HELP…ESC AND CEL……NOT THE ABS..

[Ramtor]

I have had my truck for about 4 years so I know it very well we have a love hate relationship. So here is the deal. About 180000 miles the lifter finally turn side ways and ate the camshaft, valve guides getting weak.. So right before the the lifter failed and it seized then engine I had this weird loss of power and the ESC light comes on…Pull codes says i need a camshft sensor….crank sensor…MAP…sensor basically throwing $15-$50 sensors at it. All while the Lifter is ticking As it was not catastrophic YET!! So all the sensors did not fix the issue in which case i assumed it was the lifter and BOOM I’m on the side of the road. Sourced a slightly used engine from a tech at the RAM dealer. So I thought well that issue is solved (CEL and ESC again NO ABS light present) ITS NOT THE DAM WHEEL SPEED SENSORS…back to the internet to see if anyone has this issue….well not really. I have seen answers all over the place, low oil, brake light switch, cam sensor and the one that was the most plausible is the guy that had a wire get chaffed at the back of the right side valve cover….well i wish I would have seen this when i had the engine out and I would have fixed the issue then. I found A few wires with the insulation broken. I did not cut any wires, just carefully 1 by 1 repaired with liquid tape and electrical tape. So now the big question? Is it possible the shorts wiped out the “new“ sensors? And more importantly the ECU or TCM? If anyone else has had this issue please message me. I hate throwing parts at this i have driven with this issue for about 6 months and I need it to pass emissions as well as It is as annoying as hell. Are there any real techs out there still? I’m tired of hearing “what code is it throwing? ITS NOT a dam sensor..

 

[Jeepwalker]

For starters, 1) do you have a scanner or software like AlfaOBD, where you can read real-time data from sensors? That would really help.

2) I doubt a short knocked out a sensor or the computer. Just thinking out loud here: Sensors generally work on a 5v signal either reference, or return a proportion of the 5V to the computer. If the 5v wire was shorted, it would (should) return either no or very low signal (because it's shorted). If the 5V feed shorted to the return wire, it should return the whole 5v signal which is still within the sensor's and computer's design voltage (but would probably trigger a code). But I wouldn't think it would knock out the computer or sensor, because the 5V is within it's design range ..as I say. But, hey, things could happen.

3) Could be multiple things going on which are always a pain to lock on to: a new sensor failed (not common but can happen), and/or your brake module or ABS valves are acting up (a common Ram thing). On these trucks, always start by making sure your battery load tests great. Then all the connectors and grounds to the engine/body/ and around the body are solid. These trucks get real wonky when voltage/current isn't real solid. Sounds simple, and may not be the cause, but that's one of the first things on the troubleshooting tree for a reason. I've seen it on my truck.

4) If you have a scanner where you can see real-time sensor readings, I would ask if you are getting a good signal on those sensors? If not, you might ultimately have to do some testing and back-probing of the sensor with a VOM. If you aren't getting a good reading, possibly test individual circuits to the computer connector. There've been a couple guys on this forum who've had sneaky wiring problems who've caught them with old-school circuit testing.

Sorry if I didn't help you any. I hate when these things happen, they're such a pain! I feel for ya. This is one of those things hard to troubleshoot from the keyboard.

Understanding Five Volt Reference Signals – UnderhoodService

A 5-volt reference flows through a sensor with a resistance that varies according to changes in temp., pressure or position.

www.underhoodservice.com

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