90 Dodge Spirit Engine light

I was traveling along fine with my 1990 Dodge Spirit 3.0L. I stopped at the side of the road for about 5 minutes and the car would turn over but not start. I had it towed to a garage where the mechanic changed the fuel pump. The engine light was on and he disconnected the battery for about 15 minutes but it wouldn't clear the light. Now the car starts but won't idle - it just dies if you don't keep your foot on the gas pedal. Once it has been run for 20 min or so, if you leave it idle, it dies down and speeds up to idle speed continually. Any ideas???

If the check engine light is on, you should have codes on the computer.

Turn the ignition on/off/on/off/on, then count the number of flashes of the check engine light, including the pauses between sets of flashes. You should at least get a code 12 for the battery disconnect during the fuel pump service. This will show as a "blink" pause "blink - blink". The end of the code test will be a code 55 which is a "blink-blink-blink-blink-blink" pause "blink-blink-blink-blink-blink". Each code will be two digits. Let us know how many blinks and pauses and we can decifer.

By the way, did your mechanic test your old fuel pump for output pressure before he replaced it or did he just make a guess that it was bad without testing??

When I do the ignition on/off/on/off/on, I get the engine light blinking 12, 14 and 55.
When the fuel pump was changed, the mechanic just assumed that was the problem, ordered in a new fuel pump and installed it.
That was the first time that I noticed the engine light coming on. The mechanic tried to clear it by removing the +tive battery connection and reconnecting it 10 minutes later but the engine light didn't clear. the car seemed to run OK at that time but now it has the problems described above in my earlier post.

I believe that code 14 will lead you to your problem. I don't have my manual in front of me now and I won't have access to it until tomorrow. If someone else can decifer the code in the meantime, please chime in. Otherwise, I will look it up when I get home and get back to you.

I hate mechanics that don't verify a part is bad before they replace it. That justs lines their pockets with your hard earned green and leaves you with the original problem still in hand. I suggest finding another mechanic in the future.

I've been looking all over the net, trying to find a description for code 14 - no luck. Any help would certainly be appreciated.
I was quite surprised when the mechanic who changed out the pump offered the old one for me to keep. I turned it down as I’m not a mechanic and had no use for it – but found it odd that he’d offer it to me if it was in fact no good??
I was 400 miles from home at the time and just wanted to get it fixed and get my family back on the road home.

Code 14 = MAP sensor voltage too high or too low.

The Manifold Absolute Pressure (MAP) sensor is located on the firewall. It monitors intake manifold vacuum through a vacuum line to the throttle body. The MAP sensor transmits this data, along with data on barometric pressure, in the form of a variable voltage output to the computer. When combined with data from other sensors, this information helps the computer determine the correct air-fuel mixture ratio.

My guess is your MAP sensor has gone bad or the vacuum line to the sensor came loose. I would look here first.

Let us know what you find and what you do.

I checked out the MAP lines and connections and every thing looks OK. It may be probable that there is a problem with the unit itself.

I'm taking it to a mechanic this week to get him to check it out for proper functionality and will let you know what transpires.

Thanks for your help ... it's really appreciated. I'm up in age and never was much of a mechanically minded indivdual but your assistance is greatly appreciated ... thanks again - at least I have a spot to start and somewhat more of an idea what might be wrong.