Like a dummy, I got caught up in auction fever a year ago and bought the subject short bed, reg cab truck with auto trans, and TBI.

Got it home and the Torqueflight was bad, just finished rebuilding the tranny, now the only way to get it to start is with a jumper wire to the coil.

More info, the wiring was/is really hacked up. No reverse light/nuetral plug, (but I drove it into the shop without one, previous owner had wired around), has a starter button on the dash rather that a start relay. I don't mind the button, just sharing. Considered the rollover safety switch could be part of the problem, but I don't know where it is.

Well, yesterday I jumped the coil, drove it a few miles (no transmission issues ), and just on a impulse, I uncliped the jumper wire, it kept running and even started a couple times, all right, it selfhealed..... But then no start with out the jumper.

At the moment I'm at a loss as to where to check for the faulty connection. The fact that there is a computer involved takes this beyond my comfort range.

One concern is damage I might cause due to the lack of a ballast resistor to cut coil votage to 6 volts while running with the jumper wire connected. Or is one even necessary on this engine?

Any help is appricated.

thanks, RJ

 

I had 2 Dodge trucks do the same thing a few years ago. Both were customers trucks. A 1988 and a 1990. Both ended up, replacing the pickup assembly in the distributor. On the 1990 , the customer had hooked up a toggle switch to the coil with a 12 volt feed. When it wouldn't start, he would flip the toggle switch ON, feeding 12 volts to the coil. Truck would start right up, then flip toggle switch oFF. Truck would then keep running. I replaced the distributor pickup, located inside the distributor, and both trucks have worked OK since then. Both trucks were , intermitent, NO-STARTS.

 

Some of those Dodges had both a start pickup and a run pickup in the distributor.The clue is a three wire harness into the distributor if I remember right so the problem might be the start pickup or the ballast resistor that feeds it if they still used one in '88.Also bear in mind that the older trucks had a choke preheater circuit that could short out the ignition circuit if it malfunctioned in that area.That is to say that if it had a short in it the ignition circuit would be shorted out too.
In the later years the preheater took its power from a special oil pressure switch that would only supply current when there was oil pressure to comply with emission requirements of the day so these are all areas to consider when something was jumped or modified when troubleshooting a starting problem.Ron G

 

Thanks for the input. Yesterday I worked to make this thing a bit safer. Got to checking steering and found no cotter keys in either tie rod end. The steering shaft to sector coupler had a 1/4" stove bolt in it and it was very loose.

Checked fuses and was not happy to see that po had cut and spliced in another fuse box. All the wires were twisted together and some had a single wrap of duct tape on em. Most were just twisted and bare.

Guess the truck suffered a major electrical meltdown and the po was only interested in getting it running so it would show better at the little country auction.

Lession learned,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,again. LOL

Thanks, RJ

 

I'm a , I saw the title to this thread and thought, "I didn't think those year model 4x4's had coil springs???" Didn't figure we would be talkin about a gasser.

 

Final post and a big thanks. Truck has the oil pressure (two wires) switch involved with the start mode as Ron G mentioned. I tweaked the sockets in the female side of the sending unit plug and things seem to be good.

Just to be on the safe side, the jumper wire is still in place, just not hooked up.



RJ