I've been reading your symptoms since the beginning of July. Time for DC to
buy this thing back maybe.
In the meantime:
This thing sounds so simple yet it seems to have everyone stymied.
I can think of three needles in the proverbial haystack.
1) Vacuum - check hoses, make sure you don't have a leak somewhere,
especially where the hose can be sitting on top of a hot spot. They can
turn to Jello pretty fast. Check the hose running from the PCV valve to the
manifold. Make sure there's no leak there (found one on mine).
2) Electrical, primary - Check the two-wire harness that runs from your coil
to 1) your ignition (+) and 2) to the distributor (-). Make sure you don't
have any shorts here. These two wires are so important. They control the
voltage to the secondary side of the coil which controls the firing of each
cylinder. They control the timing of your injectors to output fuel to the
cylinders. Have you changed your dist cap and rotor? Check to make sure
the cap isn't pinching a wire. Check to see how the inside of the cap
looks, burnt? carbon-streaked? arc'ing?
3) Electrical, secondary - Check plugs, what do they tell you? Check plug
wires. Wait until dark, turn on engine, turnoff lights, any arc'ing?
Replace coil or better yet, get a MSD Blaster SS coil. Even if that's not
the problem, it's a good coil to have and after you find the problem, voila,
you'll be half way home for an ignition system. As long as you're doing
coil, might as well get the MSD Super Conductor wires (8.5 mm). Didn't you
say you changed your plugs recently to 3923's? What's your gap? Shouldn't
be bigger than .040 without enhanced ignition.
4) PCM - If you know someone near you that has a 99 Dak with a V6, see if
you can borrow his PCM. It shouldn't take very long to determine is that's
the problem.
5) Sensors - I know, I know, I said three needles, well, I thought of a
couple more. Have dealer check all sensors to make sure they're all within
the nominal ranges.
It's amazing that your dealer couldn't pinpoint the problem for as long as
they had your truck, especially since they have the tools to capture the
events leading up to the problem. Perhaps, time for a different dealer. In
any case, you should make yourself well known to DC by sending a note and
giving Customer Service at DC a call. This will let them know they are
faced with a buy back if this isn't resolved to your satisfaction. Under a
new CEO, you may get some good benefits here since they're trying to gain
customers, not lose them.
Ron
00 SLT QC 4X2 5.9 46RE 3.92 LSD
For modifications see my DML Profile
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-dakota-truck@buffnet.net
[mailto:owner-dakota-truck@buffnet.net]On Behalf Of Steve Preston
Sent: Saturday, November 18, 2000 7:28 AM
To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
Subject: DML: Thanks for the tips,guys! Was aaaarrghh!!......
I must have been upset when I sent that post! It hurts my head just to
re-read it! Looks like it`s time to get my Fluke 12 greasy.I had come to
the conclusion that since it`s under warranty,THEY can figure it out.But
they ARE guessing,since no codes are set in the `puter.I can do that
much.Someone posted before about monitoring the 02 sensor for changes
when it runs crappy,indicating a momentary rich or lean
condition.That,and watching the crankshaft signal would probably help me
to see the problem and not just feel it.Thanks for the help! Steve P.
99 Dakota Sport Intense Blue RC 4X4 V6 42RE 3.92 Anti-Spin w/Infinity CD
system and optional hand-crank windows (2) 3923 Autolite spark plugs
Big Blue Ram sticker in the slider window that intimidates people into
establishing a safe following distance
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