Okay guys need some help 1987 dodge Dakota v6 5speed 4x4 has carb. Truck cranks but will not start. Has no spark but also sometimes the lights or other random things in the truck won't work. Has had new ignition switch put in but has had no effect. Truck was doing perfect until now. What you think?

 

Check your fusible link splice by the battery. Check your battery cables, both ends, both cables.

The 87 is a weird duck due to being that feedback carb; you probably need the factory service manual to handle its oddities.

RwP

 

What makes it any more strange than fuel injected obd2 or 1. Can I jump 12 volts to the firing coil and get it to run? I just need it to fire up and run so I can drive it home don't care bout the rest of it right now.

 

Well, is the problem that the 12V is missing at the coil (which would indicate the ASD relay), or that the ESC isn't switching the return side?

What makes it more strange is that it's 1 year only; and unless someone else has a 1987 also, a lot of what others know about the TBI and EFI trucks won't help a darn bit.

So; exactly where does the 12V stop? With "sometimes no lights" it looks more like a systematic failure of the electrical system; so that's why I suggest checking both battery cables, both ends, and also checking the fusible link splice(s).

RwP

 

Okay I understand what your saying. I ended up getting the truck going late last night i ran a jumper wire from the positive on battery to the + on coil and that made everything come on and truck fired right up so I could get it home. Obviously still have some looking to find the problem but I also did notice that the starter Relay that is by itself on the left fender was all corroded up and not getting connection at all to turn over I was having to jump start it with a screw driver.

 

I don't know if they changed things between the 87 and my 94.5, but I had a problem where it would crank constantly and not start all of a sudden. A question: when you turn the key to the on position before the crank, do you hear the fuel pump power up like it usually does? If not, it could possibly be the issue I had.

From the relay box area under the hood on the front driver side of the vehicle, there was a large wrap over a bundle of wires. I cut it open and one of the wires was totally corroded out. I cut it and spliced a new wire in and it started right up. I'm not sure if this is well documented and only found this fix after finding a random youtube comment after searching for hours one day. It's an easy look and hopefully your fix. Good luck