I'm trying to help my neighbor out. His 1988 Dakota 2wd V6 automatic died on him as he pulled into his driveway. It wouldn't start to so he took up town to a garage. They told him the computer was bad. I bought a used computer for $100 and they put it in and still won't start. They gave up and gave him a bill for $95. We towed it to my place for me to give it a shot. The "check engine" light does come on when the key is turned to run. It stays on for a few seconds then goes off. The engine turns over fine but won't fire. Even when putting a little gas down the throttle body injection it won't fire. What should I check next? Thanks for any help.

 

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I would try the pickup coil.

 

if you have a ohm meter, they are pretty cheap for a basic model,




Mopar Ignition Coil Test

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Mopar Ignition Coil Test





This testing procedure is valid for just about any automotive coil. Using an ohmmeter, check the resistance between the side terminals of the coil. Do this with all of the wires to the coil disconnected. You should see 0.75 to 0.81 ohm of resistance. Then check the resistance between either side terminal and the center high tension terminal. The reading should be 10,000 to 11,000 ohms. Any significant deviation from these numbers would indicate that the coil is defective.



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do you have fuel pressure. There is a schrader valve in the fuel line. you can test pressure there. If you don't have a gauge you can press the needle with you finger nail, but you will get squirted in the eye or blow you self up. like the hindenburg.. "Oh the HUMAINTY" A fule pressure gauge is not too exspensive. If the check engine light is on that the infamous wire corrision is probaly not the problem. But is worth a check.

 

I pulled the relay on the fender. The black plastic one that's screwed to the finder. There is 12volt power to the left front terminal in the wiring harness. When I touch a jumper wire from that one to the one in the middle next to the fender I can hear the fuel pump run. With the relay installed and the key turned on I can't hear the fuel pump run. Guessing the relay is at least part of the problem. What are the other 2 wires for in the wiring harness that plugs into the relay? I'm assuming one must go to the distributor and other goes to what?

 

I found this link that covers the ASD relay and wiring and tells what each wire is for and how to test. I'm going to give these tips a try and see what happens.

http://autorepair.about.com/library/a/1g/bl860g.htm

 

That link above I found showed the ASD relay and wiring for a 1990 Voyager mini-van. Guess there must be differences. I was just out testing things on this 88 Dakota and the Red wire is attached to terminal 87 of the ASD connector plug and the Green/Black wire is attached to terminal 30 of the ASD connector plug. The above link has those two wires switched around.I used a voltmeter and didn't get any voltage reading from terminal 87 (Red wire) at any time with the key on/off or starting. When I energized terminal 50 (Green/Black) with a jumper wire from the battery + terminal I could hear the fuel pump run. I did get the battery voltage reading from terminal 86 (Blue/White) when the ignition switch was in run but not when switch was off. From terminal. When I tested terminal 85 (Blue/Yellow) I got no voltage reading with switch off, but a faint voltage reading, maybe 2-4 volts, with the switch on.

 

Well I got it started and drove it closer to the house. It was behind the shed and it's been about zero here the last couple days not counting the wind chill, and it's been windy. Anyway, I got it started by running a jumper wire from the + terminal on the battery to the red wire where it enters the ASD connector from behind. I then also had to run a jumper wire from where the Blue & Yellow wire enter the ASD connector to a ground on the fender for the ASD relay to activate. With that setup it started and ran. I only ran it about 1-2 minutes to get it moved by the house. When I removed the jumper wire from the + terminal of the battery the truck would die. If I left that wire connected and removed the jumper wire from the fender ground to the Blue and Yellow wire it would keep running. I'm assuming I have a fusible link out in the Red power wire or possibly a key switch? The problem with the Blue/Yellow wire might be a break or maybe something else?? Any tips on what to check next would be greatly apreciated. On the plus side, the garage up town had this truck for about 2 weeks and never got it to even spark, I at least got it running after 2 days.