Questions and Answers
Pinging Dodge
Q. Hello, I have a Dodge Shadow 1994, ES With the (standard) Mitsubishi 3 liter engine, I have an automatic transmission, 55,000 miles, it has fuel injection, I do not have ABS brakes, I have cruise control. Whenever I accelerate my dodge I hear a slight ping. I hear the ping when I press and release the accelerator. I know the noise is coming from the engine, not the pedal. Can you help me determine the problem?
Thank You very much.
A. Pinging or Detonation is usually associated with incorrect timing, very lean fuel mixture or a hot spot in the cylinder. Since a hot spot is rare, the problem is most likely in the Power Control Module. (PCM).
The PCM controls fuel mixture and ignition timing. If it is not working correctly, it will send out the wrong signal. I suspect what is happening is the engine is starting to ping and the detonation sensor is detecting it and changing the timing to eliminate it.
The first thing to do is to see if any codes are stored in the computer. If not, you will need to bring it into a shop that can hook up a scan tool and see exactly where the problem is.
