Hey guys, I own a 1985 Dodge Ram, its in a very nice shape, with just over 70K on the clock. Its got the original 318ci engine and automatic transmission. Towards the end of last summer (2007) it developed a nasty habbit of shutting down every so often - I'd say every 5-10 miles of driving. When I crank it immediately after it dies, it wont restart, however after it sits there fore a few minutes it will restart. Almost as if something is waiting to cool down. I took it to a repair shop, they did a full tune up, but the problem still persisted. Then they replaced the ignition coil and the problem went away only to return a week later. Then the winter came, and in cold weather it never shut down, but once the weather warmed up it started doing it again. I haven't driven it much at all this summer, it's pretty much stting in my driveway, but I'd like to get to the bottom of it before the cold weather starts again. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

Oh and another thing... I know this is a long shot, but I have an electrical problem as well. When I step on the brakes, the right turn signal doesn't work. The front signal lights up but doesnt blink, and the rear doesn't blink either. It only happens when I press on the brakes, otherwise it works just fine.

 

check the ohms when its hot. if there is an open the coil is shot. something might be burning them out, could be the pionts in the distributor/ignition

 

Does it have the lean burn with the computer on the air cleaner?

 

Drop the fuel tank, remove the sending unit, and replace the filter on the fuel pick-up tube.

 

yeah, check fuel pressure

 

Replace the coil again,if it goes another week it's electrical. If not,sounds like vapor lock. Weak fuel pump,fuel line too close to a heat source,wrong fuel filter. Should have a nipple on the side,filter mounted vertically with the nipple on top. Bleeds vapors back to the tank. Gas these days isn't formulated for carbed vehicles,boils real easy.