New coil...new CPS...swapped out a CPU that is supposed to be good.

I'm about to give up and send the old girl to her final resting place in the local junk yard

 

Bad ground to block - try some where you know is a good ground.

you should use the continuity setting on the meter. attach it to the neg on the battery then touch all the areas that should be chassis grounded. it should beep to confirm the connection.

Don't do the same for the positive.

What you have proved so far is, that the coil gets it voltage on the primary side, which means on the secondary side you are getting ?V+ but you don't have a 0V- for it to work from the chassis. The 0V- does not come through the coil.

The overall setup should be like a welder, the metal has a 0V reference and the charge is provided by the trigger releasing required voltage (in the engine would be the plugs) but try welding without the ground.

 

Its your van, but it seems a little harsh to considering sending it to the junkyard because there is an electrical issue. You could send your PCM/ECM to SIA electronics in IL and get it checked out for $89 bucks. If it needs repair it will cost you $199

Does everything else work on the Van like lights, horn, power windows if you have then. If so then I would continue tracing wires or get it over to an electrical shop that trouble shoots things like this all the time.

As another has mentioned, if you know you have power to one side of the coil you need to check further. A continuity meter is the best way to follow the wires. Do you know the color of the wire that goes from the coil to the distributor? If so then use a continuity meter to test it.

If you do have power from to your coil on one side it appears that you are getting power from the ECU/PCM to the coil. While the diagram I am looking at is not specific to your Vehicle, there also might be an ignition resistor in line. I am sure a quick search at a parts store would let you know if you have an ignition resistor. Some of the old dodges had this. I would suggest you get a repair book with electrical diagrams for your specific van. You can probably get one off ebay or you might find one in an autoparts store.

Jason

 

hello from germany,

i had the same problem with my 3500 ram van.

after three day of looking.....it was a defectiv rpm counter/tacho.

he had a short circuit at "the moment of starting"....and the ign. coil has no power
at key pos 1.and 2. the ign. coil had regular power...

sorry about my english.

regards

christian

 

"RPM Counter?"

Where would I find that?

 

The tachometer!

 

I would look at the crank sensor, when my first one went out, naturally I bought a coil, then befuddled I swapped on my spare computer, then I had to call in a friend who after hearing what I did say, it's your crank sensor, I put one on then it fired right up and ran smoother then it had in a while. So now I know if I notice it idling a little rough, the crank sensor could be on its way out, which has happened three times in the last 100k miles.

 

Crank Position Sensor (CPS) was already replaced.

 

Check for codes

Remove the neg connection to the battery and let the computer reset?

What size is your battery?

Replace leads?

sometimes cranking and cranking giving it gas could coerce it, but no longer than 15 seconds, leave it for a short time and then give it another go?

here is a good explanation for testing.
http://troubleshootmyvehicle.com/for...ion_coil_1.php

 

I am interested to know if you have had any luck diagnosing this.

Earlier on you mentioned wanting to check the spark at the plug. This can be done. Pull a plug or buy a spare. Attach the plug wire to it and lay it on the engine block someplace safe where you can watch the gap. You can wrap a wire around the plug and ground the wire if needed. While cranking the engine observe the spark at the gap. It should be bright, blue-white and strong. A weak orange-red spark usually indicates a problem. No spark? Go back through and start over.

If you have a strong spark and it still does not start, try starting fluid (diethyl ether). If the engine won't start and run briefly with starting fluid then it is definitely a problem with the ignition.