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Pickups Dodge Dakota Dodge Dakota Starting Problems
103 messages, Last post on Nov 16, 2009 at 2:18 AM
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Replying to: nyscrod (Nov 30, 2008 7:34 pm)
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Replying to: tolikhl (Nov 30, 2008 10:46 pm) If that is the problem, then thank you, it is getting very annoying.... |
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I have a 2000 Dodge Dakota with 55,000 miles. I am the original owner and there have been no prior issues with this vehicle. Over the last summer, I experienced an intermittent rough spot during acceleration. I installed new tune-up parts and ran some injector cleaner through the fuel and that seemed to clear things up, however about 6 weeks after the new parts were installed, the truck was slow to start one evening after being parkedand unused for 2 weeks. The truck eventually started and appeared to run fine, but 10 miles down the road it stalled (while being operated at 50 mph) and refused to start. The truck was towed to a repair shop, where they said I had a bad battery and installed a new one. I picked the truck up the next day and it again appeared to run fine. The next time I drove it (3 days later), it again stalled about 10 miles out and while being operated at 50 mph. The mechanic had the truck for about a week and it started fine for him, then one day after he put about 25 miles on it, the tuck stalled. This time the mechanic replaced my fuel pump and cleaned the injectors. When I picked up the truck it ran like new, but refused to start the next day. I waited a day and tried again, still wouldn't start and it was towed into the shop - again. The mechanic has had it for a week and when I called him today, he said the truck started just fine for him. Any ideas on what could be causing this? I am the original owner and this truck has been well maintained. |
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Replying to: tmaloney (Dec 18, 2008 8:04 pm) There are two possibilities that come to mind, especially on your vintage Dakota: A faulty ASD Relay or Fuel Pump Relay. If either relay is intermittent or there are bad connections in either circuit, this symptom will be caused. Regards, Dusty |
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Replying to: tmaloney (Dec 18, 2008 8:04 pm)
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Replying to: tmaloney (Dec 21, 2008 7:44 pm) I spoke with my mechanic and he advised the relays have already been replaced and were among the fist things he did. He asked that I bring the car home and if/when it breaks down again, call him to the scene so he can diagnose the problem as it occurrs. Sounded good to me, so I brought the car home and used it for a few days. There were moments when the truck started to lose power, just as before, but this time instead of putting my foot down, I backed off the gas pedal and the engine smoothed right out. Well, I went out to use it today, but the truck fails to start again. The engine turns over just fine, it simply never starts. The mechanic is off for the holiday weekend, so I can't reach him until Monday (this is Friday afternoon). So, to recap; the battery, fuel pump, ASD and fuel pump relays have all been replaced. Only a few months ago the plugs, wires, air filter, cap & rotor were replaced. When put on a computer, no error codes are found and this vehicle desplays an annoying tendency toward "Tecnician Proximity Syndrome". There is an occassional hesitation under acceleration (maybe once every 12 - 15 miles) and the engine occassionally refuses to start. We are all stumped here. Any ideas are greatly appreciated! Tom
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Replying to: tmaloney (Dec 26, 2008 4:47 pm) My apologies, but I forgot the year of your truck, but if you've got plug wires you either have a 3.9 or 318 motor. That means you have a Crankshaft Position Sensor and a Hall Effect Pickup Sensor in the distributor, both or which are candidates (depending on the year, the Crankshaft Position Sensor is a strong suspect). But I hate to make these suggestions because it may only encourage more shotgunning and that usually proves to make a situation much more frustrating and expensive. Of course, a problem like this is difficult to resolve because its intermittent, even for the most capable technician. You are at least fortunate at the moment because its in the failure mode. Now's the time to make some forensic observations and get some readings. In lieu of have a service manual or good diagnostic equipment, I would start looking at electrical wiring, especially connectors. These are often the source of intermittent problems on Dodge trucks. A friend of mine was conveying a similar problem to me on a Nissan Frontier just a couple of months ago. That problem turned out to be an intermittent ground connection on the body because a ground strap had just about corroded away (not entirely, though). Best regards, Dusty |
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The problem has finally been resolved - water in the fuel tank! The temps dropped here (I live on an island in Alaska) and the water froze. The mechanic drew about 2 cups of water and a large chunk of ice out of the system, then ran 2 bottles of heat through the tank and all appears well now. I've had the truck back for over a week and have used it daily with no problems, despite single digit temperatures. I will be adding a can of heat with every new tank of gas for a while. Thanks again for all your help with this. Tom |
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Replying to: jandavg (Jun 30, 2007 7:16 pm)
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Replying to: chanteupgrades (Jun 19, 2008 10:22 am) |
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