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FrouFrouWJ
Dodge Dakota
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2/04/2006
12:42:34

Subject: 98 Dakota won't turn over
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Alright boys, be gentle with me, please. I'm a Jeep owner and my hubby has a 98 dodge Dakota 4cyl.

He's a wonderful man, but fairly clueless when it comes to vehicles. Anyways, his truck sat this winter for various reasons. Now we are trying to get it back up and running and on the road, however, we can seem to get it to turn over. Here's what has happened.

We put in the old battery, it started up, ran for about 30 seconds then cut out and it won't start up again. It's giving a great try, but not quite making it.

Tried jumping the battery, no dice, same thing. Put in a new battery, same issue. Tried starting it with a screwdriver in the distributor wire to see if we got spark... no spark.

Pulled the cap and had my daughter turn it over for me to ensure that the rotor was spinning and there wasn't a bad bushing. It was fine.

Today I went out and dropped in a new cap, rotor and wires. (the plugs had been changed just before we put it up over the winter)The old cap and rotor were corroded to a lovely green shade.

So I start it up... same thing.

Where do I go from here?

I know this may sound like a n00b question, but bear with me. I'm terrible with engines/electrical stuff. Feel free to flame if you like, flames are funny, but I could REALLY use some help here.

Thanks!



Mike Allen
Dodge Dakota
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2/05/2006
23:01:58

RE: 98 Dakota won't turn over
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There could be several things, all control spark. Make sure the pick up didn't get disconnected due to vibration when the truck was running. Check voltage to coil. Not sure where you had the screw driver, but check to see if there's spark coming out of the distributor before the wire. I'm pretty sure the crankshaft sensor also controls spark, but this doesn't usually cut a vehicle off when it's running. Was it running rough when it first ran? If so, check the timing, make sure the distributor did turn. Check those and post again.

Mike



jerry
Dodge Dakota
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2/06/2006
01:15:57

RE: 98 Dakota won't turn over
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depends on how long it sat. If it sits for a long time the gas can go bad. I don't know what a long time is though for this to happen. But condensation can form in a tank, especially if not full and have water in the gas that may prevent starting. Try using some starting fluid to see if it starts and keeps running. They also sell an additive to burn off water in a tank.



Mike Allen
Dodge Dakota
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2/06/2006
09:25:22

RE: 98 Dakota won't turn over
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I was thinking of a fuel problem too until I re-read FrouFrou's problem. From what I read the problem is no spark.... FrouFrou... lol... What a name! Lol... Sorry!!!



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