Questions and Answers

Tough Dakota Stalling Problem Q. In 1998 I bought a 1989 Dodge Dakota, 2 Wheel Drive, 3.9 liter, automatic transmission. At that time it had 92,000 miles on it. Now it has 122,000. The person I bought the car from told me there had been some "stalling" problems, but he had replaced "a module".

Upon closer inspection, I think it was the ECM which was "remanufactured" by Mopar in 1997 and thought the problem had been resolved. For the first few years I owned the car, the problem did seem to be solved.

The engine and transmission on this truck are strong. But a year ago, it developed an intermittent stalling/hard start problem (cranks but won't fire). I got a "tune-up" (plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, rotor, pick-up coil, fuel filter), new fuel pump (was testing low) and fuel pump relay, new main coil.

My mechanic checked the sensor connections and vacuum lines. Re-checked the spark plug wire connections. He says my throttle body and injectors are okay. There are never any codes. I can always hear the fuel pump "click" when I turn the key to "on".

When the car has been stalling lately, the "check engine" light has not been coming on and if I leave the car in "drive" it will sometimes (not always) restart on it's own. After the car has stalled, it will always start back up if I let it sit for 5-10 minutes (sometimes just a few minutes). Car will run fine for 2-3 weeks and then give me all sorts of trouble for 3-4 days. Does not seem to be related to hot/cold or damp/dry weather. The car will never reproduce it's symptoms when it's in the shop.

I have noticed the oxygen sensor is supposed to be replaced on this car every 50,000 or 3 years; could this be causing this problem (my mechanic doesn't think so)? I didn't think much about it when I bought the car (just figured someone was suring things up), but upon closer inspection, the slit plastic tubing that covers the wire bundles have been wrapped with electrical tape in places as though perhaps (but not for sure) someone was "looking" for something before I had the car. I can't afford another car and don't really want to spend money on parts that "might help" either. Please help!

Dave

A. There's not much left to replace, I think you replaced everything. The best I can offer without seeing the car personally is the most likely cause of the problem is the Auto Shutdown Relay (ASD). This is kind of common for Chrysler.

Another possibility is a dirty throttle body. If the idle control valve and throttle body passages start clogging up, it will cause rough running and stalling.

Added 9/20/02

What I'm about to convey is certainly a lesson learned.

One morning the car did it's "hard start" thing, would not turn over. In a fit of desperation, I got my wife to turn the key over while I got under the hood and starting checking connections, wiggling things a little, etc. The car continued as usual. But suddenly, as I was making sure that the computer was plugged in firmly, the engine roared to life!

The car ran fine for a couple days and then started to act up just a bit, so upon the advice of a friend, I unplugged the computer & blew out the female connector with compressed air & even took a pipe cleaner and cleaned out each orifice individually. The car has been running fine for 1,200 miles, no burps or anything, so I think I've solved the problem!

You know, repair books always say to "check connections" etc., but I've never really heard it explained how to clean a connection. It seems to me a VERY important topic. I think it might also be worth noting that problems that start after a computer "check" could be caused from the computer connection having been messed with.

Dave