Hi folks,

Me and my gf went home for Christmas, 900 miles each way, in her 01 Dakota QC 2WD 4.7L Auto- after about 150 miles the check engine light came on and soon after it started shifting funny - the cruise had been set at about 70 - 75 for most of the time. I took it off cruise and just used my foot but it still kept playing up, revving real high and just being real jerky like it couldnt decide which gear to be in.. We kept going but stopped frequently and it seemed to be ok for like 50 miles or so after each time we stopped but then would go back to playing up again - i got some WD40 and sprayed the sensors around the thottle body (drivers side) thinking it might be bad conections on the TPS or something and did seem to improve slightly.. I checked the automatic transmission fluid (while hot) and that seemed fine, if anything it was maybe a bit high, everyhing else seemed normal. 350 miles into the journey we stopped for the night.

Next morning i checked the trans fluid again (while cold) and again it showed a bit high, better than too low i guess, and i sprayed more WD on the passenger side of the throttle body, was dark first time i looked - the check engine light was still on but we set off... Drove the remaining 550 miles with barely any sign of the same problem - check engine light was on but it maybe played up once or twice for the whole time.

We spent the next few days city driving, the check engine light had gone out the next morning after we had arrived - no problems at all.

The drive home started out ok but the check engine light came back on after about 75 miles.. It shifted a little bit, not nearly as bad as the first time but it was there.. i drove a bit faster on the way home ~80 ish and didnt have a problem, the check engine light went out and it was running perfectuntil i started driving slower again - cruising between 60 - 75 brought the check engine light back on and the problem was back as bad as the first time.. We pulled over again for a rest and after that cruised back around 80 again, no more problem except the check engine light was still on...

I have been out to Autozone this morning and they read the codes, EVAP leak (gas cap not on properly) and TPS (not sure exactly as he disconnected it too quick).. he priced up a new TPS - 70 bucks - which i declined.

I came back and read the codes myself - it showed up a P0121 which is one of these twoaccording to thesticky-

P0121 (M) TPS Voltage Does Not Agree With MAP TPS signal does not correlate to MAP sensor signal.
P0121 (M) Accelerator Position Sensor (APPS) Signal Voltage Too Low APPS voltage input below the minimum acceptable voltage.

I am planning on going out and pulling the sensor and cleaning it up and maybe check the battery terminals for good connections too but figured i would post up here too incase anyone has any suggestions..

I have searched on here too but didnt find anything that was similar to the problem i was having... any info would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Richard.

PS. Sorry for the long post...

 

I would replace the TPS sensor.

 

OK i went out and checked the TPS voltages.. according to this thread https://dodgeforum.com/m_501358/tm.htmi should be seing .26v at idle and 4.49v at WOT... i am actually seeing .64v at idle and 3.88v at WOT - it seems very linear with no spikes or anything when i move the peddle through the whole range..

Can anyone confirm what voltages i should be seeing out of the TPS?

 

download the manual it would be a big help......it is posted online Gen2 Dakota forum.


http://www.mydatabus.com/6z/lnubb.pbz/youmustbestupid/2001DakotaManual.pdf

 

I saw similar issues with my 2000 Sport 4.7; at cruise, the engine would rev approx. 500 rpm and back down to cruise--as though the tranny was slipping. I checked the trans fluid level and it needed 1.5 quarts. After bringing to max level, no problem. 120,000 miles though, but your would be worth a look. Some don't think to look for basic issues. It slipped my mind for a few months, baffled on why it would do this sparatically. Hope this helps.

Derek

 

replace the sensors (from error codes) if that doesn't fix it adjust your tv cable, if it is too streched may need to buy a new one but I think yours will be okay.