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Comments
Notice the part about the Check Engine Light not coming on. That is a hint there may be something wrong with the computer module.
Good luck with it.
camshaft sensor or the crankshaft sensor going intermitten and causing
loss of injector and ignition control from the PCM.
These are known to go "squirrely", being solid state Hall effect sensors,
and they don't always produce a code at the OBDII diagnostic connector.
That was my problem also. The black box you are talking about is the computer/ECM that I referenced in post # 105 and 155. My connection was bad inside of the computer module where I couldn't fix it, not just at the plug. I had to buy a used one on EBay and all my problems went away.
I believe that the check engine light (CEL) is a good indicator of that being the problem. When turning the ignition on, it would not start unless the CEL was on. I had to wiggle that bundle wires at the computer and when the CEL came on, it would start and I was good to go for a while.
Dave
that may be happening. You need an OBDII reader to pull the codes out
of the computer (PCM) at the OBDII diagnostic connector.
As far as the engine stalling on you in a random fashion...it could really be anything... such as:
- fuel pump pressure intermittent/fuel pump relay or circuit
-engine timing sensor (camshaft or crankshaft)..both of these are
used by the PCM (powertrain control module) to determine spark timing
and injector timing. Any instanteous (temporary glitches) in one of these
two sensors will cause the PCM to operate the Auto-Shutdown relay located
in the PDC (Power Distribution Center) on the driver's side fender.
There may be other sensors (TPS) that can cause the engine to stall on you
as well, but stalls are usually due to a sensor problem that affects engine timing
and as soon as the PCM detects that..it kills the fuel injectors and ignition coils
via the auto-shutdown.
Here's a better example: I drove on the expressway for 20 min, stopped at the store by my house for 15 min, when I got back in the truck to go home it wouldn't start......waited about 10 min after the initial try and it started right up.
I can't seem to figure it out, I tested the fuel rail to see if it had strong gas flow, which it does. No check engine light, and never had a problem like this before, so I'm stumped????? :confuse:
How many miles and what engine and 2/4 wheel drive, trans?
No codes from the OBDII genie? Could be Fuel filter/pump, plug wires getting old, grimy dirt causing grounding, dirty IAC, bad throttle control unit (many go bad I've heard), bad ground somewhere. Not sure if you have a distributor, but that could be it. Bad ground causes lots of things. Results are unpredictable.
Don't really like the trans problem. Of course, check fluid levels, then electric connections/ground.
Check EGR valve operation. Check for vacuum problems. Computers hide things by over compensating until they can't anymore. Usually get some codes though.
I used to replace my plug wires when I could see the spark going thru them in the dark. I would idle the engine at night in the dark with no lights. That was in my older vehicles. Also the spark coil. I'm not sure if your engine has 1 or many. Those connections can get corroded.
Good hunting. I hope somebody that had this problem answers you.
Did this start after your tune up or before.
Could be lots of things. Good hunting.
Did the new coil solve the other problems? I saw that the wires were replaced and the coil, but it was still the coil they said?
Hope they replaced the plugs and wires. They usually break down after a while, 100,000 miles. Old wires will show the spark going thru them at night. let it idle, when it will, and have all the lights off in the area and watch the light show.
Another thing that goes bad is electrical connections after 10 or so years. Check and clean all the connections and also the plug wire and coil wire connections. Sometimes they get rusty where you can't see it and build up resistance, but that shouldn't be as they were replaced.
Include the battery ground to the block.
Could be in the distributor.
Could still be The Idle Air Control (IAC) or EGR. The IAC is under the air filter on the throttle body, if memory serves. It gets dirty and sometimes doesn't close or work correctly. I had cleaned mine a few times but I finally bought a new one, around $50, and solved the problem. It is held in by 2 screws after you detach the wire connector. A pretty simply task to replace it.
EGR is at rear? of the engine and is also an easy fix.
I don't believe the 92 has a Throttle Position Sensor (TPS). I have heard that the TPS goes bad on the newer vehicles. I bought a 2001 Dakota 3.9 with 51,000 and replaced the TPS immediately just to be safe.
It has been a while since I had my 92. Hope I gave you straight info. I had it for 15 years and 180,000 miles. It was starting to take up all my time and rust wasn't stopping.
OH, check for a vacuum leak.
Did it backfire thru the throttle body when under load?
Good hunting.
If OK when it dies is the check engine light on with key forward. if yes does it start. (intermittent problem) If check engine light not on with key forward and when you crank it does not start replace the PCM about $155 at advance
this is what fixed mine.
Hope this is helpful to you.
i would appreciate the help and advice god bless
I was trying to help my daughter with her 98 V6 Dakota truck. When started it will not idle on its own, then dies. I restart the truck and keep a higher idle speed (foot on gas pedal) and it runs rough. When put in gear it will die unless the idle is high enough. Once on the road it will die at every stop unless I can keep the idle high. When driving over 40-50 mph there is no problem with the truck. On the road, when the truck dies, sometimes it starts right back up and sometimes I have to wait about 45 minutes before it will start again. To add another twist, sometimes the truck starts and runs fine with no problems at all. No error codes show up as the check engine light has never come on.
My first thought was the fuel filter but it seems the filter and pump are 1 unit located inside the gas tank. I do not want to spend 250.00 for a new fuel pump when I am not sure that is the problem. I am an old timer and have overhauled many engines and transmissions but that was before they turned cars/trucks into computers.
I have read many post here that point to the IAC (Idle Air Control) but I wanted to ask others for any other options.
Thanks for any help,
Charles
I just wanted to report back that the problem turned out to be a bad muffler. The muffler was replaced and state inspection done for $65.00 total.
I would never have thought about the muffler.
Thanks for all the help,
Charles
try turning the ignition on 3 times without starting the engine. when you do this look in your odomitter window and a P
(P) CODE will come up with dashes after them. if there is another code number it will come up and if not it will say P DONE...
I just did this with my 2004 dodge dakota with a 4.7 engine.
Hope this helps you out
Symptoms
On a cold start, truck will die going in reverse.
At low idle (like a stop light) truck will dip below 750rpm and die.
While driving, foot on the gas, engine will sputter, not die, but not getting gas either, then kick back in an accelerate.
At stop signals, oil pressure reading will dip momentarily down to zero, check gauges will light up, then pressure will move back up to normal.
Oh, and no obd codes for guidance.
Fixes
Initially there was an ignition coil code. Ignition coil replaced.
Throttle Position Sensor replaced
IAC Valve replaced
Muffler, Cat Converter replaced. (Small rust hole in manifold still remains)
Distributor and plugs and wires all replaced.
Fuel Pump replaced (spring 2014)
Today's temp was 8F on the drive in to work and I had less than a quarter tank and had it die on me 4 times. Could this be a gas line filter ( the one attaching to the frame?) or a fuel issue? Other stalling issues did not happen with an empty tank.
I took it in to one shop and they said I needed my engine wiring harness completely redone along with a new pcm/ecm and the bill was going to be over $4k. Two other shops laughed when they heard the estimate.
Anyone, Anyone? Bueller, please help.
I had a similar problem with my '97 V6 Dakota. My battery was over 7 years old. It really didn't seem to have a problem cranking the engine over. But over the last month it would start fine in the morning. I would run it around a little and shut it down. When I would go to restart it, it would crank over, run for a second and die. I would have to feather the gas pedal to keep it running. One cold morning the battery barely cranked the engine over. I got it going, ran it to the store and bought a battery. It's been fine ever since. I had read other forums from people with the same problem. Changing the battery cured their problem and mine as well
I'm having a similar problem to some of the others and was wondering if anyone could help. Here's my best description of the problem:
When the engine is cold (usually notice on first startup), my temperature gauge doesn't seem to work until I get into fourth gear. Shifting (especially 2-3 and 3-4) is hard but that might just be the cold. If I get the engine into fourth gear before the engine is warm, the truck will die on first idle. At first I thought it was only upon stopping but it happened to me once now when I only took my foot off the gas. Each time, the truck will not start up for about 5-15 minutes. It will crank hard the whole time but won't turn over, and I have to feather the gas to get it to start when it does (never had the time to simply wait it out). Once it starts, it seems to run really rough and noisy, although I can't quite isolate the noise (almost seems to come from the rear but that wouldn't really make sense). It will die again if not given gas at idle until the engine is warm, but it starts up fine if it dies any of those times.
If I run the car slowly (1st and 2nd gear) until it warms up, once I reach 4th gear the temperature gauge works again and it will not die. Obviously this isn't a long-term solution though. Also, it is possible the gauge is working, but it only shows heat once it gets into fourth, and it comes quickly from there.
I tried replacing the TPS sensor as some of the other posters suggested. It seemed to make a small difference in idle, but didn't help the dying at all.
This is coming on top of a longstanding problem of reverse not working, especially when cold. The truck seems not to grip into reverse and the problem is worse with the wheels turned. I have had it die on me in such a situation, but it always restarts immediately in that case. I do not think the two are related, but in case someone sees a connection I wanted to mention it.
Oh, and of course, no codes, no check engine light. My mechanic is stumped and so am I. I'm trying to not replace everything under the sun and rather hope someone has a good answer as to what is causing this.
1999 Dodge Dakota, 3.9L 2WD, Standard Transmission, and a while back, I was having issues with idle and driving. When my battery would die (usually because I left the lights on or somesuch), the battery would die as expected . As soon as I got it jumped, it would act funny. As soon as the thermostat clicked on, the idle would drop alot, and I would have to fight to shift. If I did not put the pedal to the floor, even shifting into, say, 4th gear, it would ahudder and lurch. The RPMs would go down, and so I had to back off of the accelerator, and put the hammer down, and could keep going. However, once I drove it 30 miles or so, everything went back to normal. After a trip to the mechanic, he said I had a bad battery, so everytime the battery was discharged, the ECM, in a sense, had to relearn how much pressure to put in the vacuum lines or in the fuel rail. Seemed like a good explanation to me, so I bought a new battery, and everything was good.
A few days ago, I stopped at the hardware store and when I came back out to the truck, it would not start. No lights, no radio, no interior lights, no nothing. So, I popped the hood, and discovered the the battery had shifted somehow, and so the positive cable running from the battery to the relay box had disconnected. So I reconnected it and everything was fine.
Yesterday, I stopped at a different hardware store and got back to the truck, started it up, and noticed the gas gauge read empty. Now, I knew I had at least one-eighth of a tank, and I parked on an incline, so I figured I should go fill up anyway. I filled up at a gas station that I usually don't go to, but the station is fairly new. Thats when the problems began.
Again, as soon as the thermostat opened up, the truck had trouble idling, it rattled, shook, gasped, and lurched. I had trouble shifting. Everything was almost like my previous issue, with a few more problems added on. Now, I can hear a whisle coming from the air intake area, almost like a vacuum line has a hole in it. Also, when I have trouble shifting and I DO NOT back off the gas and put the hammer down, I can hear knocking noises coming from the engine compartment. This subsides when I let off the gas and take off.
Guys, this is killing me. Of course, there is no engine light, so no codes can be read. My oil and the like looks good. The fuel filter was my first guess, but that part is non-servicable. I'm a broke college student, who it seems, needs to stop going to hardware stores.
if your Dakota starts dying only when you try to go in reverse believe it or not your battery needs to be replaced. I learned that one years ago. That was a "you have to be kidding me moment"
First to address the problem of dying when coming to a stop:
This will most likely be the IAC positioning to maintain the idle while stopped, in gear or not, with AC on or off. The IAC adjusts for the load on the engine. Simply remove the 2 torx 20 screws and clean the tip of the IAC with carb cleaner and wire brush. Then clean inside the hole with carb cleaner and a rag using a screwdriver to turn the rag and clean the seat for the IAC. Also on my intake on the passenger side I found a vacuum nipple with a hose not connected to anything and the vacuum diagram showed it plugged. This will affect the idle if you have a vacuum leak as the IAC will not position properly due to the leak.
OK next for the issue of random dying, no codes and a variety of sensors being pointed at:
Think about this; every sensor has to have power and ground to work properly. Many sensors have a third wire which sends a signal to the computer to control the engine. If you have a ground problem you will have a never ending variety of codes that will point to a sensor or the signal of that sensor not being correct and you may or may not set a code depending on the ground path at that time.
No cost solution: Look around the engine compartment starting at the batt; follow the ground wire to the block and remove the connection; clean with a wire brush the block and ring terminal on both sides till it is shiny; then clean the bolt before you put back in place and tighten, Also you will find several smaller ground wire connections in the engine compartment; remove each of these and do the same. Take note that under the terminal connection on the fender, firewall and other locations the paint has not been removed. The only way the wire connects to ground is by the threads made by the screw holding the wire terminal in place. Removing the paint with some 40 grit sandpaper or other similar method will further improve the ground connection. Use a small amount of wheel bearing grease on the connections to prevent moisture and corrosion from developing in the future.
After you have done these two things you may want to disconnect the batt negative terminal and clean the connection there, this should clear any codes and you will be starting out with a clean slate no codes. Go to your local parts store and have the codes read to make sure. Now any codes that set should be more accurate.
Remember if you don't have a good ground, you don't have a good electrical circuit.
Good luck to all, I hope this will help solve some of the problems shared by so many.