I have been having a problem with my 1993 Dodge Dakota for a few years now. It will get bad and I'll park it for a while and then when I start driving it again it seems to run good for a good while (a month maybe). It will run "Hot", as in it will run 2500RPM when I'm doing 45 - 55mph. Sometimes it will run like that for a while and then something will happen and it will start running like it should (1500rpm @ 55mph). When its doing this if I let it idle down like when I come to a red light, it will just die.

I just got out of the truck and it was doing this. I made some quick videos:
Truck running "hot"
Truck Dying

I had originally thought this was an issue with the overdrive on the transmission and that it wasn't going into gear (OD). But the other day it did it and it changed gears twice after it started running better.


Any ideas?

 

it certainly looks like its not shifting into OD. looks like its running in 3rd the whole time. guess I have no constructive answer. Sorry.

 

Check your TPS.

 

What exactly should I be looking for on the TPS?

 

Well, after doing a little research on exactly what a TPS is, what it does and what problems you may have when its not working correctly I think you may be on to something. I don't know if its a possibility but the TPS on my truck as recently been sprayed heavily with antifreeze when I had a heater core hose bust. It does seem to run bad more often now after that happened. At <$70 for a new one and two screws to remove/replace it I think I'm going to give that a shot tomorrow and see if that fixes my problem.

 

Somewhere here recently I posted on how to test them if you've got access to a multi tester.

Also check out a few auto parts stores you should be able to get one for a lot cheaper than $70.

The intermittent OD problem is what lead me to think TPS or Temp sensor, then when you said it will die coming to idle could be TPS or IAC. With the TPS being common between the two that's what I picked.

 

Well, I went ahead and picked up the $70 replacement at my favorite auto parts store this morning and replaced it. I just came back from a quick 5 - 10 mile test run and it ran perfect. However, like I said this is a sporadic problem so I'm not sure if its fixed or not. I am on vacation this week but I'll be doing my 23 mile commute again next week so maybe if the problem still exists it will present itself then. Hopefully that solved it though.