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'93 Dakota, trouble codes 12,55 sitting for 8months

From : matt

Q: i have a 1993 dakota le that 8 months ago the tensioner for the belt broke off and i just got around to replacing it today. it has been sitting there for 8 months with out being started. after replacing it tensioner belt and the air filter a family of mice had made a home around the outside the filter i tried to start it up and it wouldnt do anything. most of the lights were pretty dim so i pulled my wifes car up next to it and tried to give it a jump. the lights were much brighter and it looked like the battery had a good charge. this time when i turned the key it could heard a clicking from the engine. any ideas what that could be did i just not give it enough time to fully boost or could it be something more dire when the old tensioner broke off it went down with some force and knocked the lower radiator hose off i have replaced that as well. the ignition coil is right behind the tensioner im wondering if its possible it may have gotten damaged at the same time. what is the trouble code 12 i have heard it is battery feed to ecm i have also heard that it is basically the begin error codes like the 55 code is end error codes which is correct thanks in advance for any advice anyone may be able to offer. -matt .

Replies:

From : coasty uscgret at comcast dot net

follow the link and all shall be revealed. http//www.allpar.com/fix/80s-codes.html coasty i have a 1993 dakota le that 8 months ago the tensioner for the belt broke off and i just got around to replacing it today. it has been sitting there for 8 months with out being started. after replacing it tensioner belt and the air filter a family of mice had made a home around the outside the filter i tried to start it up and it wouldnt do anything. most of the lights were pretty dim so i pulled my wifes car up next to it and tried to give it a jump. the lights were much brighter and it looked like the battery had a good charge. this time when i turned the key it could heard a clicking from the engine. any ideas what that could be did i just not give it enough time to fully boost or could it be something more dire when the old tensioner broke off it went down with some force and knocked the lower radiator hose off i have replaced that as well. the ignition coil is right behind the tensioner im wondering if its possible it may have gotten damaged at the same time. what is the trouble code 12 i have heard it is battery feed to ecm i have also heard that it is basically the begin error codes like the 55 code is end error codes which is correct thanks in advance for any advice anyone may be able to offer. -matt .

From : tbone

it is called gravity. the fluid will run down the side of the radiator so keep the bucket under the radiator below the opening. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving so i need to take the radiator cap off fill it with 50/50 coolant/water first you said to have a bucket ready to catch the coolant how exactly do i do that since it will be coming out the top of the radiator thanks again matt treat your truck to a new battery make sure its got coolant back in it and hope you didnt warp the head by overheating it. run it with the radiator cap removed because youre going to have a nice big air pocket in there. once the engine comes up to temp and the thermostat opens the air should purge out. expect some coolant to come out of the top of the radiator - have a bucket there to catch it. once it runs for several minutes at operating temp. shut it down top off the radiator put the cap on and fill the overflow tank to its indicated level for hot. again - cross your fingers that the engine doesnt overheat doesnt blow white smoke out the tailpipe or the oil doesnt turn a milky-brown color all signs of a failed head gasket. .

From : tbone

pretty much it may spit a little but you can stop that by either putting a rag over the opening or leave the cap on loose so the fluid can run past it. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving ah ok. so were talking an overflowing beer not a volcanic eruption here.. gotcha it is called gravity. the fluid will run down the side of the radiator so keep the bucket under the radiator below the opening. .

From : marsh grassman monster

matt wrote i have a 1993 dakota le that 8 months ago the tensioner for the belt broke off and i just got around to replacing it today. it has been sitting there for 8 months with out being started. after replacing it tensioner belt and the air filter a family of mice had made a home around the outside the filter i tried to start it up and it wouldnt do anything. most of the lights were pretty dim so i pulled my wifes car up next to it and tried to give it a jump. the lights were much brighter and it looked like the battery had a good charge. this time when i turned the key it could heard a clicking from the engine. any ideas what that could be did i just not give it enough time to fully boost or could it be something more dire when the old tensioner broke off it went down with some force and knocked the lower radiator hose off i have replaced that as well. the ignition coil is right behind the tensioner im wondering if its possible it may have gotten damaged at the same time. what is the trouble code 12 i have heard it is battery feed to ecm i have also heard that it is basically the begin error codes like the 55 code is end error codes which is correct thanks in advance for any advice anyone may be able to offer. -matt ======== ======== code 12 is a battery disconect code. define both words add definitions get answer. as for the symptom....... i would suggest using a fully charged battery with clean connections before doing anything else. marshmonster wonders if you know that the ole autozonedout store charges dead batteries before they test them.....ahem .

From : geekboy

matt wrote i have a 1993 dakota le that 8 months ago the tensioner for the belt broke off and i just got around to replacing it today. it has been sitting there for 8 months with out being started. after replacing it tensioner belt and the air filter a family of mice had made a home around the outside the filter i tried to start it up and it wouldnt do anything. most of the lights were pretty dim so i pulled my wifes car up next to it and tried to give it a jump. the lights were much brighter and it looked like the battery had a good charge. this time when i turned the key it could heard a clicking from the engine. any ideas what that could be did i just not give it enough time to fully boost or could it be something more dire when the old tensioner broke off it went down with some force and knocked the lower radiator hose off i have replaced that as well. the ignition coil is right behind the tensioner im wondering if its possible it may have gotten damaged at the same time. what is the trouble code 12 i have heard it is battery feed to ecm i have also heard that it is basically the begin error codes like the 55 code is end error codes which is correct thanks in advance for any advice anyone may be able to offer. -matt ======== ======== code 12 is a battery disconect code. define both words add definitions get answer. as for the symptom....... i would suggest using a fully charged battery with clean connections before doing anything else. not just a fully charges battery but one with fully operational cells. marshmonster wonders if you know that the ole autozonedout store charges dead batteries before they test them.....ahem .

From : tom lawrence

give it a jump. the lights were much brighter and it looked like the battery had a good charge. this time when i turned the key it could heard a clicking from the engine. any ideas what that could be yep... not enough juice to engage the starter. did i just not give it enough time to fully boost or could it be something more dire yep. it could also be that the batterys toast and wont take a charge anymore. when the old tensioner broke off it went down with some force and knocked the lower radiator hose off i have replaced that as well. we remember you trying to destroy your engine by driving it with no coolant... ignition coil is right behind the tensioner im wondering if its possible it may have gotten damaged at the same time. a bad ignition system makes the engine go rrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrr really fast. a bad/weak battery makes it go click click click. what is the trouble code 12 amazingly enough.... bad battery. technically it means the pcm saw a loss of power within the last 50 key cycles. probably happened sometime between parking it and first trying to start it. if the voltage drops below about 10v the pcm goes a little haywire. thanks in advance for any advice anyone may be able to offer. treat your truck to a new battery make sure its got coolant back in it and hope you didnt warp the head by overheating it. run it with the radiator cap removed because youre going to have a nice big air pocket in there. once the engine comes up to temp and the thermostat opens the air should purge out. expect some coolant to come out of the top of the radiator - have a bucket there to catch it. once it runs for several minutes at operating temp. shut it down top off the radiator put the cap on and fill the overflow tank to its indicated level for hot. again - cross your fingers that the engine doesnt overheat doesnt blow white smoke out the tailpipe or the oil doesnt turn a milky-brown color all signs of a failed head gasket. .

From : matt

so i need to take the radiator cap off fill it with 50/50 coolant/water first you said to have a bucket ready to catch the coolant how exactly do i do that since it will be coming out the top of the radiator thanks again matt treat your truck to a new battery make sure its got coolant back in it and hope you didnt warp the head by overheating it. run it with the radiator cap removed because youre going to have a nice big air pocket in there. once the engine comes up to temp and the thermostat opens the air should purge out. expect some coolant to come out of the top of the radiator - have a bucket there to catch it. once it runs for several minutes at operating temp. shut it down top off the radiator put the cap on and fill the overflow tank to its indicated level for hot. again - cross your fingers that the engine doesnt overheat doesnt blow white smoke out the tailpipe or the oil doesnt turn a milky-brown color all signs of a failed head gasket. .

From : matt

ah ok. so were talking an overflowing beer not a volcanic eruption here.. gotcha it is called gravity. the fluid will run down the side of the radiator so keep the bucket under the radiator below the opening. .

From : matt

just an update i did what you guys told me to do along with a little help from my father and shes back up and running like she was 8+ months ago. doesnt seem to be any white smoke or anything. now i just need to wash and wax it and change the oil. thanks again for all of the advice!! -matt pretty much it may spit a little but you can stop that by either putting a rag over the opening or leave the cap on loose so the fluid can run past it. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving ah ok. so were talking an overflowing beer not a volcanic eruption here.. gotcha it is called gravity. the fluid will run down the side of the radiator so keep the bucket under the radiator below the opening. .

From : tom lawrence

just an update i did what you guys told me to do along with a little help from my father and shes back up and running like she was 8+ months ago. doesnt seem to be any white smoke or anything. now i just need to wash and wax it and change the oil. good. keep an eye on the level of coolant in the overflow. for the next couple of weeks make a habit to check it each morning before you start it up and make sure the level isnt dropping. .