Hello,I recently had a no bus messegepop up on my odometer in my 04 ram 3500 DRW 4x4 auto.all gauges quit working but truck still drives fine? Running lights and headlights are turned off but are all on still?ABS,BRAKE,and CEL are on and a/c dont work? Any help be appreciated!!

Edited April 29, 20204 yr by Tb5.9cr

Basically the Network in the truck is damaged. These trucks run a on a 2 wire network similar to computer networks. 

• Short to ground
• Short to 12V
• Short to 5V
• Open Wires

Basically everything in the truck is sent over the bus to like the Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM), Engine Control Module (ECM)... 

 

@AH64ID would be a good one that might know something... 

 

 

As Michael said the communications bus is down. It could be a failed computer or a loose connection. 

 

Any recent maintenance that could have loosened a connector?

Well I rewired my data collector plug due to my smarty jr screen was always half black and was hard to read.and ended up putting 2 wires in wrong spot and arc'd when I plugged smarty in.but corrected it and everything worked fine afterwards for a month now? Also currently my water pump has gone bad due to a small leak of anti freeze,along with my fan clutch cause the fans always spinning?found a positive terminal cracked in half and replaced it yesterday. Batterys are fairly new but seem to always have a little acid on top always like they're gettin hot but havent had any problems out of em and they both read 14.2 while running and equal when not?. And last but not least ? my PS pump is on it's way to I think? Kids always got fresh fluid on top as if it burps it all the time and the housing is loose and rattley and has started growling when turning?.put a new aftermarket stero in not to long ago

There are several things in there that could easily lead to a failed BUS, even if delayed. 

 

While the data connector seems like a likely culprit it's older that I would expect to create an issue, so lets work new to old. 

 

The stereo is on the BUS and can cause issues. How long is not too long ago?

 

The crossover cable is a known weak point at this age, but the equal voltage generally rules that out. 

 

The fan should always spin, but at idle it shouldn't have much resistance against it on a cool day with the AC/defrost off. With heavy gloves I was able to stop the one in my 05 easily, thou I've heard auto's can't always stop it. 

 

 

Long story short, look at the stereo install and then the damage caused by arcing at the data connector.... and by data connector I presume  you mean OBDII as the SJR only uses the OBDII and not the data port. 

 

Have you scanned for codes with the SJR?

Well I messed with the wirreharness under dash this morning after I ran outta diesel on the way to work and I thought I fixed it  being that it ran perfectly fine. Ut of course on my way home they started goin on off every couple of minutes and saw that temp was up past 200 a little which is the highest ever gotten so pulled over and top radiator hose was expanded pretty good seemed to me and the overflow I filled with cold water hadnt got any green mixed in it yet so I'm on my way to pick up a. New thermaststa while I change my water pump. I was able to get it to show P codes 0118,and 0625 I think?low Voltage ,and ECT sensor. Could a bad ECT sensor cause this ?

Update:it seems to malfunction when I get to around 50ish 70ish mph in the higher rpms? I replaced my temp sensor and didnt help any.the aftermarket touch screen I put in about 2 months ago which came with a rear camera that i had rigged together on back of my bed that I dont use anymore. I also put a set of aftermarket 2010 tow mirrors on here with the puddle lights and LED blinkers and had a problem with the passenger side one not working right when I wired em in 3 months ago? Also i noticed my back drivers window quit working? Dont know what all is tied in to the problem so hope I dont bother with to much info 

It’s possibly vibration induced.  If you messed with connections and got a temp fix look there again. Im still betting its related to the connector issue.  
 

The drivers rear window is likely the door harness. They are known to have brittle wires. I had to replace both the ones on my 05 around 110-120K mile. The speakers were the first thing I noticed, then locks. Each failure is different thou. 

Ok I checked the wiring and it all looks clean.i hooked up smarty jr and it pulled 2 FTC codes again (#1 J1850 engine coolant temp sensor voltage too high)(#2 short to ground).i replaced the ECT sensor yesterday so not sure why it saying that? Jus took cluster out and unplugged and inspected it all and put back together,gunna start looking under dash a little more and under the hood I guess.i really appreciate yall taking time to help me out with this! Not too many people around seems like anymore that do such

That sounds like a wiring issue, which could potentially be causing the NO BUS issue depending on where the short to ground is. 

sorry for late reply but fixed the problimo!??was the big wire harness connector under dash that is bolted rogether. guessing over time had vibrated loose enought to cause a bad  connection. tightened it up and all came back on! really appreciate yalls help fellas!

Awesome!