Hello all,
As this is my first time posting, I'll introduce myself. My name is Mary
Higgins and I have an 88 2WD 3.9L 5 speed Dakota that I bought new back
in 88. So far it has served me for the past 8 years (mostly) faithfully.
Unfortunately, now it appears that the Single Module Engine Controller
(SMEC) is defective. Dodge wants almost $500 for a new one and will not
take back the new SMEC if it turns out that the old SMEC was not the
cause of my problem. It's bad enough that the part costs so much, but I
really don't want to spend the money if it's not going to fix the
problem.
So my question is, does anyone have any good ideas where I could get a
used one? Or is anybody who lives in the vicinity of Mountain View, CA
who has the same model Dakota willing to let me 'borrow' their SMEC long
enough to see if that cures my truck's problem? Then I would feel a
little better about spending $500 for a new one - at least I would be
sure the old one was really bad.
In case you want all the gory details of the problem: It started as a
slight hesitation when accelerating which was more noticable when the
air conditioning was on. It was showing a code 24, throttle position
sensor, so that was replaced. No more code, but it still hesitated.
After much troubleshooting, my mechanic reported that when the air
conditioner is on, the injectors dump too much fuel into the throttle
body (carburetor). Apparently, the SMEC senses when the A/C is on and
adjusts the output of the injectors to compensate. And even when the
SMEC is 'fooled' by applying a dummy A/C signal with the A/C actually
being off, the SMEC signals the injectors to dump too much fuel. All
sensors/switches/inputs to the SMEC have been tested repeatedly - all
appear good. Which leaves, as far as I can tell, only the SMEC.
Anybody else had this problem or have any ideas I could try? Any
info/help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Mary Higgins
mshiggins@earthlink.net
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