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V6 Dakotas
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willybeamish
Dodge Dakota
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4/01/2011
06:26:52
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 Subject: NEED help with my 2 dakotas - 94/95
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i have 2, both 94/95, both are 2wd v6 autos
THIS POST WILL BE ALL ABOUT TRUCK 225
first one well call 225, because it has 225k on it. it ran fine for about 6 months, thats how long i have owned it. Then the check engine light came on one day after some spirited highway driving with 2 motorcycles in the back. it ran fine for another 15 miles home, just with a bit of a tick.
I feel I should mention this truck is in decent shape, it is not a leaky abomination or a patch worked greasepit. it has been fairly well taken care of, and it had the engine and trans rebuilt not long before I purchased it, as well as a fair amount of other work.
i was told by a backyard mechanic, who works in the parts department at a dodge/jeep/chrysler dealership and wrenches all his own jeeps, that a lifter went bad, as it now ticks, and the ticking matches the rpm.
the check engine light has not come on AT ALL since it came on that night, and not a single issues for a month after that, so i do not think its related, but I am not 100% on that, but it seems far fetched.
so after the tick developed i did not run it much for the next month, but it did run fine. then last week, when i was moving out of my apartment, nothing.
it turns over, but wont start. no check engine lights, nothing fishy, battery is solid, just refuses to start.
Here is where I began diagnosing, and luckily I have a running dakota, but with issues, to use as a test bed.
First I poured 4 gallons of fresh fuel into it. It already had fuel in it, it is not a fuel amount issue, or bad fuel issue.
The battery is very strong, and the truck has never had a problem starting in the past - even after being parked for a month at a time during the winter it would start instantly. the previous owner dumped a bunch of money into replacing a bunch of stuff.
Since I work on bikes for a living, I know the basics. I hooked my truck up, jumper cables with other truck running, just to make sure it was getting PLENTY of amperage. this did nothing - It is not a weak battery issue at all.
Next I checked for spark from the coils and plug wires. NOTHING from either the coil, or any of the plug wires. I do not know how to test for spark AT the distributor, but figured I could check the leads running to the distributor and coil to see.
I have not tested the harness, or the wires running to the distributor or the coil, as I do not know how to do this.
how do I work on bikes for a living and not know? I work for myself, and am never foolish enough to purchase ANYTHING with ANY sign of electrical issues, because I am in it to make money, not work on stuff. So in 10 years of buying and selling bikes and cars and trucks, this is the first serious electrical issue I have had to deal with. yay!
To rule out ecu and fuse/relay issues I swapped the ecu and all relays and fuses with my other dakota. my other dakota, which we will call 155, since it has 155k, started and ran EXACTLY the same.
I then put the ecu and relays and fuses into the 225 from the 155, and still no spark at the coil, or the plug wires.
I checked every plug wire both times just to be sure. I also checked continuity of the plug and coil wires from the distributor, and they are solid, but I also have a new set as back up.
so it is my opinion that I may have a harness issue. i have read the 94/95 harness is prone to corrosion due to poor design.
I AM HOPING SOMEONE HERE CAN ALSO TELL ME WHAT ELSE TO CHECK.
I also need to know what i need to buy to check the wires, and how to do it.
any help would be greatly appreciated. I would love to get this thing going.
I am going to respond to this thread and write up the problem with my other dakota - 155
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willybeamish
Dodge Dakota
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4/01/2011
06:28:39
| RE: NEED help with my 2 dakotas - 94/95
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dakota 2 - well call 155k, as stated above, because it has 155k. it is a 1995 2wd v6 automatic
i bought this truck from a lying reselling mexican - not a derogatory statement towards anyone, just the truth - for 1000$ because it drove PERFECTLY. i drove it about 10 miles, hard, during the test drive, and it was flawless. the truck is in GREAT shape, no leaks, barely any surface rust, just in great shape all around. engine bay is NICE, everything looks absolutely perfect. the truck is stock.
the only noticeable issue when i was purchasing it was the voltage meter would move a tiny bit when the turn signals were used. just a tiny bounce, barely noticeable, but consistent.
should have known better than to buy it from someone who was a reseller, but here i am.
i drove the truck another 50 miles, and then all of the sudden on the highway it began bogging down, and vibrating like crazy. the truck was warm, it was not raining, and i had driven it about 15 miles before it began bogging down.
no check engine light came on at all. the battery is almost new, it had plenty of fresh fuel in it.
I limped it home, it BARELY made it.
I then parked it, let it cool down for about an hour, and started it up. ran fine. i drove it back to my apartment, but half way there (15 mile trip) it began doing the exact same thing again. I limped it home and parked it.
I got my buddy who works in the parts department at a local dodge/chrysler/jeep dealership to take a look at it.
the sticker on the inside of the hood, which is the original hood as it has the matching vin sticker, stated it had the ecu reflashed. he ran the ecu flash code through a dealership database, and it stated that the flash should not be used, and it described exactly what issue the truck had.
we test drove the truck for about 3 miles to see if we could get it to act up for him - this was about a week after i limped it back to my apartment - and it absolutely would not do it. it ran perfectly.
we then agree to take it to his dealership and get one of the mechanics to take a look at it and reflash the ecu.
the dealership was 15 miles from my house, and 10 miles in, bam, bogging down, crazy vibration. i will mention again no check engine light came on at all, the battery is almost new in the truck, and it had plenty of good fuel.
i pulled over into a parking lot and disconnected and reconnected the battery a few times, and let it sit for a few minutes, and this allowed me to limp through some neighborhoods to make it closer to the dealership, but the longer i ran the truck, the worse it got.
i disconnected the battery a bunch of times and let it sit for about 5 minutes at a time, to make it further along. it took me roughly an hour to get the remaining 5 miles, but i made it.
at the dealership they replaced the distributor, plugs, and wires, with all new stuff. the ecu was reflashed with the newest info, and they put a new crank position sensor in, as well an updated timing chain set up with the good new pulleys. full tune up.
the truck was at the dealership for 1 month while being fixed, as it was side work.
this was supposed to fix everything. i got the truck back, and it vibrated like the timing was slightly off, but it ran really consistent. the voltage meter was also bouncing all over the place like crazy.
i decided to drive it up and down the road to test it out, because these 2 things made me think it was not fixed. unfortunately i was right.
the check engine light came on about a mile down the road, and i pulled into a parking lot, shut it off, and turned it back on. the check engine light went away, and the voltage meter stopped bouncing around. it would now just make a slight tiny bounce when the turn signals were used, just as it did when i purchased it.
the truck ran consistently, but it was still vibrating and not quite right. i informed my buddy that i knew something was up with it, and he asked the mechanic, who i believe just wanted to wash his hands of a pita old dakota that was a side work favour to begin with, and said that it probably needed fresh gas.
i put a full tank of fresh gas in the truck, and drove it to the dealerhship, where my buddy test drove it with me, and he recognized it wasnt running properly as well.
i then decided to drive the truck for the next few days and see if the issues would either get worse or better. i put 60 miles on the truck. the entire time it ran like the timing was slightly off, but it ran consistently and solidly.
then the exact same thing happened. it began bogging down, and ran like total crap, with a LOT of vibration, except this time, once it started, it basically shut down, and wouldnt run, over the distance of a parking lot. no limping it home this time.
i had the vehicle towed back to my apartment, and parked it. after a week of being parked, it started and ran. now it runs rougher, but i have not tried to drive it more than 50 feet to repark it. for the last month it has been parked, and i used it to diagnose my other dakota. it will start and run rough, and drive, but it certainly has an issue.
I am thinking it may also have a harness issue, but it has very strong spark, and half of the stupid thing has been rebuilt or replaced.
I am hoping someone here can assist me with these trucks. i have a total of 3k into these 2 trucks, including the work put into them, and i would love to get one that works, and sell one, or possibly customize it.
any assitance or ideas would be greatly appreciated, or if you know a mechanic in the DC MD VA area, or maybe even further, who has experience with the 94/95 models, please put me in contact with them
thanks.
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93dak4x4
Dodge Dakota
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4/01/2011
12:30:10
| RE: NEED help with my 2 dakotas - 94/95
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With truck 155, i would suggest checking the O2 sensor, sometimes when they go bad the computer still thinks they are good, dumps in a bunch of fuel to compensate for a lean reading and it makes the engine run like crap. usually this happens only once the truck gets to operating temperature as the computer runs in open loop prior. To check if this is the problem, disconnect the O2 sensor and drive it well after operating temperature. The check engine light will be on, but if it runs great after it gets to operating temperature i would suggest replacing that sensor.
225 sounds exactly like the splice issue with the wiring harness. that usually stops the fuel pump, coil power and computer. or any combination of the three. Otherwise check that you have a good coil. (maybe swap with the other one).
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willybeamish
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
4/04/2011
03:42:03
| RE: NEED help with my 2 dakotas - 94/95
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Message:
225 issue was ONLY the common power splice corrosion issue below the relay box
FIXED, RUNNING, FOR SALE
thanks
now on to 155, hopefully the exact same thing
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