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No spark or check engine light

Old Aug 31, 2010 | 10:02 PM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by sammatthews2007
Wow, you've done a lot of work on it. Sorry to hear it's still not running!

From what I recall on my truck (also a 318), the scanner port is an unconnected connector right under the hood on the passenger's side. You should see it sticking out of the wiring harness. "Under the dash" is for newer cars (OBD II).
I know the exact port you are referring to. I cant remember at the moment but its a 3 or 4 connection port hanging right out of the harness at the firewall.

If we cant get this thing figured out this weekend (dad is coming down - hes a master electrician) then I am using his car dolly to tow it into Olathes dodge dealership. When and if they are able to find the problem, I will post the findings.
 
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Old Aug 31, 2010 | 10:26 PM
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Yep, that's the one. Good luck finding an OBD I scanner for Dodge in town. Hope you find the problem before then!
 
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Old Sep 1, 2010 | 01:12 PM
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The Olathe Dodge Dealership said they have one. Should be interesting to see what it is.
 
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Old Sep 2, 2010 | 06:04 PM
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So the Olathe dodge dealership "lost the card" to their scanner. So they cant work on it. I called 4 other neighboring dealerships and all had to "check" and all had gotten rid of theirs. I finally found an independent shop that said they would scan the truck for 15 bucks but its 28 miles away. Shouldnt be any task for the ram to pull the dakota that far
 
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Old Sep 2, 2010 | 09:07 PM
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how irritating having to hunt around for someone to scan the thing. Sorry you're runnin into so many problems. I really want to know whats goin on with the crazy thing!
 
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Old Sep 4, 2010 | 11:41 AM
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I have a 94 dakota, 318, same no spark, fuel or check engine, motor turns over but no start, it turns out all it was is a badly corroded conection in the wiring harness, disconnect the battery for safety, cut approx 6-8" of the harness tape/ covering, starting at the main engine fuse relay block that sits beside the battery, you will find 4 red wires soldered together, mine was covered in white chalky powder and broken apart, clean everything up, connect back together with a wire crimp or something, should start instantly, good luck!!
 
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Old Sep 5, 2010 | 12:05 PM
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Originally Posted by billwellbourn
I have a 94 dakota, 318, same no spark, fuel or check engine, motor turns over but no start, it turns out all it was is a badly corroded conection in the wiring harness, disconnect the battery for safety, cut approx 6-8" of the harness tape/ covering, starting at the main engine fuse relay block that sits beside the battery, you will find 4 red wires soldered together, mine was covered in white chalky powder and broken apart, clean everything up, connect back together with a wire crimp or something, should start instantly, good luck!!

We looked at it again yesterday and we found those red and pink wires that you were refering too. They were not taped or covered in any way and covered in corrosion like you said. I thought FOR SURE that was it. We cut the ends and recrimped the new copper and still no start. EXCELLENT suggestion though.

We towed it up to the shop that said they would scan it for 15 bucks. The guy seemed really decent over the phone and he has a lot of great reviews posted on the internet. It pains me to leave my vehicle some place strange but at least it will get scanned on tuesday and I will know exactly how to fix the dakota. With that HP Mopar computer he should run like never before. He is my muscle truck.
 
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Old Sep 5, 2010 | 11:05 PM
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I have been following this thread from the beginning hoping each day you find the problem.
The suspense is killing me...I can't imagine what you are going through.
Looking forward to hear that you got it resolved this Tuesday.
 
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Old Sep 6, 2010 | 04:07 AM
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Originally Posted by sammatthews2007
Yep, that's the one. Good luck finding an OBD I scanner for Dodge in town. Hope you find the problem before then!
Yep. I was reading through the manual the other night, decided to hit up Ebay and see if they had any scan tools. Turns out they do. Best deal I found was around $130 for the tool, adapters, etc. Crap ton of stuff with it, wish I had the money for it, since it seems to be the only known way to clear that damned EMR lamp.

I'll be waiting to see what happens here. If I think of anything that'll help, I'll speak up.
 
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Old Sep 6, 2010 | 03:02 PM
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Thanks for all the support here everyone. I really appreciate the feedback. I am taking the day off to do some additional errands that I didnt get a chance to do last week. Once I am done with that I am going to spend some time at the shop to see what they find as they find it. I will post ASAP with the update.
 
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