I just sold my acura integra and bought an 02 dodge ram 1500 5.9L V8. and i love this truck. but, i changed the spark plugs and wires and when i take te truck out on the road and hit the gas, it doesnt go anywhere, like it has no power.

I changed the wires one at a time, but for some reason i got this feeling that i might have mixed up two of the wires. If I accidentally did that, would it cause this problem? Or what else could be?

Also, i bought bosch platinums only to see here at the forums that that was a bad choice. could this be the problem?

thanks for the help yall

 

Can not say what the platinums will do in a 5.9.

Putting the wires on the wrong cylinders will cause what you described and I would not even start it again until you verify you have them correct. Someone will need to post the firing order so you can check them. Of course a couple wires not seated correctly will also cause this.

Also make sure your PCV hose did not get knocked loose.

 

well here is the easiest way for me to explain. on the front of the intake manifold is the firing order, then using the numbered wires on the fuel injectors you can get the correct spark plug/cylinder # that way. start with the number one plug wire and run it from the plug to the #1 connector on the dis cap, it should be marked on the cap. then from there in a clock wise rotation on the cap follow the firing order from the manifold. can't remember how it goes cause i traded the 5.9 for the ram with 5.7. also as stated from 94rt10ohio a loose wire could cause this as well. but if the wires are crossed it would back fire through the throttle body and be very rough running. good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

Firing order on the 5.9L V8 is 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2

 

I had a '98 5.9 and along with the 4.0 I6's I've owned (between GC's & Wranglers, five of them total) I've found that unlike the Hemi, they love Bosch Platinums, so that's not your problem.
I'd say it's more like you messed up the crimp inside a boot or the firing order. Start with the first cylinder and check everything, one at a time...

 

thanks for the responses...

i changed the plugs from the bosch back to the ones that were in earlier to see if it was the plugs, and still the same problem. So, I need to check the firing order. but, i dont get it. i see the firing order stamped onto the intake manifold, but i dont understand what the hell it means? how do i read it?

 

did you put them on backwards (The firing order is clockwise not counterclockwise) i did that once on one of my old jeeps before i knew better


either that or you are starting on what you think is #1 but isn't

 

is there a diagram that shows me which wires (from the distributor) go to its particular spark plug? i dont know which is the 1st cylinder.

 

ok i found out where the cylinders are (they are casted into the manifold) but how do i know where to connect the wires to the distributor cap hidden waaaaayyy back there. is the distributor cap nodes numbered as well?

I need some help... i Miss my truck and i need to drive it bad. thanks again yall

 

ooohhhh, i get it... cylinder 1 to distributor node 1 clockwise and then follow the firing order. thank you very much everyone