Having exposed 12 volt connections in-tank leading to the fuel pump are quite common. Very few problems. The fuel probably does immerse the connections.

 

So. A little update. Finally got the pump inside the tank and the tank back up and connected. The battery had lost some of it's charge and it didn't seem enough to start the Dodge. Got a charger connected and started it up fine. Left the car running for 10-15 minutes and it worked like a charm. I thought the problem was solved.

Left the car charging in the garage and went home for two hours. Just a short while ago I went out again to start it up and get it home. It just kept cranking but nothing happened. Tried engaging the fuel pump a few times by turning the ignition but not cranking it but still no change.

After maybe 20 attempts it fired up without problem. Ran for 3 minutes and then shut right down again. So, new fuel pump does not solve the problem.

After this it would crank forever but not start. I removed one of the spark plug wires from the engine and placed it right on the valve cover, as I understand, it would produce a spark when turning ignition this way? (I know it might not be recommended, but just a quick test). However, no spark appeared so I suspect that something happens to shut down the distributor, I do not think it's related to lack of fuel.

I think these are the next things to change in order of possibility to solve the problem:

SMEC
Hall effect sensor in distributor
ASD(Auto Shutdown relay)
Camshaft sensor
Crankshaft sensor

Any thoughts?

 

On an '89 the hall effect sensor in the distributor is both the cam and crank sensor.

The asd relay shuts down both spark and fuel. It is located behind the battery on the firewall. You can cut a short length of wire and stick it in the connector bridging the two fatter wires to bypass it.

 

Thank you so much for this very valuable information!! Regarding the ASD. Can you describe it's functionality for me further?

I would assume(not in any way knowing alot about electrics) that the relay is fed with current as soon as you start the car and thus "open"? If computer is faulty or recieves a faulty signal from the hall effect sensor, it will stop the voltage to the asd relay, closing it and thus shutting down spark and fuel?

Or is it the other way around, the relay is not fed with current and thus opened at all times until computer tells it that something is wrong, feeding it with current to shut it?

What happens when I bridge the two fat wires in relation to how the relay works? Does this mean the entire function of the relay is bypassed and current is free to flow at all times? Does this mean spark, and more importantly, fuel pump is active at all times possibly causing other problems then I currently have?

I apologize for my lack of knowledge.

 

With the ASD relay bypassed, the fuel pump will run continuously. I recommended it only to diagnose it as the issue, or so that you can drive home.

If this works, disconnect jumper wire when you shut off engine or you can burn out the coil and run down the battery.

 

Your theory is on track but your terminology is off. The ASD relay is normally open, meaning the contacts have an open gap between them, thus no current flows. When you turn the key to ON/RUN or START power is sent to the coil of the ASD relay which causes the contacts to close and current then flows to the PCM, fuel pump, etc. The hall effects sensor has no control over the ASD relay, only the ignition key does.

 

The hall effect and camshaft sensor are one in the same. It also only controls fuel timing and has nothing to do with spark.

The crank sensor is used for ignition timing and generating a spark pulse. Since you have no spark, I would first suspect the ignition coil or the crank sensor.

 

No crank sensor on an '89.

Hall effect sensor covers all computer related timing of spark and fuel

 

Yep, you're correct. In my head I transposed the date to 98.

 

Thank you guys. I really appreciate the help. So to clarify the ASD is actually BEFORE the PCM/SMEC? I thought the computer was responsible for giving a signal to the ASD when something is wrong to shut things down?