The transmission in my '92 v6 4x4 went out two days ago, and I met a young kid to buy his '95 v8 2x4 SLT this evening an hour away. He started the truck right before I got there. I killed and started it up when I left. I paid $1,500, needed to get gas and went to the gas station. It wouldn't start leaving the gas station. Turning the key would do nothing. He messaged me that I should wiggle the large fuses in the engine fuse box. That actually worked well enough to get starter click / engine crank; but still no start. I had to leave it at the gas station, and I'll be back in the morning to try getting it home. First, my suspicion; and then I'll add all the detail I can in hopes that one of Y'all might be able to help me.

In my '92 I use to encounter a no-start condition after the truck had run and heated up. It'd have to sit all night cooling off before starting up again. I'm really hoping this will be the case. I resolved this issue in my '92 Dakota by replacing one or more of these parts (I replaced them all at once, so I don't know which solved the issue): 1) Distributor Pick Up Coil, 2) Throttle Position Sensor, and 3) Crankshaft Position Sensor.

ALL the dash lights were on too. The tachometer and gear shift display do not work.

Plenty of the wires look rough. I'll be bringing some electronic parts cleaner and sandpaper for the grounds, etc. The Fuel Pump is definitely priming. There was no loss of power and I was impressed by the v8 Magnam while it ran. I suspect there's a lose wire around the fuse box. Whenever it is bumped I stop getting clicks at the starter and have to wiggle it. I was getting afterfire while driving. Starter fluid wouldn't get it started.

Please just give me a list of things to check. I'm bringing every tool I can think of. I don't want to overlook anything.

And if anyone is around the Hot Springs, AR area and willing to help I will pay per hour. Truth be told I went up there immediately after work. My Wife and six children. Just now got everybody home, it was all a mess. Thanks in advance. I really don't want to overlook anything when I check on this truck in the morning!

 

I had a number of odd problems that ended up being the ECU. Mine would turn over but not start until the key had been left on (engine not running) for a while. It was like something had to warm up in the ECU before it would hold the fuel pump and the Emergency Cutoff relay in. Even after they would pull in and the engine would start, there would be intermittent power loss for a little while longer, sometimes muffler backfiring. I just went on eBay and found a matching # ECU for about $200. The first one had a similar issue but not as severe as my original. I had made sure there was a 30 day return policy on it, some do not have that. They took it back. The second one was the charm. Each time it took me several days until one with my part # appeared (56028749) on eBay. There are quite a few different #s but there seems to be a pretty steady supply of them coming and going on eBay. I am suspicious of "repaired" ECUs or "repair services". I really do not think there is much anyone can do for these units when they go South. I'm seriously considering getting another as a spare.

 

So a little update: That didn't work for me. Wiggling the fuse box and relays would cause it to go back and forth between a No Crank / Crank no Start condition. I took the Starter off and had it bench tested, and it was good. I reinstalled it and lo and behold, never got any crank thereafter. I jumped the Starter and did get crank however. I bought a new battery and replaced the negative terminal cable. I'm not sure why I'm not getting any crank now... I cleaned up some grounds and checked all my wires. They've all been tight so far. I'll probably take my Pacifica to the woods in the morning to go bowhunting. Then I'll look for someone to tow it, and hopefully I can get it home to work on it. I am determined to figure it out. It's sort of my only way to work. :/ Thanks for the recommendations! Definitely good advice about the ECU. My '92 may or may not need one.

 

I towed the vehicle home and began troubleshooting it beginning from square one with the Battery Feed to the ASD Relay. I'm really trying to understand this time rather than just throw parts at the truck. I have two of them and if I'm going to have vehicle problems and spend so much on tools and equipment then I need to learn to fix them like a professional. (I have four broken vehicles right now to fix.) So I've got continuity between the Battery and ASD Socket Pin 30. The Relay is new and functioning correctly. There is an Inline Fuseholder with a melted fuse inside. (I guess someone replaced the fusible link), but I'm getting continuity despite that. So it's not completely melted. I'll replace this per spec. Again, I had the Starter bench tested and they said it was good but my gut feeling is it's not good. O'Reilly has told me before that my Starter was good when it was in fact going bad. (Tapping on this one hasn't worked though, so if the Starter Motor is bad then we are beyond that point.) Jumping the Starter w/ wire from Starter Power Terminal to Starter Control Terminal does however get the Starter Motor working. So what could be the issue? Jumping it works, not jumping doesn't. And I've got continuity to the ASD Relay despite a damaged Inline Fuse, but I haven't done a Backprobe Test or anything to measure voltage. Thoughts?

 

Are you getting a no crank still? Check the trigger wire on the starter solenoid, do you get power there when you turn the key?

 

I'm at work just taking notes and reading, asking Grok, looking for diagrams, etc lol. I'll let You know when I get home, thank You so much. You've helped me a lot the past few years...

If iI have power, where should I to from there? What if I don't?

 

I am guessing you don't.... else, it *should* crank, at least..... From there, need to work your way upstream, and see where you are losing power.... I believe that is a direct feed from the starter relay though.... From there, see if you are getting power TO the relay..... and see if the relay clicks when you turn the key.

 

Not sure why I got a no crank and then a crank conditions. Might've bumped a loose wire. But turns out the ignition coil plug wire was up against the exhaust manifold, burned through, and was shorting.

That said I've got some other things to inspect when I get home. But can anyone tell me why my '92 and now my '95 exhaust manifolds are hot as absolute hell? My '92 ran fine, never overheated, but after running for 5 minutes the exhaust manifold would be hot for hours. Same as this '95...

 

They are cast iron.... Consider combustion temps are north of 1000 degrees, so the manifolds get HOT. So long as they aren't glowing red, it's all good.