Heys guys I need to see if you can help me. I have a 95 Dakota 4X4 w/ 5.2
and it keeps shutting down on me. I have put new plugs, wires, cap/rotor on it.
I have had 1 set of wire splices redone (red wires near firewall) ran it for 3 days and cut out again. I replcaced the PCM, ran it for 3 days and cut out again. I have
noticed that when it dies I lose spark and fuel pump and all relays, and the "check engine" light will not come on. It will crank to you kill the battery and all the other
instrument light and interior lights do work. I also noticed that before it cuts out
the tach will start jumping all over from 600 at idle to 2500rpm at idle but the
engine dose not race up. Any ideas?

 

my truck did something similar to that and it was the pickup coil in the distributor. I replaced that and everything was fine. in the process I changed the tps, coolant sensor, fuel pump relay and it turned out it was just the pickup coil.

 

The check engine light will not come on at all? It should turn on for a few seconds when you turn the key ON and than turn off for the bulb test. If that bulb doesn't turn on, I would see if its burnt out or if the circuit for the bulb is bad or whats going on (since that bulb can be used for diagnostics).
If the check engine light does work, pull the codes from the PCM (see here), and post the codes.

Other than that, I agree with jonnymagnum about the pick-up coil (a.k.a Hall Effect sensor, a.k.a. camshaft position sensor). If thats bad, the PCM won't allow your truck to start. Same thing with a bad crankshaft position sensor.

 

check the engine grounds located right near the battery . they are inside little plastic clips... pull them apart and clean them real good..my dakota did the same thing... just like everyone else i checked and replaced my coil, my fuel pump, my computer, my tps, coolant sensor , crank sensor...... pull those wires apart and i bet that is the problem... good luck

 

I agree with johnny magnum it is the HEPickup relay ( the little plastic thing under the distributor cap) but wouldnt hurt to check the grounds also because the HEP will run ya about $100cnd

 

pick up coil dude WOW no kiddin $100 CND mine was $26 us but I have an 87 na

 

I had a similar problem with my 88 dakota 3.9l Years ago. Drove me crazy doing all the normal stuff. cap rotor etc. Ended up taking it to the dealer. they of course could find nothing wrong. They told me the Hall effect switch in the distrubtor cap is a likley problem. Dakotas of these years were know for this. They replaced it and all was well, The hall effect is a switching system that times the igntion. Before,, you would be driving along happy as a clam, and the truck would shut off, just like you turned off the igntion. hope this helps, good luck!

 

oh ya! I paid $75 for mine. just for a lil piece ofplastic.[:@]

 

Have '94 kota 4x4 5.2L v8160k mi with similar problem. Only it either starts fine then goes awry with Engine Light coming on and it feels like a spark plug is missing. Or it just starts and runs with the Engine light on and same rough running as if a missing-firing spark plug.

I lift hood, engine off, remove the ignition wire on coil and put back on and 99% of the time thiscures the problem.

Does doing that reset something?

It seems that when the engine is cold it does this more. When warmed up problem seems to disappear.

Can a Hall Effect sensor in Distributor going bad or acting transient cause this?

What is a good tool to check sensors so I don't buy parts I don't need?

I also suspect the ECT (engine coolant Temp sensor)

I replaced the TPS and O2 sensor and Catalytic converter. Plugs, wires, coil also replaced.

Do stock MAP sensors rarely go bad ?Is there away to check these?

Bottom line - It was getting 18mpg during first few years, now it gets around 12mpg using California fuel.

 

Simply removing the ignition wire running from the coil to the distributor doesn't reset anything.

Go here and check what codes the PCM is throwing. This will probably help a lot.
Just pull the codes (when you post them up here, make sure you post the numbers because there can be more than one code for any given item), and we'll work from there.