stringring
Junior Member
The "lightning bolts" warning lights come on and my truck goes into limp mode. Sorry if this is long winded, but it's the only way I can explain this problem.
I was getting ready to do an over 3000 mile trip in my 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 with 5.7 hemi. My gas mileage had been about 12 mpg, so I changed the spark plugs and cleaned the throttle body. We headed out on our trip and I noticed that I was now getting 18 mpg, which was great! The truck was running fantastic! We had gone about 350 miles on I95 doing about 70 mph when all of the sudden the engine dropped of into limp mode and the lightning bolt signal came on. I'd never seen that and was kind of freaked out. I worked my way to the shoulder and turned off the truck. I checked the truck manual to find the lightning bolts meant the issue was related to the throttle control sensor. I turned the truck back on to see what would happen. The truck went back to running fine and we managed to drive another 40 miles to our days destination in Savannah, Ga. I did some research online when we got to our hotel room. Everything I read seemed to lead to throttle body sensor issues. I found that on my truck that the sensor was incorporated in the throttle body. I figured that I needed to address this issue by replacing the throttle body. I located a new throttle body and went to the parts store to pick it up. The truck was still running fine. As I headed to parts store, my check engine light came on. I plugged in my OBD2 scanner and the code PO441 EVAPORATIVE EMMISSION CONTROL SYSTEM INCORRECT PURGE FLOW came up. I tightened up the fuel cap and erased the code and the check engine stayed off. The parts guy told me to do this or it might be the purge valve. I went back to the hotel and installed the new throttle body and went through set up procedure. All went well and the truck ran great. We got on the road again and after about 40 miles the lightning bolts came back on and the truck went into limp mode again. I pulled to the shoulder, turned it off then back on and it ran fine. I got to a rest area and called the parts store and told them the issue. They said it could be a faulty part and I could return it for another. ( My gut feeling was that this wasn't a faulty part ) so they found one in a parts store along our way in North Carolina, about an 80 mile drive from where we were. I drove to that part store without issue. I installed the second throttle body. We drove about 200 miles without an issue. I figured the problem was solved. We stopped at a rest area and turned the truck off. We got back in the truck and drove, staying in the right lane and after about 80 miles the lightning bolts came back on. Turned it off and on and then made it to our destination in NJ. Long story short, we made it back to Florida and had the lightning bolt issue happen 4 times over the 1200 mile trip home. One time along the way, the check engine light came on with PO441 code and then the lightning bolts came on. When I got home, I replaced the purge valve. I've only been using the truck to drive around town, but the issue happens every once in a while. This has been a great truck and this is very frustrating. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for reading this!
I was getting ready to do an over 3000 mile trip in my 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 with 5.7 hemi. My gas mileage had been about 12 mpg, so I changed the spark plugs and cleaned the throttle body. We headed out on our trip and I noticed that I was now getting 18 mpg, which was great! The truck was running fantastic! We had gone about 350 miles on I95 doing about 70 mph when all of the sudden the engine dropped of into limp mode and the lightning bolt signal came on. I'd never seen that and was kind of freaked out. I worked my way to the shoulder and turned off the truck. I checked the truck manual to find the lightning bolts meant the issue was related to the throttle control sensor. I turned the truck back on to see what would happen. The truck went back to running fine and we managed to drive another 40 miles to our days destination in Savannah, Ga. I did some research online when we got to our hotel room. Everything I read seemed to lead to throttle body sensor issues. I found that on my truck that the sensor was incorporated in the throttle body. I figured that I needed to address this issue by replacing the throttle body. I located a new throttle body and went to the parts store to pick it up. The truck was still running fine. As I headed to parts store, my check engine light came on. I plugged in my OBD2 scanner and the code PO441 EVAPORATIVE EMMISSION CONTROL SYSTEM INCORRECT PURGE FLOW came up. I tightened up the fuel cap and erased the code and the check engine stayed off. The parts guy told me to do this or it might be the purge valve. I went back to the hotel and installed the new throttle body and went through set up procedure. All went well and the truck ran great. We got on the road again and after about 40 miles the lightning bolts came back on and the truck went into limp mode again. I pulled to the shoulder, turned it off then back on and it ran fine. I got to a rest area and called the parts store and told them the issue. They said it could be a faulty part and I could return it for another. ( My gut feeling was that this wasn't a faulty part ) so they found one in a parts store along our way in North Carolina, about an 80 mile drive from where we were. I drove to that part store without issue. I installed the second throttle body. We drove about 200 miles without an issue. I figured the problem was solved. We stopped at a rest area and turned the truck off. We got back in the truck and drove, staying in the right lane and after about 80 miles the lightning bolts came back on. Turned it off and on and then made it to our destination in NJ. Long story short, we made it back to Florida and had the lightning bolt issue happen 4 times over the 1200 mile trip home. One time along the way, the check engine light came on with PO441 code and then the lightning bolts came on. When I got home, I replaced the purge valve. I've only been using the truck to drive around town, but the issue happens every once in a while. This has been a great truck and this is very frustrating. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for reading this!
