Tuner )

Rcharlieo · May 6, 2015

WulfGang said:
Have/is your truck tuned by a Tuner? ( ie, Diablo Tuner )

No it is not / I do not think so. I've only owned it for 2 months, previous owners were oil field workers and everything looks very stock except the mud.

Rcharlieo · May 6, 2015

Pulled my cam sensor just now and there is a substantial build up of this silver paste. My mobile isn't cooperating with pictures so I'm sorry I don't have one yet.
Anyone know what this silver paste stuff could be? Could whatever metallic looking too this is cause the can sensor to read incorrectly?

Rcharlieo · May 6, 2015

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Rcharlieo · May 6, 2015

Cleaned that sensor and installed, didn't start. Installed a new sensor, didn't start. Felt up inside the cam area and there was only oil, no silver paste build up. Going to try again tomorrow.

Maybe its an ECM error? I did reseat all the fuses disconnect the battery for a while.. Did I **** up here?

AnEngineer · May 6, 2015

Have you investigated fuel pump?

Rcharlieo · May 6, 2015

AnEngineer said:
Have you investigated fuel pump?

Going to do that first tomorrow. Didn't think it would be that with all the codes.

Rcharlieo · May 8, 2015

Update:: I charged the battery, yesterday and did some more testing today.

The fuel pump powers on and pumps. Fuel lines have pressure. Replaced the crank and camshaft sensors. No more codes relating to those sensors.

I am not getting spark. I tested banks 1 and 3 by pulling the coil pack, regrounding it and putting a good spark plug in and cranking the engine. Absolutely no spark whatsoever on those tests.

Im aware this truck does not have a distributor cap (Damnit) and that the computer controls the firing order and sending signal to spark.

Previous owners tore into the shielded wire harness for the crankshaft position sensor (for reasons unknown) and stripped each wire.

I did my best to seperate and shield each wire from eachother so they wouldn't ground out.

Could those wire touching and grounding out somehow fry my computer??

So i've got power, fuel, compression but no signal to the plugs to spark.

Halp.

Rcharlieo · May 11, 2015

Okay...

I hate computer controlled stuff... anyway.. Did a few more tests today.

My OBD code reader was not reading two codes. I did the "Turn ignition on/off three times" and 5 codes popped out on my display.

P0499
P0038
P0340
P0685 - new
P0688 - new

Called a mechanic and they said the "P006X are powertrain verification test codes and indicate the computer does not match the vehicle.

Truck was purchased used so I'm not sure if all the parts are original or not, but it ran like a champ until it just up and died on me.

Can anyone offer any insight at all about this? I can only work on it today and tomorrow since its supposed to thunderstorm all week and it's outside, across town.

Rcharlieo · May 26, 2015

Well I got my truck towed back to my house, since it's still not starting.

I found a ground strap wire broken near the crankshaft sensor. There is a three connection strap going from the engine above the right passenger wheel connecting the crankshaft sensor to the engine and fender well. The fender well connection snapped and was dangling so I took it all off and will rebuild id with new strap wire.

I double and tripple checked all the fuses and made sure my battery had a good charge, new sensors, etc. so if this broken ground doesnt fix it I'll be up the proverbial **** creek without a paddle.

I found this website with a lot of good wiring diagrams for almost all dodge models after 2004. -- www.Rambodybuilder.com A little tricky to navigate at first but they are there. I hope that can help someone like it did for me.

Rcharlieo · Jun 4, 2015

Replaced the ground strap. Still nothing. No change in the engine codes either.

Since this is like my 5th post without a reply, I'm assuming the technicallity of this problem exceeds the abilities of the people who use this forum.

So when I have the time and money to throw away I'll tow it up to the dealer and get them to fix it. Kinda flabbergasted honestly that there was not one single mechanic, or person who has a mechanic friend who would had any information on trouble codes P0685 or P0688.

Even just a "Take it to the dealership" response would suffice. I joined the forum like everyone else did to receive help to problems they couldn't solve on their own but after 3-4 weeks of no response it's pretty clear no one either knows or cares.

Cool beans. If someone can shed some light on my trouble code issues it would be awesome to have a working vehicle again..

regularcab2500 · Jun 4, 2015

P0685 is power relay control circuit open

P0688 is power relay sense circuit open

Test voltage to ecm, check wiring and fuses, replace if necessary. Replace faulty ecm relay. Have you done any of this? This is almost certainly what is causing your truck to not start. You may need a new ecm if wiring, fuses and relays prove to be fine.

It took me 5 MINUTES TO SEARCH THAT ON GOOGLE.

Rcharlieo · Jun 9, 2015

regularcab2500 said:
P0685 is power relay control circuit open

P0688 is power relay sense circuit open

Test voltage to ecm, check wiring and fuses, replace if necessary. Replace faulty ecm relay. Have you done any of this? This is almost certainly what is causing your truck to not start. You may need a new ecm if wiring, fuses and relays prove to be fine.

It took me 5 MINUTES TO SEARCH THAT ON GOOGLE.

No blown fuses, no faulty relays. I checked and double checked the relays and fuses during week one. I replaced a broken ground strap, thinking that was a major culprit, but no change at all. ECM has voltage. It registers the ignition, powers the fuel pump on, does everything except for start. No blown fuses anywhere, not even inline.

I don't have the $180 for a dealership to diagnose it, and I don't have the $300 for a replacement ECM unless I know FOR SURE that is the problem.

regularcab2500 · Jun 9, 2015

Fair enough man but its one of those things. You take the chance on $300 to maybe get your truck running or do nothing a know it will never run again. My buddys gf had the same dillema with her neon that could not keep a timing chain on. They just scrapped the car because they figured it was not worth the risk to spend the $300 for no reason but the were able to buy her a new dart a few weeks later.

jbmobbs · Jun 9, 2015

regularcab2500 said:
Fair enough man but its one of those things. You take the chance on $300 to maybe get your truck running or do nothing a know it will never run again. My buddys gf had the same dillema with her neon that could not keep a timing chain on. They just scrapped the car because they figured it was not worth the risk to spend the $300 for no reason but the were able to buy her a new dart a few weeks later.

Does it crank but not fire up?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

jbmobbs · Jun 9, 2015

Go to a part yard or find a friend with the same truck. And try to swap the ecm. If it works then boom......bad ecm

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Truck wont restart. Stranded

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