hey, i am new to these forums, i have tried to look for this problem and havent had any luck, so if this is a re-post im sorry.

i have a '97 dakota with the 3.9 magnum, has worked perfect until this afternoon. I went to start it and it would die immedately, i have to keep givin it some gas or it dies immedately. It does this till its warm then it works perfect. i brought it to a local midas and they waited for the engine to cool then tried said they couldnt get it to repeat the problem,i came back to try and sure enough, started fine, i just got back so i havent been able to see if it is still doing it. i know its probably a sensor thats screwing it up, im just wondering if anyone has had this problem before and what it was.

any help would be awesome.

 

first off start w/ the basics,throwing a cel, full on gas, hows the alt? battery...

 

fuel pump replaced over the summer, fuel injector cleaner used every 2-3 fillups, alternator is good, battery replaced in the fall too. only new thing i could think of was exhaust i had put on about two weeks ago, nobody around me will actually check internals and do a diagnostic, cuz they refuse to believe anything is wrong with it. i havent been able to check anything myself, im at my dorm and have no tools, sad i know.

 

I guess you can try disconnecting the negative terminal of the battery for 10 minutes, and that'll reset things. I had a problem before where i would start it up then it would die. Tho that was because I was installing a remote starter and I was messing with the ignition wires. I disconnected/connected the negative and worked alright.

 

try checking the IAC valve, when my truck did that it was a dirty idle air control valve, its located on the back of the throttle body and is held in place w/ 2 torx screws, its the only thing w/ a wire going to it back there

 

when is is killing at idle or going down the road?

 

sorry for not responding, was away from a computer for most of the weekend, the prblem was something really dumb. i live in minnesota, and a couple weeks ago it was above 70-75, so i guess some gas stations switched to a summer formula. now its 15-20 degrees. so i filled it up with some new gas and it works perfect again. kind of a strange issue.

 

ah never heard of that however i go to the same place... that carries BP gas, duno if thats good or not tho...


what is summer formula in gas engines...?

 

more groundwater

 

ok. gas formula is not the issue, it again had issues starting this afternoon when i was trying to go to my military friends house who had a 48 he leave for easter. So i got some Iso-heet thinking maybe it was water or something in the gas. but every place i take it to cant replicate the issue, and i don't want to leave a dak with a 3-4k stereo in the thing at some place overnight. and another thing happened only once, the truck wouldnt shift into 4th after the last time if having issues not starting, i have no idea if this could be related or not.