A friend has asked me to help him with a *totally custom* 4x4 Rock-Crawler that he has built. When this thing runs it should be crazy!

He can't get it to run. It uses a cut-up 91 Dakota frame, a 91 Dakota 5 speed manual transmission, a 94 RAM 1500 5.2 L engine (had an automatic transmission). The engine and transmission are bolted up in the frame and the Ram engine wiring harness has been partially installed. He is using the Ram computer.

We can't get the engine to run or spark for that matter. We can turn it over but it won't spark.

To troubleshoot, we are going through the computer's wires one-by-one. We have followed several wires to their proper termination. But when we follow the crankshaft sensor wire it ends in a disconnected connector at the end which, is part of the injector harness, at the rear driver's side of the engine.

We have looked on the bell housing, back and side of the motor but can't find where the crankshaft sensor would mount.

Are there two different locations for the sensor on a Dakota and Ram and we swapped them so that there isn't a sensor location?

We're pretty sure this is the major hiccup in getting the engine to run.

Thoughts? Thanks.

 

Welcome to DF. Will move this to the 2nd gen Ram section, see if they can help. You may also want to ask in the 1st gen Dakota section.

 

That's why it won't run. It needs input from the crank sensor. On our rams the sensor is inside the bellhousing on passenger side and reads off the flex plate. Post some pics up of this crawler too lol.

 

Thanks for the info. That is what I am thinking likely happened. The Ram has the sensor on the tranny and the Dakota has it on the motor which would leave this combination no sensor location. I'll try and get some information from the Dakota section.

Ya, this "thing" is pretty cool. I'll take some pics and post them next time I'm over there.

Thanks again,

 

Good luck with it. Y'all might have to make a hole in bellhousing for the wires to go through.

 

The 5.2 will have the CPS mounting location on the rear of the block on the passenger side. There are tow bolt holes that it mounts to. You will need to cut a hole in the Dakota bell housing so the sensor can go through and read the flywheel. You will need a flywheel that has the little squares on the outer ring that the CPS reads. Look at your flexplate from the ram and you will see what I mean.

 

Thanks Gerehead:

The trouble is, we don't have either the Dakota motor or the Ram auto tranny any more.

We have looked pretty closely at the passenger side of the engine and don't think we see anywhere to mount the sensor. Do you think it's in the actual bell housing or the block?

Thanks again,

 

It mounts to the block inside the bellhousing. Just find a flywheel off of a ram.

 

The sensor mounting location is NOT inside the bellhousing. The sensor bolts to a little pad that is on the block. From above look directly behind your passenger side head. There should be two little flat spots that have holes drilled and tapped there. The sensor bolts to these pads and from there travels through a hole in the bell housing to read the notched flexplate/flywheel.

 

I meant the sensor sits in the bellhousing. My bad fir not wording it correctly.