I bought my first full size pick up 2 weeks ago. 98 dodge ram 1500 5.2 102,00 miles for 2000$. The truck sat for 6 months before I purchased. I changed oil and filter before heading home. Filled up with unleaded and added half can of seafoam. A little sputtering around 30 mph but all things aside ran pretty well. Drove for a week with no issues. Filled tank and added injector cleaner. Wouldnt crank on monday opend hood and move cables around and tightend battery cables and removed corrosion. Started after several tries. Got home and changed batttery cable clamps and bought a larger battery. The one that was in it was only 530 cold cranking amps upped to 850. Still would only start after several turns. Runs great after starts. Checked all fuses. Good. Neutral switch good. 12 to 14 volts everywhere uptop. Put a new starter on. Will only start after many attempts. Each nonstarting crank sounds like a thud or a partial startup. Father in law plugged in a tester and no codes came up. Any suggestions before I take it to a shop on wednesday.

 

I'd start with a basic tune up. Our rigs like the cheapie autolites 3923's, and get the cap and rotor with the brass terminals. Did you burn off all the seafoam before you added more injector cleaner?

 

+1 on the cheap plugs. Champions are recommended also. Check your ECT sensor. Sounds like the same problem I was having a long time ago... I don't think my Check engine light was on when my ECT sensor went out and was having those symptoms. Just my .2

 

welcome to df clemson tiger fan.
beg borrow steal a fuel pressure testing tool and check pressure at the rail with key on. should be 49 psi +/- 5.

+1 on tune up. the dist cap is very hard to reach. some people suggest laying a piece of plywood across the top of the fenders to lay on. don't misplace any wires.... if your truck still has the stock heat shields around the spark plugs, yank them out and throw them away, then blow out the plug are with air, otherwise all the dirt in the shield falls down into the cylinder.

 

i ran the gas down to about 8th of a tank then refilled and added the injector cleaner. I did think about changing the plugs and wires,but the location of the distributor looked like it would make things a little more interesting. Thanks for the plywood tip. Also found out today that previous owner crossed the battery cables when connecting the battery. Father in law said he disconnected the computer for a few minutes and replaced all fuses to get the truck running after that.

 

Just wanted to thank all for the suggestions. I figured out that if I turned the ignition slower the truck would crank every turn. Seems like low voltage. I took the truck to a pro for a total ignition replacement with switch and sleeve and harness. Im having a pro do it as i noticed in the haynes manual you had to remove the steering wheel. Any idea how much this should run me?

 

My guess is about $300-$350 That's based on a $100 per hour labor rate (That's what we pay in Cali) and $75 in material.

 

i don't have a labor manual, but i'd guess at one hour.

 

The reputable service center in my area quoted me 300$ to change the sleeve. They said the sleeve was 145$ from the dodge dealer. I told them the part was 79.99 at advance auto. He immediatly told me that I would be unable to use the same key to open the doors and start the truck. I told him that would be ok and i would come get the truck. 27$. i bought the sleeve and swtch for 163$.

 

That's good to hear. I hope that solve's your issue.