2001 Dodge 5.9 Dies when gets warm and gauges quit working until cooled off.

Asked by DaleinOklahoma Feb 01, 2024 at 06:16 PM about the 2001 Dodge RAM 1500 SLT Club Cab 4WD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

We have a 2001 Dodge 1500 4wd ranch truck with the 5.9 in it.  It died on us
about a mile and a half from home, so I tinkered with it while waiting for the
side by side to show up, never would start.  It started just fine, and got us
home, the next morning.  This morning I started it up and just let it idle...and it
died after about 20 minutes when it got warm.  I went immediately to try and
restart it and it would just turn over.  STRANGELY, I noticed that none of the
gauges moved when I turned the key on.  About an hour later I went out and
turned the key on and the gauges (batter, gas, etc..) went to their correct
spots and it started right up.  Thought that was weird so I let it idle again and
get warm, same exact thing happened...died, guages didn't work, cooled off,
gauges worked, and it started.  Any ideas out there in this brain trust?  
Thanks a million folks.

2 Answers

202,365

It's just diagnostics, first, scan for codes. Keep in mind that the truck's over twenty years old. There's something heating up when the engine warms and that defective part quits working. It could be as simple as old/effective spark plugs and/or coils. It could be a defective cam or crank position sensor, or the ECU itself. That's where I'd start.

1 people found this helpful.

Thank you for your reply. After reading and thinking on it I grabbed a new coil yesterday and will put it on today and see if that fixes her up. Will reply with what happens.

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