Motor Dies

[rontomed]

I have a 99 Dodge Ram Sport 1500 extended cab 4x2 5.2L 156k automatic trans that once a week the engine will die. If I am traveling at speed it will continue running in a few seconds. If the engine is running at idol while moving slowly or setting still I have to crank it for a few seconds to start. Otherwise it starts & runs perfectly. It was doing this every day until I replaced the negative ground cable whose connection at the battery post was very rusted. Could the improvement be due to removing the negative ground cable which may have cleared the computer codes? The alternator charges well but wines a bit. I would appreciate any suggestions.

[rontomed]

Today it died 4 times taking approx 5 minutes of cranking to start. I noticed also that with unsuccessful cranks the ODO display showed "no bus" at times. When I finally reached home I called AAA to have it towed for repair. Pep Boys said that "no bus" meant that the computer needed to be flashed with fresh program which only at dealer can do. The dealer said that it will cost $87.00 to flash the computer but that more than likely there is a short in the gauge cluster panel with a cost of approx $800.00.

[jpb53]

Pep Boys doesn't have a clue. The dealer or any shop can't diagnose something with a phone call. You could have a bad cluster, PCM, or it could be a shorted crank sensor. The PCM and cluster are tied together on the BUS system; but the PCM also has dedicated wires to the DLC for diagnostic purposes.

[rontomed]

The Chrysler dealer said that the computer is bad with $780.00 to replace.