Hi,working on a friends 97 dakota with 5.2 v-8. The truck will start and then shut right down...even when giving it gas. We checked the crankshaft sensor,camshaft sensor, has good fuel pressure, and great spark, checked all relays and fuses and still a no go same thing for 3 days. So we rented a code reader, all it says when it runs for the short 3- 5 seconds tops, is no codes found. It will also say MIL IS OFF (malfunction indicator lamp) when it is not running but the ignition is on. We are convinced its the PCM. We also started it and sprayed starting fluid in the intake and it would stay running as long as we sprayed it. so we know it gets fuel to the rail, and gets great spark. Somewhere along the line its cutting the power to the injectors maybe?

Does anyone have any suggestions or same problems? Any inputis greatly appreciated.

Thanks, dj

 

check to see if you get power to the injectors,

 

im not with the truck right now at the ol ladys place....but lets say the power is getting cut off to the injectos what should i check next? and what if they are getting power?

 

when all else fails try checking your tps (throttle position sensor) its the one on the back of the throttle body, dakotas have a history of them sticking which can cause your truck to not idle. it always good to clean them once a year. hope thats the problem.

 

map sensor, tps or iac, all on the TB all might go bad,

 

we got somewhere had our local shops electrician come take a look at ... he did some trouble shooting...didnt find anything....then he pulled the 10 amp cluster fuse and the truck started and runs fine...put the fuse back in and it runs but the cluster isnt working...well some lights come on, but the gauges are not doing anything....he's pretty sure its in the security system. find out tomorrow after he gets the pin outs and takes another look at it. thanks for the ideas appreciate the help