98 RAM startup trouble
From : peter kemp
Q: replace the vehicle speed sensor. it is located on top of the rear axle. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving my 98 ram 1500 5.9l speedometer has a mind of its own. the needle pegs at 0 until i reach a speed of about 30-40 mph and then it starts working. drop below that and it goes to 0. any repair info would be most appreciated. .
Replies:
From : tbone
motorpsychol@gmail.com wrote thanks! i found that the van came with a manual! duh on me. it recommends 2000 pounds from the bumper. the rear doesnt hang too far away from the backwheel. i measured around 31 inches from center of the rear hub to the ball on the bumper not straght to the ball mind you but if the ball were mounted say on the right corner of the bumper and i measuered there to the axle. its not one of those vans that has like 4 feet hanging behind the rear wheel. so im figured i can tow about 4 bikes for a total of under 2000 pounds... with 200-300 tongue weight... now im thinkng i should be able to put two more bikes in the back if theyre at around 400 pounds each. so it looks like i can take 6 bikes. anyone see a problem with this setup originially i was thinkng open trailer.. would there be any benefits to using an enclosed trailer im used to using regular hitches is there anything to else to consider using a bumpber hitch less rearward turn angle a enclosed triler might actually have a bit less drag if it is not taller than van as the open bikes will cause a lot of drage and a enclosed trailer will also protech them from elements too and a theft deterent as well. -- ----------------- www.thesnoman.com .
From : mongomopar
you need to put a fuel pressure gauge on it to see if it is fuel related. as for you question from a previous post the fuel pump does not run continuously with the ignition on and the vehicle not running. the pump will run for a few seconds when the ignition is first turned on and then shuts down. this is probably done to prevent the battery from being killed by people that leave the ignition on for extended periods of time with the engine not running. if you want to attempt to build up pressure you can turn the ignition on for about 5 seconds turn it off for about the same period of time and back on for 5 more seconds. your description of the way it starts sounds more like a flooded engine than a fuel starved one. is there any smoke at all when it starts or the smell of unburned fuel -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving i spent half the night trying to go to sleep but kept thinking about this truck. im thinking my mechanic has his head up his a**. when attempting to start and after it starts no white smoke comes from the tailpipe or anywhere else. we just put a new radiator water pump and thermostat in the truck on xmas eve and i went and had the oil changed right after that. there was no evidence of oil in the coolant and the oil change guy probably hopefully would have noticed coolant in the oil. prior to the oil change i did not see any sign of water in the oil when checking the oil level. also i would think that a blown head gasket would be blown in certain area and might possibly contaminate one ormaybe two cylinders. i would think that the gasket would have to be disintegrated to cause enough fluid to accumulate to cause the hard starting. the mechanic said they did a test and it showed that a gasket had a problem. maybe it does but im thinking this is not the problem. im still thinking that this is a fuel or ignition problem. when trying to start the car i can detect a slight gasoline smell under the hood. ive replaced the coil. it couldnt be the rest of the ignition because once the car gets started it runs ok. opinions on 2006-01-03 225801 -0600 tom lawrence tnloaswpraemnmcien5g@earthlink.net said thnaks for the replys guys. i had the truck towed to my local shop and theyre telling me the things has a blown head gasket and that the coolant is dripping down into the plugs. then you failed to mention the white smoke that pours out of the tailpipe... this engine has 185000 miles on it. the mechanic is telling me that we need to put a whole new engine in the thing before the engine totally craps out. given that its probably been like this for a while coolant has mixed in with the oil and probably did a number on the bearings... combined with the high mileage of the engine id say a rebuild isnt a bad idea. i cant afford that and am wondering whether it would be worth replacing the head gaskets and possibly having the heads milled and the valves ground. no need to mill the heads unless it overheated and they warped. no real need to grind the valves either though with the heads off it wouldnt be a bad idea to have the heads freshened up. you can do that for now and when the time comes buy a remand short block engine block and rotating assembly only - no heads. at least that way the money you put into the heads now wont go to waste. .
From : peter kemp
on 2006-01-04 134403 -0600 tbone tbonenospam@nc.rr.com said you need to put a fuel pressure gauge on it to see if it is fuel related. as for you question from a previous post the fuel pump does not run continuously with the ignition on and the vehicle not running. the pump will run for a few seconds when the ignition is first turned on and then shuts down. this is probably done to prevent the battery from being killed by people that leave the ignition on for extended periods of time with the engine not running. if you want to attempt to build up pressure you can turn the ignition on for about 5 seconds turn it off for about the same period of time and back on for 5 more seconds. your description of the way it starts sounds more like a flooded engine than a fuel starved one. is there any smoke at all when it starts or the smell of unburned fuel yes there has been a little bit of white smoke coming from somewhere under the hood and i can theres an odor of gasoline. is it possible to flood a fuel injection system not when it is operating properly but this is obviously not the case here. i thought that was a carburator problem. actually it is a fuel system problem regardless of the type. what would be causing the flooding if it actually is flooding the cause could be one or more leaking injectors. could it be a sign of the pcm module gone bad possibly but unlikely. the only way to get an idea would be with a fuel pressure gauge as tom suggested in his first post. then you could see if when and how fast the pressure in the rails is dropping and by that diagnose what is happening. otherwise you are working blind and that makes it a little more difficult. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .
From : tbone
the easiest way to check this would be to measure voltage at the alternators output terminal with the engine not running. if you get no voltage reading then you have a failed connection or fusible link on the output side. if you do get battery voltage i would then put some type of load on that connection like a headlight and measure it again. if you still get battery voltage or within 1/2 a volt of it then the connection between the battery and the alternator output is fine and i would start looking at the regulator and field wiring as your most likely cause of your problems. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving i have a 1986 dodge 4x4 150 which will not charge. it has a new battery new cables rebuilt alternator tested and a new regulator. the ammeter does not work. the needle never moves. if it is burned out will it interupt the charging curcuit im out of ideas. to answer your question yes -- if the ammeter is open you will get no charging current into the battery. . try to find a wiring diagram. starting in 1980 the charging current did not go through tha ammeter. the ammeter was connected across a portion of the wire between the alternator and the battery with a couple of about 20 gauge wires effectively using the feed wire as a shunt for the ammeter. an open ammeter will make no difference. a more likely area to look at is either of the two heavy plug type connectors in the 6 ga wire between the alternator and the battery or the 14/12 ga fuse link in the same wire. .
From : peter kemp
on mon 02 jan 2006 190448 -0500 jekylll thekragerman@comcast.net wrote it stalls when i have been doing 65mph or more for at least 20 minutes and i deccelerate to under 65. a couple local mechanics have never heard anything like it. anyone with any help at all just curious but have you had the fuel tank checked for water it can cause some strange happenings. a number of years back my 92 diesel started acting up. it would start fine and run fine at street or highway speeds but the second i took my foot off the throttle the engine died. it would always start up immediately but i had to keep the rpm up when coming to stop signs or lights. took it to the local dealer and they found over a quart of water in the fuel tank. since i hadnt done anything since feuling up the truck i knew which gas station it was but never bothered taking them to small claims court over it. it ended up costing me about $500 to get the injector pump cleaned out remove the tank replace filters etc.etc but it has ran perfect since - and ive never been back to that gas station !! cheers .
From : tom lawrence
thanks! if i have a 2001 6-speed i should be ok absolutely. .
From : peter kemp
thnaks for the replys guys. i had the truck towed to my local shop and theyre telling me the things has a blown head gasket and that the coolant is dripping down into the plugs. then you failed to mention the white smoke that pours out of the tailpipe... this engine has 185000 miles on it. the mechanic is telling me that we need to put a whole new engine in the thing before the engine totally craps out. given that its probably been like this for a while coolant has mixed in with the oil and probably did a number on the bearings... combined with the high mileage of the engine id say a rebuild isnt a bad idea. i cant afford that and am wondering whether it would be worth replacing the head gaskets and possibly having the heads milled and the valves ground. no need to mill the heads unless it overheated and they warped. no real need to grind the valves either though with the heads off it wouldnt be a bad idea to have the heads freshened up. you can do that for now and when the time comes buy a remand short block engine block and rotating assembly only - no heads. at least that way the money you put into the heads now wont go to waste. .
From : tom lawrence
my warranty goes until 36000 and the lemon law covers vechlies with voided warranty and or susspose have warranty.im not driving the truck anymore so the mileage/warrantysuspose to have is not going anywhere. for now the truck is a yard decoration. .
From : fmb
have you checked with aafes i dont know if they have them for the dak since i dont think thats sold over there but they do have the special european headlights and taillights for caravans and jeeps and pt cruisers all of which which are sold over there. i had ordered a taillight for my caravan once in the uk and instead of getting the us version they sent me the european version with the built in rear fog light so then i ordered another for the other side because i liked them better. the other option is to order a bolt-on sealed beam headlight from j c whitney and bolt them to your front bumper. you could then replace the us sealed beam with the left-dipping sealed beam sold in the uk. i had them on my caravan. heres a link to one that j c whitney sells; http//www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/product/tf-browse/s-10101/pr-pproduct.catentryid2003807/showcustom-0/p-2003807/n-111+10201+600002821/c-10101 they have some with left-dipping lenses available in the uk also at this web site; http//www.s-v-c.co.uk/svcheadlights.htm jph jmc wrote well the possibility is becoming better that we may go to another much warmer and drier ex-british colony not the one i hail from one much souther theyre a bit stricter down there about headlamps. right now theyre kinda forced to dip to the left rather than the right imperfectly but legal for england. is it possible to get headlamps that are for driving on the left side of the road rather than the right where might i get some help appreciated. hope yall had great holidays... jmc whos truck wants to go so it wont rust so much and can actually get to play in the sand. .