Thanks in advance for looking at my problem. My Durango cranks, but won't fire up. This weekend I had a mechanic diagnose that I was getting spark all the way up to the distributor. I replaced the distributor cap, rotor and plugs. The distributor cap was in pretty bad condition on the inside, you could see some arcing on the contacts and there was a line on one side of it about 2 inches long where it looked like it had been arcing.

After I replaced those parts I was able to drive it about 4 times before I started having the same problem again, cranking, not starting. I took the distributor cap off and wiped the contacts down with my finger, put it back together and the truck fired right up, however, I started it 3 more times, and on the third time, it would not start again. The contacts had a whitish mark on them from the rotor, I don't know if that's normal after only driving about 20 miles.

A buddy mentioned that I should replace the crank sensor, located on the bell housing. Does that make sense?

Thanks for any advice. And by the way, I'm no kind of mechanic, I can make small repairs, but that's about it.

'02 Durano R/T 5.9 56k mi

 

What kind of wires, cap, rotor, and plugs are you using because it may just be that you put crap on there. Go with OEM, MSD, or another good name for ignition components. Also never (I mean never) use platinum plugs. I tried them out on mine and couldn't keep my D running when it was cold with them. Go with champion OEM or truck plugs, you can also run autolite 3923's and be good to go.

 

It's funny you mention the platinum plugs. I read all of the bad things about Bosch platinums after I bought and installed them. I do have the cheapest cap and rotor installed, GP Sorenson I think (Advance Auto Parts). The wires are AutoLites.

The truck did start up again tonight, it's almost like there's a short somewhere.
I still wonder if it's worth my money to try that crank sensor.

Thanks for your time.
J

 

NP and replace all that stuff and try to get your money back on the crap components since they sold you something that is not fit to be on a late model vehicle.

 

I agree that it is more than likely your crankshaft positioning sensor. But a crappy cap/rotor and plugs can also cause problems.

"Engine speed and crankshaft position are provided through the crankshaft position sensor. The sensor generates pulses that are the input sent to the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) . The PCM interprets the sensor input to determine the crankshaft position. The PCM then uses this position, along with other inputs, to determine injector sequence and ignition timing."

I still have no idea what everyone is talking about when it comes to the platinum plugs. I had them in my engine for over 2 years, no problems! I put the autolite 3923's in my new 5.9.(only 800 miles on it!) I'm going to put the platinums in on the dyno and check for misfires,pinging,possible gains,etc. I think the platinums have a hotter spark,combined with 87 octane & stock t-stat = preignition. I've always used 92 or better octaneand never had a stock engine.

 

Okay. I replaced my cap and rotor with NAPA Echlin brand. Nobody around here sells anything better (MSD, Accel). I also replaced the plugs with Autolites.

When I got the cap off, the small button in the inside center of the cap (coil contact) was eaten away a little bit. I assume that's why I couldn't start the engine. I only drove about 30 miles on that cap. Could this crankshaft sensor cause that too?

Thanks for your help everyone.
J

 

Okay, it's been a few weeks now and I haven't had any problems. The gas mileage is a little low, going to run some cleaner through the system.
Thanks.

 

This is not a question but a solution. Our company runs a 1999 Dodge Durango 5.9 V8, which was having problems starting. We have been online multiple times to see if others had a solution and we found that owners were spending 1000's $ trying to figure the problem out to no avail, replacing part after part.
The PROBLEM:
Drive the Durango shut it off - go to start and would crank only - leave it for a while - come back start right up. Check engine light came on stayed on, threw a P0340 code (according to manual and dealers - no Cam shaft sensor on this model - it was throwing a false code). Little by little problem got worse to point Durango would not start at all. Seemed like it might be factory alarm with engine kill.
OTHERS ONLINE TRIED:
Coil; Crank Sensor; IAC; battery replacement; new distributor cap, rotor and plugs; replacement and/or flash of PCM; Throttle Positioning Sensor; Fuses; amoung other items. Brought to Dodge they could not figure it out.
WE FOUND IT TO BE:
Distributor pickup which duals as a cam shaft sensor. This is located under the distributor cap. A $50.00 part solved the problem.