Hello!
I have a 1998 Dodge Ram van and I am puzzled on what to do to fix this starting up issue. Sorry, this is going to be a long post.

background of the van: From what I was told from the seller, this van sat for a long time as a maintenance van at a school. Anywhere from 1-5 years

What happens: on a cold start (hasn’t been started for over a day or more) the engine will crank, and sometimes it’ll start up right away but most of the time it’ll just crank until I put the gas pedal to the floor and sometimes that’ll do the trick or other times it can take up to 10 minutes to get going. The engine will misfire for about 10-20 seconds once running and then it’ll even out and there will be no indication of any issue at all. Most of the time after the engine has been running and been driven and I start it up again up to a few hours it’ll start right up with no misfire, so once the engine is hot there’s seemingly no issue at all. The only codes I’ve gotten on my OBD2 scanner are multiple cylinder misfires.

What work has been done (from seller):
New radiator and hoses
New gas tank
New fuel filler hose
New brakes

What work has been done(from me):
Replaced fuel pump
Spark plugs
All wiring has been cleared by mechanics
New fuel injectors
Taken out and cleaned MAP sensor
New cap and rotor
Vacuum hoses have been checked from mechanics and no reported leaks
Low compression has been ruled out
I’ve ran fuel cleaner through it once

I’m trying to be transparent as possible even if the work that’s been listed is irrelevant to the issue just in case I am missing something. Does anyone know these vans or if this a common issue? I’ve done a lot of research on fixes but can’t seem to get this start up issue resolved. Any new input would be greatly appreciated, and thank you ahead of time

 

Do you have a scanner that can read live data? I would be interested to know what the PCM thinks engine temp is when it doesn't wanna start.

 

The next time the van sits for a period of time such as a day or two...before you turn the key at all, warm up the PCM under the hood with a hairdryer. You don't have to get it scorching hot, just 60-70 degrees. Once it's warmed up try and start the engine. If it starts right up the PCM is the issue. This is a common issue during the colder months.

 

I'm new to this forum, Did you ever fix this issue? I had a similar code come up on my 1997 ,2500 van, I was a bad catalytic convertor