Hello everyone this is my first time posting here and i am in dire need of help, I'm about ready to send the truck off into my pond at the moment.... its a 97 1500 v6 mag... i got the truck from my grandfather and when i got it it would not crank at all make a long story short after about 1000 dollars found out all that was wrong was the crankshaft position sensor.... once i replaced the sensor the truck ran fine for about 5 months i guess... started having problems with it idleing and picking up speed i would have to bairly push on the gas so that it would not stall out on me. Then one day it just out right died on me i had the idea of removing the sensor and cleaning it off it had a bit of powersteering fluid on it when i took it out due to another problem i had to fix anyway when i reinstalled the sensor the truck cranked up just fine and lasted for a few days then died again i gave up for a few months, and finally i broke down and got another crankshaft position sensor put it in today and it ran fine for about 3 miles i guess taking it easy then it started the same routine over again wanting to stall, hopeing that i could fix this simply i added some fuel treatment to remove any water that might have gotten into the system prayin that was my problem i let the truck sit for a few hours rode it in the pasture for about 10 mins with it constantly dieing on me came back to the house and parked the truck... just went back out there after a few more hours and the truck will not crank at all.... i'm at wits end on this and i dunno what to do anymore there has to be something i'm missing here..... i could use any help possible on this thanks.


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do u have a check engine light on? sounds to me like it might be a gas or spark problem and your gunna have to figure out which. when u turn the key on listen for the fuel pump to make a humming sound. it sounds like it may have crapped out on u. also, your idling problem could be caused by your IAC (idle air controler). its located in the back of the trottle body and its about 30 bucks or so. you can also try cleaning it with carb cleaner. the lack of power could also be from a bad cat and/or o2 sensor

 

sorry should have written more info, it has a new fuel pump new spark plugs and wires new coil pack, new brain box..... and nothing worked untill i changed the sensor the first time, will check and clean what you said and i hope that is the problem but i dunno i have tried allot of things..... and i am stumped bad bad thanks for the reply will update once i am done thanks again


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if you have a vacuum pump you can test the map sensor by backprobing the connector signal wire and drawing a vacuum on it... you should see the output change with the vacuum signal applied to it.

my suggestion is to yank the TB and clean it and the IAC valve real good. it could be gunked up or the valve is going bad.

is it stalling at idle or is it dying while driving? (makes a difference).

 

It won't stall while idle but you would think that it is going to stall by the way it is running problemis now it won't crank at all... iv'e never had a truck stump me like this...... now gonna try cleaning the TB and IAC real good.... but just to add one more thing... i would put my life on it that i could take the crankshaft sensor off and just wipe it off with a rag reinstall it and i know it will run but it will continue to run like crap for awhile befor it will go back to not cranking again... i dunno if that helps yall to help me but like i said i am stumped.... but to answer your other question it will die while driving But only if i hit the gas kinda hard i can get up to speed by bairly hitting the gas and letting it climb slowly in speed... but when i level off on it at say 40mph it will sputter a lil and miss if i punch it it will stall or allmost stall out then start to idle ruff.....


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the crank sensor is a hall effect sensor and cleaning it wont fix anything... swap your coil, most likely your problem.

 

check for spark when it wont fire up, if it's there it may be too weak to light off the cylinders. I think you mentioned something about checking the fuel pressure already... if not check that as well. should be 49 psi +/- 5 psi.

oops, just thought of this... if you yank the crank sensor, look for any cracks in it... if it's cracked, swap it again as there should be no cracks in it.

 

the plugs should be fine due to i have a new coil pack/plugs/and plug wires in the truck, will check fire to see if it is weak but i don't think it will be..... i just have an itchy feeling that my problem is with the crankshaft sensor, i just got done taking the sensor out puting it back in and pluging it back up and its back to runing smooth.... i am letting it idle as we speak and by the time i get back to the truck if its not idleing ruff it will be soon or really soon if i drive off a bit.... the mail and female end of the connector for the crankshaft sensor look fine to me as well just checked it allso no cracks on the sensor when i removed it still looks brand new from putting it in this morning when i did have a diag run on it the only thing that came up was that my fuel guage was not getting enough volts and thats due to something i did a good many months back fuel guage doesn't work properly but i can live with that... i can clean the tb and iac but i really don't feel thats where my problem is... none of this makes since that i can take the sensor out put it back in truck cranks gonna try something once i finish this post gonna just make the truck go back to not cranking doesn't take long then disconnect the sensor not bothering to take it outta the housing and plug it back in and see what happens.... and again thank you all for helping me with this i love this truck but, at the moment i'm not to happy with it at all.


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I feel your frustration, been there a few times. I'd stick with it because they are awesome trucks when running right. I loved mine and love my '05. did you check the wiring on the connector? if your only yanking the sensor, your also yanking off the connector which may be the problem.

btw, welcome to DF and sorry for your pains...