i picked up a haynes manual for my 92 ram van and realized most of the parts on the van were for an '89. i replaced the coil, pick-up plate, rotor and tested the ohms and voltage to find them in working order. when i removed the SECM/PCM i noticed that the resin inside was pretty cracked and dirty. after putting it back in place the starter is no longer getting power. DOH! i'm dreading that i have a bad computer module. for posterity sake, i had already replaced the fuel pump and can see that fuel spurts into the carb whenever i turn the key to on... also, when the key is first turned to the on position, my testlight at the coil shows a momentary surge of power to the +terminal, and then dies out. this is seeming like a pretty elusive solution to a simple problem?

 

When the test light is connected to the coil, what is it doing while you're cranking the engine?

 

it blinks, but not on/off. more like dim/bright.

 

Then you're getting pulses to the coil. This would mean your problem is from the coil to the spark plugs and not likely with the computer.

Where did you test for spark? At the plugs, or at the wire from the coil to the distributor?

 

There have been reports of plugs that will do not work well with the Magnum engine. Most of the time it's those exotic platinum plugs or cheap Champions. Try a set of copper+ Autolites and make sure the gap is correct. If you are daring, try side-gapping the plugs too.

I once had a cap-n-rotor with aluminum contacts. NEVER again! That made so much of a headache to trace down. Go with the Wells or other good after market brand that uses the copper/brass contacts.

If you are running good plugs and performance wires, the energy from them will burn out the stock OEM type ignition coil since it was engineered to take such a jolt. You have a handful of things to look at.