I have the above mentioned truck. The ONLY guage that works is the tach. I sent the ECM to cardone to be R&R and they sent it back saying it was fine. I obviously have some sort of wiring issue but weve literaly been tracing wires and making sure theres grounds and 5 volt references and 12 volts....etc for a few months now. Any typical places where a wire might have broken? Any other ideas what might be wrong? Im also looking for a wiring diagram for the wires behind the guage cluster. Those 2 square plugs that the guage cluster plugs into.Any help would be fantastic

anyone?

Flush the power steering system and put synthetic fluid of your choosing in it. I am Amsoil crazy.I would break down and take it to the dealer and pay the 50 bucks and have a factory diagnostic tool hooked up and go from there. I know it goes against our beliefs but some times it is way easier and faster to find issues that way as the factory reader can see most issues and or narrow it down at least. I see so many threads where folks throw hundreds or thousands into just swapping parts rather than pay the 50-75 buck diagnostic fee and then replacing a 50 dollar part. The dealers are not always wrong or bad. They are in business to make money not to give away free information.:thumbup2:When it comes to a rare issue like you are having it would pay and save time to do this. You would be utterly amazed at what a good tech can read with the diagnostic tool when it comes to wiring related issues. I have had a DRB in my hands at a dealer that a friend of mine works at and they are extremely impressive even to me who has worked with other scan tools over the years.

well as of right now my OBDII port sometimes works and sometimes doesnt. Or I would do that. Plus the mechainic I have working with me has the Snap on reader. Not sure which one but it should read it but like I said that OBDII port isnt responding as it should

--- Update to the previous post...

also, i know a guy at my dealership and he has no prob giving me stuff like that but they have no listing for the cluster wiring diagram for the 98 24valve........wth??

im also hoping thatsomeone has the diagram for the wiring to the back of the truck (tail, turn, license plate light and brake lights)

Well there are 2 issues here, one is that the pins in the obdII connection are the most prone to getting stretched open and or pushed out of the connector. This is a super common issue.Second the snap-on scanners can not do or see nearly as much as the OEM diagnostic tool.

Ill check that out and get back with you.....thanks

Ok guys, Just an update. Im still having the same issue with my cluster. All the plugs and pins in the ECM and PCM look like brand new. I did however find out today that on some of these dodge rams depending what codes are tripped with the check engine light coming on sometimes you have to clear certain codes before others. My buddy who is a really good mechanic and has been working with me on this just found this out from a buddy of his at the dealer while he was working on another ram with similiar problems. Anyone ever heard of this? Im hoping to get it to the dealer this week and try it.

In situations like these I sometimes wonder if it would be better to just remove the factory gauges, drill the right sized holes for good aftermarkets and start building your own gauge cluster. A guy could also make the dash more easily removable. Major remodel but oh so cool looking like a real truck dash. Most likely a pipe dream...... sorry I cannot help except my gut tells me there is just one problematic connection somewhere, key to getting your gauges running again.

jag, iI have to agree with you. I have a feeling its 1 stupid wire scrfewing with me. wiring in aftermarket custom guages sounds like a cool idea but the problem would still exist considering those guages would still have to be powered from and information sent from the same place with a broken wire (possibly)

jag, iI have to agree with you. I have a feeling its 1 stupid wire scrfewing with me. wiring in aftermarket custom guages sounds like a cool idea but the problem would still exist considering those guages would still have to be powered from and information sent from the same place with a broken wire (possibly)

I've been wanting to hear if you found the problem. Please post what you find. Sometimes just a lucky accidental bump while looking around can show where the problem is. Helps to have someone watching for a flicker of life in those gauges while you jiggle things around.

yea one of us is always sitting in the truck watching the guages. I probably wont get to work on it again until wed or thurs. Ill let ya know what I find