So i just bought a 95 1500 and its pretty much left me stranded about 2 times already. 5.9 148,000 miles all stock when bought. Its not getting spark!

I have done the following:
-Replaced Fuel Pump(we left the vaccum thing, on top of the pump, that goes to the charcoal canister on the underside of the truck open because the nipple was brittle and broke off.)
-Replaced alternator(bearing got out of wack)
-replaced tensioner pulley
-replaced ignition coil
-put a Spectre CAI on(just for reference)

I also found a receipt in the truck from the previous owner. It was from a local shop in town that replaced the:
-Starter
-it says also 8 platinum spark plugs
-and headlights and harness

So, everytime i replaced one of the parts on it it runs awesome for about 3 days and then BAM, problems occur. Like it ran perfectly fine after i replaced the fuel pump then bam this morning no spark and no start.

any help would be greatly appreciated!

also just as a note, my truck was getting good gas mileage(15-16mpg) when it would start and when in WOT it doesn't pop or feel sluggish so i think my plenum is good.

 

the plenum will blow out...theres no way around it, its a manufaturers defect....

and platinum plugs typically suck in our trucks...i had E3's and my truck wouldnt run right, then i put in Copper champions, and it runs excellent, and has since....i have 208K, and it runs great...

i think your plugs could be an issue...

 

Check to see if you have voltage to the coil and if you spark coming from the coil. If you have spark out of the coil check each plug. If you don't have spark there the problem is probably in the dizzy cap or rotor.

 

To 95Ram360, I still havn't stuck a magnet down in the intake to see if the plenum has been replaced, but i have no symptoms of it yet, aka gas mileage/power which the truck has plenty.

To 97tn4x4, i will check the coil tommorow but plan on doing a full tune up.

So the plan for tommorow is:
-Duralast Cap and Rotor
-MSD 8mm wires
-Autolite 3923 or 3924s?

I have a couple questions still:
-What is the sensor on the distributor that causes spark issues?
-How do i diagnose if my distributor is healthy or not?

Thanks guys!

 

As far as the plugs go I've heard that the good Ole copper champions are about the best for our trucks. That's what I'm running. As far as the cap goes try to find one with brass inserts. I got an accel one at autozone for 18 bucks. The cam sensor is the one in the distributor. To check the distributor just make sure there's not slot of play in the shaft. With the cap off you shouldn't be able to move the rotor much if any at all.

 

kinda sounds like the auto shut down relay. try swaping in another relay and see how it goes. also search this issue.

 

I didn't know our trucks had an auto shut down? Hmm... I know a bunch of fords do.

 

So i changed the sparkplugs, cap and rotor, new wires, and new cam sensor(the one that the cap holds on) and it still wont start. I tried a little gas at the throttle body beforehand and it still wont start.

I bought a volt meter and its getting spark at all the plugs and the ignition coil. I am literally at wits end because i am stranded and literally have to pay a taxi(i live out of bus range) 50 dollars a day to get to work and back or else im done for.

Im not trying to create a sob story but i really do need help and am in quite a bit of a bind.

edit: i also took the horn relay, which i knew worked, and swaped it into the auto shutdown relay and still nothing.

 

If you're getting spark and you've got a new fuel pump and you just put a cam sensor in the the only thing I could think of would be the crank sensor on the back of the block. Try some starting fluid down the tb it's alot more combustable than gas. If it doesn't start with that and you're sure you've got good spark it's definitely something electrical.

 

It doesnt fire up at all it just cranks and cranks all day. and what really makes me mad is that it worked PERFECTLY the day before, ran good and started all day. when i cranked it this morning to go do a few errands it didnt start.

also a side note, the person or department that thought up the ingenious idea to put the distributor at the very back of the block should be stoned! Idk how i was able to do it but it invloved alot of bottle throwing and smoking of cigarettes.


EDIT: ACTUALLY i lied and didnt test the spark plugs but i did test the ignition coil and it was arc'ing. i changed all the wires cap, rotor, ignition coil, spark plugs so that should rule that out shouldnt it?