ok. my brother bought this truck in March of last year. Now its my truck and i want to get it fixed. The driver's side door doesnt shut all the way. The wiring is screwed up and its kind of hotwired. When im driving it and i press the gas more than halfway down, it makes a loud sound, almost like a vacuum cleaner.And the parking brake is broke. i was wondering what would cause it to do that. if anyone can help me id greatly appreciate it.

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Drivers door: Is it the door alignment or is it that the door striker (the round object on the back door pillar, about half way up)? You can easily adjust the door striker. The door alignment is a little more involved (and, I need to do it too). See picture.

Wiring: I do believe the only solid red wire running around where that picture is taken from is the power TO the ignition switch. (Which, the ignition switch, when in certain positions, sends power to the starter, the windshield washers, radio, and some other stuff
Do you know why your brother cut that wire? If you connect the wire together without the key being in the ignition, do things like the radio, windshield washers, etc. get power? If you could, take off the part I circled in the picture, or at least take it off to determine if other wires were messed with. It could just be that you have a faulty ignition switch.

Parking brake: When I bought my truck, the parking brake was seized up on it (the cable had rusted to to cable supports under the truck). It may be that you need new parking brake cables. I believe they will run you around $30 for a complete set (Honestly, I don't know, but I will be fixing mine in a few weeks).

*edit* Opps. Pictures!

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well, im the one that redid the wiring. Shortly after he bought it, we replaced the starter and the piece that the key goes in. When that didnt work, me and a friend rigged it up. When you touch them together without the key in it, all it does is turn the starter. and withthe door, it rubs against the fender when you open it, but i dont know why.

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What year is the Dakota? *I am looking at my wiring diagrams as we speak, but a year would be nice*
As far as the door: it looks like either the front fender nees to be moved forward, or the door needs to be moved aft (rearward). You can also mess with moving the striker latch (on the rear door pillar) in and out, and see what that does (my door rubs against the front fender, and it did have some slight wind noise, but after moving that striker in a little bit, to took care of the noise.) but I believe the door will have to be aligned (see picture #2 of my above post).

 

OK, a few things: when you connect the wires without the key in, you say it turns the starter. Will the car actually run like this (will the motor actually start, or does it just turn over and not start)?
If it will not actually start up and run, what you have to do to make it run? Do you have to connect the two wires and turn the key to a certain position?
Do you have to actually use the key at all?
I need a run down on what exactly you have to do to start the car (so that is stays running).

There are 4 positions the key can be in:
Accessory: this is when you put the key in the ignition, and turn the key towards you (backwards) This sends power to the radio, and a few other small items.
OFF: This is the position where you can take the key out of the ignition, or put the key in the ignition.
ON (or RUN): This is when you put the key in the ignition and rotate it one spot foward (away from you). This is the position the key is in when the vehicle is running.
START: This is one spot in front of ON (or RUN) and is when power is sent to the starter.

When the key is rotated to the ON position, you can hear the fuel pump run for a second or two. (The fuel pump is located in the fuel tank). What do you have to do to make it so you can hear the fuel pump run for a second or two?

 

Its a 93 with the 3.9 v6. when you touch the wires, it just turns over but doesnt start. In order to start it, you have to put the key in, turn it to start, then touch the wires. When its not running, you can still turn it to acc. and listen to the radio and everything.

 

I have a theory, but first, I need to know:
Do you keep that wire connected for the whole time to car is running?
If not, why?

 

Sounds to me like this wire he is "shorting" is the same connection thats made when you turn key past "run" to "start" so leaving it connected would only result in the starter being constantly engaged and would quickly destroy the starter.

 

Yes, but, thats the same wire that is supposed to power-up (and keep power to) the Automatic Shutdown and Fuel Pump relays:

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I would guess an internal problem with the ignition switch.