Camaro
Junior Member
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2016
- Posts
- 2
- Reaction score
- 0
- Ram Year
- 2003
- Engine
- 5.7L Hemi Magnum
Let me start by saying I apologize if this is in the wrong section, and hopefully it's able to be moved to where it belongs without much hassle. As you can probably tell, I'm new to this forum, so I'm not too sure as far as posting and considering the time at the moment, I don't have the time to read through everything. So again, I'm sorry if this is in the wrong place..
On to my issue..
We purchased a used 2003 Dodge Ram 1500, 5.7L Hemi just the other day. When I test drove it (I drove it twice before buying, and the person that owned it prior was using it between times) there were no issues, no lights on, etc. Bringing it over the mountain to our place, the dash turned into a Christmas tree. ABS, Brake, Engine are all solid lights. Battery light was blinking as well, so I checked around and found that a bad battery can make the dash lights go wonky in several Dodge models, so I replaced it. The battery was horrible, as if it's never been changed, so I'm very glad to have done it (even though it took some doing to make it run and idle properly afterward).
Long story short, the ABS and brake lights started coming on and going off intermittently within a few miles of driving. Check engine light came back on tonight on the way back home as well; now the brake and ABS stay solid when they come on and the battery light is also flashing again. I've read around and found that people have issues with the magnetic speed sensors, but I have no speedometer issues at all. It doesn't idle funny anymore (other than after changing the battery, but I've read that's just a Dodge quirk, so I don't know), and it has no issues with stopping, sitting idle, etc. I'm unsure what's going on. I've had a code reader pull codes prior to installing the battery and the codes were for the following:
Front (left and right) ABS circuit malfunction
Engine light was determined to be exhaust leakage, cat, or just a bad batch of gas
And a code for Bank 1, Sensor 2 low voltage O2 sensor.
As I've only driven the truck less than 2 days, I've yet to determine if the engine light is the result of bad gas, but it doesn't run as if the converter is clogged, and there's no exhaust leaks anywhere that I can see, feel, or hear. I've crawled the entire length of the truck looking for exhaust leaks and broken lineage, hoses, etc in case any of the codes were indicative of a wiring issue. I've found nothing in the open that I can see or feel.
My question is, is there anything specific to the model year (or years) that could be causing the brake lights to both illuminate (as a separate issue) and what would cause both the voltage light to blink, as well as a check engine light to illuminate together? It's as if these are definitely two separate issues, though I don't know. But the two sets of lights almost always come on together. The oddest part of all of this is, when braking coming down off the mountain is when the lights seem to all decide they need to be on, so I'm curious to get some feedback as to what on earth is happening with this truck. Please keep in mind that I don't have any speedometer issues, so I don't believe there's actually a severe problem with the ABS speed sensors (as far as the magnetic issues are concerned, anyway.)
I apologize for the very long post, but I hope I can get some feedback as soon as possible. I intend to do some more looking over things tomorrow. I might end up lifting it up to have a better look around. Any feedback or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
On to my issue..
We purchased a used 2003 Dodge Ram 1500, 5.7L Hemi just the other day. When I test drove it (I drove it twice before buying, and the person that owned it prior was using it between times) there were no issues, no lights on, etc. Bringing it over the mountain to our place, the dash turned into a Christmas tree. ABS, Brake, Engine are all solid lights. Battery light was blinking as well, so I checked around and found that a bad battery can make the dash lights go wonky in several Dodge models, so I replaced it. The battery was horrible, as if it's never been changed, so I'm very glad to have done it (even though it took some doing to make it run and idle properly afterward).
Long story short, the ABS and brake lights started coming on and going off intermittently within a few miles of driving. Check engine light came back on tonight on the way back home as well; now the brake and ABS stay solid when they come on and the battery light is also flashing again. I've read around and found that people have issues with the magnetic speed sensors, but I have no speedometer issues at all. It doesn't idle funny anymore (other than after changing the battery, but I've read that's just a Dodge quirk, so I don't know), and it has no issues with stopping, sitting idle, etc. I'm unsure what's going on. I've had a code reader pull codes prior to installing the battery and the codes were for the following:
Front (left and right) ABS circuit malfunction
Engine light was determined to be exhaust leakage, cat, or just a bad batch of gas
And a code for Bank 1, Sensor 2 low voltage O2 sensor.
As I've only driven the truck less than 2 days, I've yet to determine if the engine light is the result of bad gas, but it doesn't run as if the converter is clogged, and there's no exhaust leaks anywhere that I can see, feel, or hear. I've crawled the entire length of the truck looking for exhaust leaks and broken lineage, hoses, etc in case any of the codes were indicative of a wiring issue. I've found nothing in the open that I can see or feel.
My question is, is there anything specific to the model year (or years) that could be causing the brake lights to both illuminate (as a separate issue) and what would cause both the voltage light to blink, as well as a check engine light to illuminate together? It's as if these are definitely two separate issues, though I don't know. But the two sets of lights almost always come on together. The oddest part of all of this is, when braking coming down off the mountain is when the lights seem to all decide they need to be on, so I'm curious to get some feedback as to what on earth is happening with this truck. Please keep in mind that I don't have any speedometer issues, so I don't believe there's actually a severe problem with the ABS speed sensors (as far as the magnetic issues are concerned, anyway.)
I apologize for the very long post, but I hope I can get some feedback as soon as possible. I intend to do some more looking over things tomorrow. I might end up lifting it up to have a better look around. Any feedback or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!