Is there a check engine light on in the information center? Its an orange engine symbol.

 

No, the check engine light only comes on when I turn the key to ON position. After the truck starts, it goes away, which means that all is well? I know check engine light could mean a host of things, so if its not staying on, doesnt it mean that whatever it signifies, is alright?

 

I thought maybe you had an evap issue wh your which was causing your emissions issues. Have you had a local auto store throw it on a scan tool yet?

 

no, i cant afford to go to a shop. here in canada, they charge you even for checking stuff up. so i have to it all by myself. im used to working on my cars....

whats this evap thing?

 

Evaporative emmisions control systems. For example I had a p0455 recently that showed an evap leak large. These evap systems are know for cracked hoses etc. I found 2 hoses that were cracked. I cut the ends off and corrected it. Evap controls gas vapors entering the atmosphere. To bad you werent close to me. I have a computer but Canada is a bit far away. lol

 

Your issue is starting to sound like the CAT though.

 

@Ts610 - Thank you very much for all your input....

Update:
Guys, I just checked and my truck does have an EGR valve, bolted to the firewall, right above the driver side valve cover. Maybe you guys have different specs in US than in Canada.

Anyway, where can I find how to clean up the EGR valve? If someone knows of a small write-up or can share what to do, I would appreciate it a lot.

And once again, knowing how to get the codes would be great. Do you get it in the overhead trip/eco/DTE meter or in the odometer in the instrument panel? I have read that '98-'99 Dodges were notorious for not letting a driver get codes with that ignition key trick. But then who knows.....

All help is appreciated. Keep it coming.......

 

Key forward 3 times should of worked. On for 2 sec then off then right back on for 2 sec then off then right back on. Then it will show any codes you might have in the odo.

 

Alright. Somehow, I did the 3 times key thing, but while keeping the trip reset pin pressed in. This is what happened:

I pressed the pin and did the key thing three times. On the third one, I let go of the reset pin. The whole instrument panel lit up, then shut off, all needless moved from left to right, including the tach, speedo, oil pressure, etc.. And then the little odo/trip display went on to show squiggly lines going round and round.....and then it all came to a stop. The trip counter/odo went back to showing the current trip miles/odo reading. No codes flashed at all, as far as I can tell.

What does this mean?

If this exercise has reset my computer, do I need to drive it around for a bit so that the ECU relearns everything? And should I get the e-test done soon or after driving it around so the ECU learns and recalibrates it? Any help would be appreciated.

Also want to know if putting methyl hydrate in the gas tank would help in any way. I did the sea foam thing and it blew some smoke, but then cleared up after an hour or so. Should I do it again?

I asked a shop and it said it would charge $100 to tell me what is wrong with my truck. Frikkin' rip-offs......!!!

 

Holding in the trip reset button will just test the instrument panel