Hello all.


i own a 02 dakota with a 3.9 v6 engine that will not start when wet. i thought it was getting moisture so i changed cap, rotor button, and wires. when i changed the cap i noticed the TAB was broke off on the pick-up coil so i also changed that and it still will not start when it gets wet. sometimes if i use starter fluid it will start but not all the time. The last time it did run it had a hesitation when i put the gas down.(it is a standard 5 speed) anyone have some ideas cause i am fed up with this thing


thanks in advance for your help.

 

I don't know what to do about it. Mine is a '00 3.9 5-speed, and it always starts, but whenever it's raining outand i drive through a big puddle, it makes a sputtering/knocking sound almost like it sounds when you're in too low of a gear, which is not the case. So, I'll be watching this thread for any similar advice too.

 

check to make sure your wires are routed properly, it could be arcing because of moisture on the wires... also these trucks dont like the cheap brand of plug wires from what ive heard. you could also have a bad ignition coil.

 

Remove the ign coil and check for any cracks or pencil-like lines that would indicate arcing. Get a spray bottle and mist water on everything- do when dark and any arcing will show up.

 

thanks for some tips .....the wires are the better set and are less than 2 months old.... I will try that with the ignition coil and let you know what happens ...........thanks for some tips

 

checked the ignition coil today for cracks ..... no luck....sprayed water on parts of engine to see if i could find the spark arcing anywhere...again found nothing.. in the meantime i killed my battery so now i have to go buy a new one... I will keep you all posted

 

finally put battery in the truck and had it towed to the garage.... turns out they found two things wrong. For some unknown reason the dist. cap will not sit tight on the shaft so we put a little goop on it and now its tight..... Second they found even though the wires were NEW they were bad ... was not getting spark at number 1 and 6 cylinders.... thanks to those of you who gave me advise...after it was all said and done i put 320 dollars in this thing

 

moe in wichita ks
i had trouble with moisture in the cap on 318 and 360s. i found a white matertal thats used for pvc filter, i cut a small piece and put in the dist cap vent, this seems to help a lot..
also i have just blocked it off the cap vent with j-b weld.