I am working on a 93 Dakota with v6. It will run anywhere from a half hour to a couple of days and then just die. Thought it might be the coil. Replaced coil and it ran great for about half an hour and then it died. Checked and no spark. After it cools for half an hour or so it will start and run great again. Any Ideas?
Thanks,
Mark

Crank sensor?

I thought of crank sensor or cam sensor but not sure. Hate to change too many parts if not needed.

Distributor pick-up (or Cam Sensor if you'd like).

Also had a few Dak's that would corrode a wire off in the harness just past the battery....red and white wire if I remember correctly, but that usually caused a complete No Start...

Sooo, a stalling 3.9 liter that loses spark. So common its sickening.

This might sound crazy, I fought this for over a year. Same symptoms--sometimes fine for weeks then all the sudden--nothing Then it would be terrible like every other day cutting out so it seemed. I searched and searched on line till my fingers bled. I literally replace every conceivable part and checked and preventative fixed all common wiring issues. I even bought a used Snap On scanner so I could check the sync signal myself--which was still in range. This was on my 1996 3.9 Liter.

So leaving the "hardest" for last after hundreds of dollars spent, after I saw one and only one post on line about a possible solution, I put a new dist shaft bushing and gear in and put on a double roller timing chain. Problem solved once the computer relearned itself over a week or two.

Luckily for me, I had a friend that had the fatory tools to remove and install the bushing, and that made it super easy. You can buy the install tool from places online, such as Summit Racing, but the removal tool is the elusive one to get and doesn't seem to be as commonly available. The timing chain literally took me about an hour and a half to swap out.

I think that between the slack caused between the two items wearing, the signal is lost between crank and cam on occasion and shuts down the vehicle. Why it won't start up and lose spark I can not explain, but for me this fix seemed to work.

When it loses signal, it trips the ASD relay. This wont reset until the ignition has been turned off for a while.

If you listen carefully as you sit alone on the side of a deserted road after it shuts down, you will hear a faint "click" from the drivers side near the bulkhead. That is the ASD relay resetting.

I too have been fighting a similar gremlin, I also get a code 11 on the key flash scan (not all the time)

I took mine to a dealer to have then inspect the oil drive bushing, but all they did was install a coil and tell me its throwing codes because I have non-Mopar replacement parts on the ignition.

And the coil they (the Dodge dealer) installed... N Mastercraft O'Reilly OTC part...

There is a TSB that tells you how ti inspect the distributor shaft play.

TSB 18-08-93 Rev A

http://dodgeram.info/tsb/1993/18-08-93.htm

already have the dist cap off so it will be easy to check shaft wear. I will try that today.

Code 11 from the source I have reads: loss of crank sensor signal, or timing chain has skipped one tooth or more.

But anything from timing chain, CPS, or the pick up coil can trigger the code. As well as a loose chain and distributor allowing for the timing to waver.

It's raining here today so we are waiting until tomorrow to work on truck. I do have an Autoxray scanner, but there is no check engine light on.

Sorry, I assumed that there would be no codes if the light was not on. I will check that first in the morning.

I have never seen a Code 11 trigger the CEL.

It will only show on a scanner or with the key cycle test.

I just ran out and cycled the key. I came up with 12, 11, 55 in that order. I will also check the wire tomorrow.

Go buy a pick-up plate.

Ya, I can pick one up in the morning. I never knew you could have codes without the light on. Thanks to all for the advice.
Mark

Put in a new pick up today and cleared the code. Truck is running good and code is not coming back. Problem solved, Thanks for all the advice.
Mark