[MrPJ1751]

First this my very first post in your forum, thank you for your help in advance.

Here is the situation.
I was cruising at about 60mph and the van engine just felt like sudden loss of power, I coasted off the road and the van will not restart. (The van stalled a few times earlier that week also and was difficult to restart).

I was not getting spark from the coil I tested the Crankshaft Position Sensor (CPS) by jumping the 2-3 cavities and obtained spark. Replaced CPS.

Charged battery but now I get one good spark and then it seems to dissipate, looks weak using spark plug testing light.

Error codes
12 Battery Disconnected
33 AC Relay- This vehicle does not have AC
37
55 end of report.

These are the current codes.
I think I have the A500 transmission how can I verify.
I purchased the Transmission Control Solenoid Can this keep the van from starting?

My van 1991 B350 Extended Cargo, 5.9 v8 (a 500 trans?)

Any ideas or can you point e in the correct direction?

Thanks.
PJ

 

[alloro]

Change the coil, they are known for cracking internally and shorting out.

 

[MrPJ1751]

Thanks Alloro,
It is a cheap enough fix.. I will order it today.
Hopefully we won't be just throwing parts at the Dodge goddess..:dev

PJ:rck:

 

[MrPJ1751]

Sudden no Spark Fixed 1991- 5.9 b350

Thanks Alloro,:grin

After getting the new part I was checking the resistance and could not get the secondary reading from the new coil.. Had to undo the center prong and put it back. Now it has reading.

Still no spark. Pulled out the Hayes and went back to the hall sensor (that was also replaced) As I was preforming the test the spark was like a lighting bolt.. And it lit me up but when I connected it to the distributor cap I would not have spark at that plugs. I had voltage at the #1 pin of the distributor but it was only 9.8 vs 11.42 at the battery. I looked for the ballast and could not find it.

Hmmm THen I though maybe the coil is not giving a good contact to the coil wire. Actually the coil wire was backwards. Once I turned it around and made sure of good continuity. I fired the beast up and WOW! it lives again. Running rough... turned it off and reseated the wires in the distributor cap. Runs like it did before...

Trouble codes now
12 No issue
33 No A/C
37 My next post on what to do. :help
11 (Probably because if the coil water not making contact)
55 End


Thanks for your help again.
:rck:

PJ

 

[alloro]

Runs like it did before...

I'm a bit confused, runs like it did before as in runs rough or runs like new? Also, was the problem just the connector or was the old coil no good?

 

[Barefoot_Johnny]

coil wire put on backwards ??? I am pretty much Old School.
Put wires on it and run it.

Are the newer wires cophased somehow to have a one way path for current flow ?

 

[alloro]

coil wire put on backwards ??? I am pretty much Old School.
Put wires on it and run it.

Are the newer wires cophased somehow to have a one way path for current flow ?

Connecting the coil wires backwards reduces spark output by 40%. This has held true since the first ignition coil, that's why the terminal posts always had polarity marked on them.

 

[Barefoot_Johnny]

Alloro, not to jack Mr. PJs post, but, this may be of interest to others . . . .

Disclaimer: I am not a mechanic, by any stretch of the imagination.

I have not changed spark plug wires since the 1970s. (always put my vehicles in the shop for tuneup).
I got a Belden Premium 7mm plug wire set from Napa and just put them onto the new plugs, as numbered, dist. cap and rotor.
The dog house has been on and off more times than I care to think about due to chasing the electrical gremlins recently.
Not wanting to pull the dog house off again, I crawled under the van and looked at the coil.
I do not see the white tape with the "C" on it. So it must be at the distributor. Two coil wires
came with the plug set and I used the longest one. This is a pic of the short one. I have not run my van for any length of time
yet other than around the yard doing body work and other stuff.
So, you are saying that the white tape with the "C" on it should be at the COIL connection ???
Thanks again for your valuable information.

 

[alloro]

So, you are saying that the white tape with the "C" on it should be at the COIL connection ???

The coil to distributor "C" wire does not matter which end is at which end. By wires being backwards we were talking about the 12 volt coil primary wires.

 

[key99]

I am pretty much Old School. Put wires on it and run it.

Regarding secondary high tension coil and plug wires, this was kinda true with low output points/Kettering ignitions, or ignitions with low output coils.
... With modern ignitions, its no longer "kinda true", or safe to do.

... "Crossfire induced detonation" can destroy an engine quickly if 5 plug wire induces or leaks into 7 plug wire; this fires the fuel/air charge in 7cyl when its 90* BTDC on its comp stroke (and tries to turn crankshaft "backwards"). ... Yup, can destroy perfectly good engine faster than you can blink!
... FAIK this was mopars first TSB and was issued for magnums; although LA plug wire lengths are different, concept is same. ... Focus on the critical wires 5 and 7

http://dodgeram.info/tsb/1998/18-48-98/18-48-98-v8.htm

 

[Barefoot_Johnny]

Thanks - - -
yeah, when I got the plug wire set, the salesman told me to follow the
inclosed instructions to the letter to avoid possible damage to the motor.
The instructions said if you have the original factory wires, replace them
one-by-one using the exact same configurations with the plastic stand-off clips.
I went a step further and placed each wire in the plastic loom and zip tied
all wires so they could not vibrate loose over time and create the crossfire detonation.
The coil wire is in the original clips, far away from plug wires and manifold.
With all the major electrical parts replaced, it runs pretty darned good !!!
New paint job and it will be good to go for another 20 years.

 

[key99]

Thanks - - -
yeah, when I got the plug wire set, the salesman told me to follow the
inclosed instructions to the letter to avoid possible damage to the motor.
The instructions said if you have the original factory wires, replace them
one-by-one using the exact same configurations with the plastic stand-off clips.
I went a step further and placed each wire in the plastic loom and zip tied
all wires so they could not vibrate loose over time and create the crossfire detonation.
The coil wire is in the original clips, far away from plug wires and manifold.
With all the major electrical parts replaced, it runs pretty darned good !!!
New paint job and it will be good to go for another 20 years.

Am assuming/hoping plug wires are not zip tied together close to each other, "close" is bad; I should have mentioned separating wires, especially critical wires 5 and 7 as much as reasonably possible (at least 1" for 5 and 7); cyl 7 and the whole engine may depend on it!

... Separation is far more important than pretty/nice looking routing, again, especially for 5 and 7.
... The concepts/principles of the 98 TSB apply and are useful for LA engines, no matter what "original looms" are, or salesman says.

... Sorry about the hijack MrPJ1751, but the importance of avoiding 5 to 7 crossfire is still often misunderstood (took a while for it to sink in to my thick skull, lol).

... cribbs74 found this link and realized the importance of avoiding crossfire (thanks cribbs74)

http://www.jasperengines.com/pdf/SparkPlugCross-FireTB.pdf

... cribbs74 originally posted it in this link

http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=529329&highlight=crossfire

 

[Barefoot_Johnny]

noooooo did not tie any plug wires together !!!
just tied them so they don't touch the manifold, etc.
they are all separated with the correct original plastic grips.