Hey guys I just bought myself a 93 Dakota with the 5.2 (REALLY excited) the truck currently does not run, the previous owner of the truck had pretty much the entire ignition system replaced trying to fix the problem with no luck. The truck would run fine then shut off like you were turning the ignition off. He said he used to be able to wiggle the connector going into the ECM on the fender and it would fire up. Sometimes it would run for an hour sometimes it would run for a few months but then it would suddenly shut off again. I pulled the ECM connector off and did see some minor corrosion on the pins I am going to clean them off and get some di-electric grease in there to start. Any other suggestions? The truck has 173K miles on it, and is actually really clean couple really small spots of paint flaking but nothing major I got it for $850 which I think is a pretty good deal considering the condition of the exterior and interior. Now I just gotta get it running. The small bit of reading I have done suggests the crank position sensor could possibly be the culprit, also the truck is not throwing any codes that would be way to easy

 

If you look in the faq there is a splice underneath the main box under the hood that makes the truck do exactly what you are desribing. There is a writeup on it with pictures to guide you along.

 

If it isn't running right now check and see if you have spark and if your fuel pump starts when you turn the key. I would say it could be the splice, but the way you say wiggling the wires by the computer make it run makes me think it might not be. Check your grounds.

 

Checked the FAQ and everything checked out fine, also when I pulled the fuse for the ASD after checking for voltage just to make sure it was good which is was, when I plugged it back in I heard the relay cycle. Now when I checked for voltage at the plug for my coil all I got was MV, no significant voltage there but I am not sure if there should be in the key on engine off position. There is certainly no spark, the coil checks out well within specs as well. I check continuty between the intake manifold and the battery it showed 1 ohm.

 

Ok so a quick check of the splices found a heavy black wire with a connector full of corrosion, when disconnected nothing works at all. The connector was very much corroded together I had to tap the outside of it to get it to come loose. Lots of build up in there, I removed 90% of it on the female side, I was only able to get 10% of the corrosion on the male side due to my lack of tools while not at my shop. Anyway I tried cranking it over initially after cleaning I got a click from the starter engaging then everything went off, went and messed with the plug sliding it in and out a few times and now the truck cranks over fine, still not starting though.

 

That really sounds like the "infamous" splice under the power distribution box or a grounding problem, possibly grounding problem with the ignition coil. But assuming you found the red wire splice then I guess that can't be it.

SO you have fuel pressure? And no spark?

 

When I removed the power distribution box I found 3 red wires that had been spliced by the previous owner, I am assuming this is the spice you guys are talking about. I check for continuity between the engine and battery ground and got .3 ohms of resistance. Also I checked the resistance on the coil, I got 1.2 ohms on the primary coil and 9.77 on the secondary. The secondary was on the low end of the scale so I replaced it with a new one still have the same results. I found a trouble shooting guide that uses a 2 wire setup with a .33MF capacitor to check if the fault is in the ECM, I will be checking that tomorrow if I can find the capacitor. I also noticed the wires going to the coil got hot at some point in time, the insulation is bubbled and split slightly in a few places. If the ECM checks out I will be chasing these wires down next. ARG this is frustrating.

 

Yep, those three red wires are the splice.

Hopefully you found the problem in the bubbled wires.

 

thats a steal for 850 i payed 3000 for my 92 318 but i love every second of it

 

Thanks, here's a couple pictures of it, sorry the quality isn't great they came from my phone. Also thanks for all the advice so far, I should have it narrowed down by the end of the day!