Hey guys, After many trouble free years with my Dak it seems it is having the no start issue that is all too common. I have pored over thread after thread of the same issue trying to soak up as much info as possible.
About 2 weeks ago I was at lunch and when I came out to the truck it just cranked with no signs of even trying to fire up.I called a mobile mechanic and he said it wasn't getting any spark (did not check the fuel system at this time).
He saw a wire spliced into the coil wire (part of a remote start that hasn't worked in years) and suspected a bad connection. He removed the splice and butt connected it back together for now. Went and hit the key and it fired right up.
I figured it would be a good idea to source a new pigtail for the coil...pretty much impossible to find. I ended up ordering an adapter harness that adapts the stock coil to an accel ignition. Figured I would cut the accel part off and voila pigtail!
Still waiting on that part as it is backordered for a couple of weeks at this time.
Fast forward a few days later and the truck left me stranded with a no start again. Checked the coil wire repair and it was still in good shape. Tried a couple more times but still just crank and no start so gave up and called a tow truck. After sitting there for about 30 minutes I said what the heck and turned the key and it fired right up! I called the wrecker and told them it started and I would call back if I didn't make it home. Turns out I made it about a 1/4 mile and the tach started jumping around, the engine stumbled and bucked and died. Just cranked again so called wrecker company and got it home. As soon as the wrecker unload the truck at the house I reached in and turned the key and it fired right up...of course.
I pulled codes and got 12, 11, 32 and 55. So basically showed crank sensor and egr.
I ordered a mopar crank sensor from Mopar Giants and it got lost before fedex even got their hands on it, lol. I now have to wait for them to investigate the situation before they can send out another sensor. I am short on vehicles at the moment so for now I picked up a crank sensor from O'Reilly's. Installed it and the truck fired up. I took it for a good 15 mile drive with lots of stop and go driving and came back home. Shut it off and proceeded to restart it right away..no problem...waited about 10 minutes and hit the key and no problems. I then waited about an hour and started it again. Working like a charm.
Later in the day I drove it to go get gas and pick up wheel seals for another vehicle. Everything was fine until I tried starting it in the parts store lot..same thing..crank but no start. I gave it a good 30 minutes and tried again. Fired right up but only made it about 3 blocks and died again. Did this rinse and repeat procedure for about a mile and gave up. Called a friend with a tow strap and got it home.
I thought maybe the cam sensor is causing issues so I picked one up as well as a cap and rotor just because. Installed all of that and it just cranks with no start again. I left the battery disconnected the night before I replaced the cam sensor to clear the codes. After cranking it code 11 came back.
While I wait for the Mopar parts place debacle to be solved I tested the power to the ASD relay. Has power. Also tested its output with key on. Has power. I am getting coil voltage for a couple of seconds and the fuel pump primes every time I key on. Just won't start.
I unwrapped the wiring bundle under the washer bottle after reading about wire splice issues. It looks pretty good to me. What do you guys think?

 

I just got mine running again and it was the wiring leading to the speedometer sensor down underneath by the transmission. We went back about 2 feet from the sensor and wow it was obvious. Got those fixed up and it started right up. Id check that! Mine is a 95 dakota 3.9l

 

Feels good, huh?

Congrats!

 

Well I got back to trying to diagnose the no start condition. After posting the pic on my first post I realized that wasn't the splice everyone talks about. It is actually a 3 into 1 wire splice closer to the power distribution box.
I found it and it looked green so I figured there was some corrosion. Cut out the splice, stripped back to clean wire on both ends and connected the ends with some extra wire. Tested continuity thru my repair and it was good....still no start.

I finally got my hands on a FSM for this thing and started looking thru it. It mentions the crank sensor diag but says to reference the process with the Mopar scan tool.....umm sure! I printed out a copy of the scan tool instructions and it is mostly just looking for continuity, certain voltage and resistance on the wires going to the CPS (crank position sensor). I checked the voltage on the two wires it referenced and they were in spec. I then checked the signal wire from pigtail to pin 24 of the PCM. Stated it should have less than 10 ohms. I read 1.5 ohms. The diag sheet says if those three readings check out then next step is to replace the PCM.

I bought a reman from a parts stash from a closed parts store. I plugged in the reman PCM and reconnected the battery and tried again. Still crank but no start. I then noticed the fuel pump was no longer priming when key is turned on. I also noticed no check engine light when key is first turned either which is a red flag. I then noticed a clicking noise under the hood even with the key off. I found out it was the IAC. Had a steady clicking noise even with the key in my hand.
I disconnected the battery and removed the reman PCM. I plugged in my original PCM and reconnected the battery. No more IAC clicking, fuel pump is priming again and the check engine light comes on when turning the key to the run position.

Pretty sure the reman PCM is no good but no returns..oh well. I just bought a used PCM from a wrecked Dak and it should be here by Friday. I will update my progress. I have never had this much trouble with this truck in the 24 years I have owned it, lol..

 

All of us can relate.

 

Well if it comes down to it you can open up the bad PCM you got no refund and mess with it. I vaguely recall a Canadian poster many years ago saying he opened his ground away the solid gel and remelted the solder where it was cracked and it worked fine after.
Sometimes it's better to spend extra money to get something you are sure is good. There are at least several thousand dollars I could have wasted on something else iffin I weren't so cheap.

 

I hope i'm not butting where i'm not wanted but it seems to me that if spark is your only issue then you might be over complicating your prob go to basic put the orig pcm that was working the pump and leave the pcm out of the equation check power to the coil + while cranking ! Now if you have power during crank then get an LED TEST LIGHT and check the coil -- for a pulse during crank ! If you have both of those take the coil wire off and put a spark plug to it byitself ! With the results of that test it will tell u where the prob is and DON'T go replacing the part till you get you a long jumper wire with clips to make sure you just don't have a short in the wire THAT A DAKOTA IS NOTORIOUS FOR I should know I own 4 with a jumper wire on 3 of them hope this gives you a new perspective on the problem and helps ya out

 

More testing today.
I went under the truck by the trans speed sensor like was referenced but once you get a couple of feet up the wiring it becomes almost impossible to get your hand in there to remove the tape and see if there are any problems.
lesliestiles3 do you have any pics of the area I need to concentrate on?

cwkerr007 I don't have a LED test light, just a regular one. I get power to the coil for a couple of seconds when key is turned on then the light goes out. During cranking the light comes back on for maybe 2 or 3 seconds and then goes out.
I also probed an injector connector and it did the same thing. Light on for a second or two when turning key on then goes out. Lights up while cranking for the 2 or 3 seconds then goes back out.

I got another used PCM and tried it. No change in anything. I even tested the crank sensor output at pin 24 on the pcm and it lights up the test light while cranking the engine.

During all of this testing it set code 11 again which is no crank reference signal.

Fun stuff.

 

Did some more testing today. Checked cam position sensor signal input at the pcm and get a nice steady flash with the LED test light while cranking. Tested the crank position sensor input at the pcm and the light tuns on for a couple of seconds with key on, then goes out. Crank the engine and the light comes on but just stays steady with no pulsing. I bought a analog multimeter and set it to the 10v DC range. It basically does the same thing the test light was doing. Goes to 5 volts at key on and then back to zero after a couple of seconds. Crank the engine and it swings up to 5 volts and just stays there until you turn off the ignition. There should be a pulsed signal there similar to the cam sensor if I understand the system correctly.
I was in the process of swapping another crank sensor and realized I can see the tone ring inside the bell housing. I had my son crank the engine while I watched the ring and it spins perfectly with the engine so that should be ok. Swapping crank sensors made no difference and did the same thing with the output signal.
I did test power to the coil and it is getting power on key on and during cranking but no pulsing. That leads me to believe the ASD circuit is doing its job, correct?
Running out of ideas here...

 

What came to mind as I read your post was to check the continuity of the wire from the sensor to the PCM and just as I was typing figure out how it is grounded and check that.