'95 Dakota w/throttle surge
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'95 Dakota w/throttle surge
'95 Dakota with intermittent throttle surge. I've searched this forum for similar problems, but couldn't find anything like mine.
Let me preface this by saying it's the wife's truck, and the description of the problem given below is in "wife speak".
1995 Dakota Sport, 3.9L V6, 2WD, 5sp man, ~150k mi
Recent repairs: rebuilt tranny, water leak in A/C fixed, fuel pump replaced, IAC replaced, throttle body/carb cleaned, TPS checked, EGR valve checked.
I'm the original owner. Truck receives regular maint. No leaks of any kind - driveway is spotless.
Problem: at end of 3rd gear, truck will stumble, then go to full throttle. Shifting to 4th gear - throttle still wide open. Shift to 5th gear - throttle eventually "normalizes" at speed of around 50-60mph.
She says acceleration feels normal and sounds normal. The "check engine" light comes on each time it does this. Unfortunately, it doesn't do this often enough for her to get it to our mechanic for him to get the code or troubleshoot it himself. Also, she hasn't been able to try any troubleshooting of her own when it happens, such as tapping the throttle or brakes, etc.. She also noticed that each time it did this, the truck took longer to start.
My mechanic has had the truck for about a week, driving it occasionally, trying to get it to fail, but so far he's been unsuccessful. He's thinking of replacing the computer. I'm assuming that's the PCM?
I'm hoping someone here can give me better news, or at least reliable info that it is the PCM, and replacing it will fix the problem. I don't mind spending the money, I just don't want to spend $600+ on a part that isn't going to fix the problem.
Semper Fi !
Let me preface this by saying it's the wife's truck, and the description of the problem given below is in "wife speak".
1995 Dakota Sport, 3.9L V6, 2WD, 5sp man, ~150k mi
Recent repairs: rebuilt tranny, water leak in A/C fixed, fuel pump replaced, IAC replaced, throttle body/carb cleaned, TPS checked, EGR valve checked.
I'm the original owner. Truck receives regular maint. No leaks of any kind - driveway is spotless.
Problem: at end of 3rd gear, truck will stumble, then go to full throttle. Shifting to 4th gear - throttle still wide open. Shift to 5th gear - throttle eventually "normalizes" at speed of around 50-60mph.
She says acceleration feels normal and sounds normal. The "check engine" light comes on each time it does this. Unfortunately, it doesn't do this often enough for her to get it to our mechanic for him to get the code or troubleshoot it himself. Also, she hasn't been able to try any troubleshooting of her own when it happens, such as tapping the throttle or brakes, etc.. She also noticed that each time it did this, the truck took longer to start.
My mechanic has had the truck for about a week, driving it occasionally, trying to get it to fail, but so far he's been unsuccessful. He's thinking of replacing the computer. I'm assuming that's the PCM?
I'm hoping someone here can give me better news, or at least reliable info that it is the PCM, and replacing it will fix the problem. I don't mind spending the money, I just don't want to spend $600+ on a part that isn't going to fix the problem.
Semper Fi !
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Joined: Aug 2007
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From: NM
Surging is typically a vacuum leak or low fuel pressure (at that exact time) or weak spark.
No I would say it is not likely it is the PCM (computer).
What does the check engine light codes say? They are stored in the PCM's memory (even if the key is off), the light doesn't have to be on to have codes stored. You can simply check the codes by turning on and off the key 3 times and count the blinks. You can find more details on this and the codes here. https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...-96-codes.html Also it is located in the FAQ, just a few posts above this one.
No I would say it is not likely it is the PCM (computer).
What does the check engine light codes say? They are stored in the PCM's memory (even if the key is off), the light doesn't have to be on to have codes stored. You can simply check the codes by turning on and off the key 3 times and count the blinks. You can find more details on this and the codes here. https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...-96-codes.html Also it is located in the FAQ, just a few posts above this one.