TennBen
07-30-2005, 10:30 AM
Dear Dodge Friends,
I have a 91 Dodge RAM 350 van with 5.9L engine. One night while idling my van stalled. Upon pulling the engine cover I found that there was no fire coming out of the coil. A mechanic friend highly recommended replacing the pickup plate in the distributor. We checked all the wires and they were o.k. The next day when I got to where my truck was sitting, it had fire, started, ran for about 15 seconds, and then stalled again, never to start again. I went ahead and replaced the pickup and that didn't change anything. Since then I have done the following.
1. Ran jumper from 12v. + to the pos. side of the coil to rule out the auto shutdown relay.
2. Replaced the coil (twice the auto parts guy said try another it could have been bad.) no luck.
3. Searched for and found out I DO NOT have a crank shaft position sensor, a mechanic said that had to be it...don't have one.
4. Replaced the auto shutdown relay (called the fuel pump shut down at dealership.)
5. Took loose and cleaned batt. terminals to insure good amperage.
6. Checked dist. cap, rotar, and rotar operation. All seem to be o.k.
Also, We tested the wires connecting the coil and dist. (as best as we could) with an ohm meter and found no bad wires. Upon the recommend of a friend, I took a heavey guage wire and grounded the block to the frame and rechecked and added an extra ground from the batt. to the chasis. Still no fire. I also made sure the coil ohmed out according to fact. specs.
I'm not really sure where to go from here but to change out the ECM!? They have one at the parts store for around $158
Any ideas, guys?
Ben in Tennessee.
I have a 91 Dodge RAM 350 van with 5.9L engine. One night while idling my van stalled. Upon pulling the engine cover I found that there was no fire coming out of the coil. A mechanic friend highly recommended replacing the pickup plate in the distributor. We checked all the wires and they were o.k. The next day when I got to where my truck was sitting, it had fire, started, ran for about 15 seconds, and then stalled again, never to start again. I went ahead and replaced the pickup and that didn't change anything. Since then I have done the following.
1. Ran jumper from 12v. + to the pos. side of the coil to rule out the auto shutdown relay.
2. Replaced the coil (twice the auto parts guy said try another it could have been bad.) no luck.
3. Searched for and found out I DO NOT have a crank shaft position sensor, a mechanic said that had to be it...don't have one.
4. Replaced the auto shutdown relay (called the fuel pump shut down at dealership.)
5. Took loose and cleaned batt. terminals to insure good amperage.
6. Checked dist. cap, rotar, and rotar operation. All seem to be o.k.
Also, We tested the wires connecting the coil and dist. (as best as we could) with an ohm meter and found no bad wires. Upon the recommend of a friend, I took a heavey guage wire and grounded the block to the frame and rechecked and added an extra ground from the batt. to the chasis. Still no fire. I also made sure the coil ohmed out according to fact. specs.
I'm not really sure where to go from here but to change out the ECM!? They have one at the parts store for around $158
Any ideas, guys?
Ben in Tennessee.