Hi Guys,
I just found this forum, and it looks like there is a lot of good info. I have a 98 Dakota V6 club cab, with 87,000 miles on it, and love it. My first Dakota was a 87 that I put 183,000 miles on. It still had the original clutch, and didn't burn a lick of oil. I hated to get rid of it, but my son needed a reasonable vehicle.
My son put his detector on the computer of my 98 and got these codes. I found the codes I was looking for in here, and now need some help/info. I got codes P0320 (crankshaft position sensor), P0351 (regarding ignition coil), P0463 (full level sensor too high voltage), & P1391 (intermittent loss of cam position sensor. Here are the symtoms. I start up fine. Go down the road a few miles and it starts bucking, jumping and loosing power. It acts similar to having water in the fuel, but that is not it. This will go on for 10 minutes or so, and then it will smooth out and run fine for the rest of the day. (thats why I thought it was water at first). We replaced the coil because that was the easiest & cheapest. But no change, so the coil was good. Anyone ever run into this? Is the crankshaft position sensor easy to get to, to replace? Or is this a garage job? Any help will be apreaciated
Dan

 

i dont think its the individual sensors that are broken. it sounds more like a voltage regulation or grounding issue. check the voltages coming off the alternator for at least a few minutes and watch for voltage spikes, then check it at several points in the cab.

 

thanks Jason,
A ground issue sounds reasonable. I haven't used the truck much in the past two years. I bought a commute car for my last contract (56mi one way) so I wouldn't rack up the miles on the truck, and only used the truck every couple of weeks. So there is probably a lot of corrosion at the ground points. Any suggestions which ones to check?
Dan

 

start with the basics. check the battery ground and then the ground strap that goes from your chassis to the motor. since its 8 years old i bet there is corrosion/gunk on the motor ground strap. pull it off, clean all the the surfaces and reinstall. then check the engine wiring harness grounds, consult your wiring diagrams in the repair manual to find those. i would still check your voltage regulation, although it could probably be off because of a ground issue too.

 

Jason,
Sounds like I should put some dialectric grease on the grounds after I get them cleaned up. Will it do any good to check the alternator or regulator when there are no symptoms? The symptoms don't start right away, it's usually 5-7 miles donwn the road before they show up. I will try to get the grounds cleaned up this week-end. I suppose after that if I still have the problem, the voltage requlator would be the next cheapest try. I remember my old 60 chevy, I used to get out and whack the voltage regulator case with the handle of a screw driver, that would un-stick the contacts and I would be good to go again until I could get them cleaned up. Something to be said for the good ole days!
Dan