yes,i have the one from my 88 truck on the shelf. shoot me your addy and i will send it, you cover the ride for it.

yours does have the 2 plugs correct? look like this?

I have not tried another coil, I sent you an email scratchnfotraction

got it

i will get it on the way for you.

i have a good used coil from the 88 also, I will toss it in there with it.

Well so far I have replaced the hall effect, ASD relay, coil and computer and it still won't start

Start with the basics:

Do you have spark?

Do you have fuel pressure?

Are the injectors firing? You may need to use a timing light to see that.

All connections solid?

Any codes on the computer?

That's where we will be able to get into diagnosing what the problem is.

fuel pressure is ok, I made it run to check, I have no power at the coil, so the first thing I changed was the ASD relay because mine was busted, then the hall effect, then coil, computer, re did all fuseable links as well

Check the ignition switch itself.Its down on the column.Not the key switch.Also check the fuses.My Ram burned up the switch and no start.I had to take the connector apart and redo some ends when I replaced it.Rocky

Send me a PM with your email. I have some troubleshooting pages out of a service manual.

pm sent

I have checked some but not all, I did redo all the fuseable links to make sure they were good I know they cause trouble too

Just start peeling back all the tape on the harness....it may be tedious, but at this point you've obviously wasted a lot of time and still gotten nowhere.
You should get a wiring schematic for that model.....You'll see what are the 12V feeds and grounds very quickly. At this point you have obviously lost power, or a major ground.

superwrench is right on the harness.I had a 2.2 at work that was no start etc.Lost a major ground and would not start or spark the coil.It would crank all day.Ive fixed a lot of splices at work in the last 30 years.Rocky

Yep....I think I fixed a harness problem in the 91 to 96 Dakotas about every week!!! Same scenario with a rotten splice.....good money maker especially when you were working at the "Electrical" rate...!!! LOL

SW GMs were famous for the headlight grounds.I dont know how many Cavalars and Sunfires I fixed.Ford was also known for corrosion in their plugs.Here in the rust,salt belt it was common.The green death took its toll on a lot of wiring.Rocky

Good info guys. My son just brought home a $150 no-start 88 V6 Dakota. We'll try try to figure it out today.

Sheldon

So far I have found one fuseable link that I missed that pulled apart and a couple splices that someone has already soldered but still havent found the problem.

We got lucky on ours. The fuel pump ran but would shut off right away, no spark but the computer threw a few unrelated codes (like battery recently disconnected). We figured it had to be the hall effect sensor and it was. He's got a good rustfree V6 Dakota 4X4 for total investment of $155. Hope you get yours figured out.

Sheldon

Well I have ran down the entire wiring harness and repaired a few questionable spots, everything that can be ohmed has been and is ok now, I have never had this much trouble finding a problem, think I will either sell it, put it in the back building for a while(tired of looking at it for now) or change it over to carb with regular ignition, no computer, I have most everything I need I think, even have a gas tank from an older truck without in tank pump, I appreciate all the input from everyone.
Thanks!!

One thing you said way back in this post was that it "tried" to "catch".....Any chance that the timing chain has jumped or broken??? Have you checked to see if the rotor is in fact turning??? Or that it is not in phase (i.e. the chain has jumped)??
I'm not dead positive but I think the Hall effect gives the signal to the computer to turn on the power to the ASD/coil+ when cranking. If the distributor is not turning..... The ASD will always power the pump and coil up for a second when the key is first turned on. From there the computer needs to see a cranking reference (Hall signal) to start.