Yesterday on the way home from work, I was cruising at 70 mph with the cruise control on when suddenly the abs light came on, speedo quit and dropped me off cruise. About 2 secs later, the rest of the gauges followed suit and then all the lights lit up (no bus too). The truck was still going 70 mph thanks to my foot and besides no cluster (still had a temp/direction reading on overhead though), nothing had changed. 1 min later, everything came back on like nothing had happened.

I thought wtf, had 50 miles to go before home and just keep going. About 15 miles from home, it did it again but this time the cluster only stayed off for 30secs of so.

Then about 3 miles from my house, it did it again but flashed off then right back on.


The engine/trans never missed a beat. Got home, check the dash codes and got a p1687 and p1693. I then popped the hood later and removed the batteries, cleaned all the terminals (they were 8 out of ten with regards corrosion ). I then made sure all connections were tight and all fuses were good. Reset the APPS, drove the truck for some errans, and acted like nothing happened. Did the dash cluster check and nothing, everything cleared ok.



So anyone happen to know why ? My guess was the bad battery terminals.

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Just to update, I drove the truck 50 miles today with zero issues, and seem to run/start better. No codes either since. But I still would kinda like to know for future if it ever happens again.

thanks

 

Don't know if the system is the same, but once while I was having a brake problem I wanted to rule out the ABS so I unplugged the ABS computer from the wiring harness (two plugs) and took off down the road. I was thinking about the brakes, so I wasn't really paying attention to the instruments until I went to set the cruise and it didn't turn on. Then I noticed I had no speedo, odo or trip meter. I plugged the ABS computer back in and everything was up and running again. I would check those two plugs, myself, because at least on mine the systems are integrated.

 

I'm pretty sure a bad cam sensor would cause your speedo to just quit working. It won't interfere with driving you just won't read mph.

 

Thanks for the input.

I think your on to something with the ABS system, as I check the connectors and the one on the left, the red retain clip was not in the locked position. So I bought some di-electric grease and cleaned/greased the ABS connectors as well as many others. Driven 150 miles on this setup with no issues!!.

Hopefully that is it, just loose connections. So for now i think I solved the issue Thank you for pointing me in the right direction.


But as soon as I get some time or when I get a hold on one, I plan on putting the truck on a scanner to see if the comp stored any codes, like a failing sensor. But thank you again for the help.

 

my truck just did the same thing this mourning on the way to work. not as much speed but the exact smae problems as you explained in the statement above. i would also like to know if it would be ok to drive home, with it acting like it does.

I called some local shops in town and they all said to bring it in. I am wonder ing if it is something i can fix in the driveway or should i just pick a shop and let them work their magic

Any info on this would be greatfully appreciated..

 

Well Crazy Dog, it isn't usually that simple, but I hope it was! If so, glad I could help.

 

Yeah, now have 300 miles on the greased/cleaned connections plus cleaned battery terminals and everything is fine (starts better too, or at least seems to spin faster). I know these trucks for some reason are really sensitive to battery connections, and many issues also have come about due to the bolt hold down connector in the main fuse panel under the hood coming loose too.

Have to wait and see but for now

 

 

You're probably right that its wiring. The computer's on Dodge products of that era are picky about voltages and ohms. If you had corrosion on the battery terminals, that increases the resistance and can cause problems. And on the other hand, your ABS system does give you the speedo signal, cruise signal, and a few other things. So if there was a problem there, it could have caused it all as well.