Truck died going down highway
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Truck died going down highway
1997 Dodge Ram 1500 4wd AT 167K
Well my girlfriend and I were heading back from doing some 4 wheelin' down by the lake and everything was going fine. We were heading down the highway going about 65mph then all of a sudden the truck just died.
I get out and pop the hood and noticed the battery tie down had broken and the battery had fallen over. There was acid caked on a lot of the front accessorries but nothing had gotten near the injectors, coil, and distributor. I topped the battery back off with water and tried cranking it. At first you could hear a couple cylinders fire but it would not fire up. Now when cranking you can not hear anything firing.
I also noticed that none of the dash indicators are working now. I checked all the fuses and relays and nothing is blown. When you turn the key on I can hear the fuel pump prime. When cranking I'm getting spark at the coil...I can see sparks coming out from the bottom of the plug on the coil which seems kind of odd. My meter is reading about 2K ohms from one end to the other on the coil wire(Don't know exactly what it should be) I'm basically just looking for some common problems with these trucks. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Well my girlfriend and I were heading back from doing some 4 wheelin' down by the lake and everything was going fine. We were heading down the highway going about 65mph then all of a sudden the truck just died.
I get out and pop the hood and noticed the battery tie down had broken and the battery had fallen over. There was acid caked on a lot of the front accessorries but nothing had gotten near the injectors, coil, and distributor. I topped the battery back off with water and tried cranking it. At first you could hear a couple cylinders fire but it would not fire up. Now when cranking you can not hear anything firing.
I also noticed that none of the dash indicators are working now. I checked all the fuses and relays and nothing is blown. When you turn the key on I can hear the fuel pump prime. When cranking I'm getting spark at the coil...I can see sparks coming out from the bottom of the plug on the coil which seems kind of odd. My meter is reading about 2K ohms from one end to the other on the coil wire(Don't know exactly what it should be) I'm basically just looking for some common problems with these trucks. Any help is greatly appreciated.
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Welcome to DF.
I'd say that since you have battery acid all over the place, looking for a common problem is not heading in the right direction.
First off, did you use distilled water in the battery or just plain old tap water? If you used tap water, then the battery will most likely be damaged, but it is already no good anyway so replace it. And clean all the connections you can find including grounds.
Second, As far as the spark goes, at the very least replace the coil wire itself and see where that gets you.
You should also get some backing soda and dissolve some in water and put it in a spray bottle and spray everything down, then rinse with a hose.
I'd say that since you have battery acid all over the place, looking for a common problem is not heading in the right direction.
First off, did you use distilled water in the battery or just plain old tap water? If you used tap water, then the battery will most likely be damaged, but it is already no good anyway so replace it. And clean all the connections you can find including grounds.
Second, As far as the spark goes, at the very least replace the coil wire itself and see where that gets you.
You should also get some backing soda and dissolve some in water and put it in a spray bottle and spray everything down, then rinse with a hose.
Last edited by zman17; Jul 27, 2009 at 12:10 PM.
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I put distilled water in it but it lost so much sulfuric acid the battery is junk anyways. The acid didn't seem to get into any places that should affect it from starting. Any idea why none of the dash indicators work? Where is the fuse/relay for them?