I have a custom 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 and my engine is idling low and at times when i cruise along(as in going about 15mph) my engine will shut off on me[>:] What could be the possible causes??

 

mine would stall after i let off the gas at low rpm. I changed the air filter and it solved the problem. Hope this helps.

 

It does the same thing for me but, only does it some times, i got this truck last year and it has been doing it since then, even when i did replace the airfilter. I got my check engine light to go off one time when i replaced the gas filter....thing that hangs in the gas tank and it seemed to work fine, it still idled low, but it didn't shut off, then like a few weeks later the check engine light turned back on, and it started shutting off again...

 

Take the throttle body off and remove the IAC motor. Get some Throttle body cleaner and clean everything. Reassemble with a new throttle body gasket. Disconnect the battery for 5-7 minutes and enjoy.

 

My '96 Ram 1500 has had this problem of eratic idle and eventually stalling for years. It only happens when the engine is warmed up but sometimes does not happen for months at a time. The first time my mechanic said my battery was bad and the computer was not getting enough juice to remember the proper idle settings. That worked for awhile. Then it started again. This time he replaced the idle control unit. That worked for awhile. It started again recently and this time I went to a Dodge dealer. He did a tuneup and replaced the plug wires and dist. cap. That worked for about 3 weeks and has started again this morning after sitting for 5 days in the garage without starting.

This makes me wonder if the onboard computer has a battery to remember settings when your car is turned off. Does anyone know? Somehow, each time the mechanics work on it, something gets "reset" and the idle is fine until it "forgets" how to idle.

Does anyone know enough about this to diagnose this?

 

Sounds like you need to keep track of how long between problems, I'd reset the computer to see if it goes away and how long until it comes back. Check for engine codes before removing power, and another thing you might try is to live with it for a few days unitl the CE light comes on, then check the codes... this might help narrow it down.

 

CLEAN THE THROTTLE BODY AND IAC PASSAGES. I know you said the dealer just tuned it, I've been doing this 15 years and can count on 1 hand the number of techs I know who do it correctly. It needs to be taken off and all the passages scrubed with a toothbrush and throttle body clener. Then disconnect the battery so the IAC counter can reset and relearn the IAC now that you have cleaned it.

 

I haven't worked on my own vehicles for years, so I don't know exactly what the IAC passages look like. When I remove the air cleaner, what exactly do I look for and clean? Are there any tricks to removing the air cleaner?

I just took it back to the dealer and it didn't act up for him so he gave it back to me without doing anything. The idle problem happened on the way home !!! ...then disappeared the next day. I bought a brand new battery, Sears DieHard, their best one (875 CCA). Had slight rough idle the following day (may 50 to 100 rpm variation) but almost not noticable, so I think it proves the battery is not the fault. I will look into the IAC though. Thanks.

What about the O2 sensors? They are both the originals. Could they be the problem even though there are NO engine codes generated by this idle problem? (The CE light never goes on)

Also, I found TSB 18-48-98 which corrects problems with ignition wire routing. Any comments on this? The Dodge dealer replaced the ignition wiring and dist cap a couple of weeks ago so it is brand new and was installed by a Dodge mechanic.

 

when you remove the air box and look at the throttle body you will see 3 connections. The one in the back of the throttle body is for the IAC motor. When you remove the throttle body you can remove 2 torx screws and remove the motor-then clean everything you can see real good, including the pointy looking thing on the motor(pintle).