1995 3.9 liter won't start. Finally fixed!!

[rider54]

About one month ago I parked my 1995 dodge Dakota (3.9 liter) and the next morning it would not start. The starter would turn the motor over but would not fire. I had fuel pressure and seemed to be getting spark (checked with inductive timing light) but it would not start. I was not able to find the problem that day but the next day it started and ran fine. A few days later it once again would not start. I then installed a new set of spark plugs, new distributor cap and rotor. The truck started and ran fine. One morning about two weeks later it would not start again. I once again checked fuel pressure and spark, all seems ok but it still would not start. After reading several forums on the subject I replaced the crankshaft position sensor and the camshaft position sensor. Neither solved the problem. I inspected the wiring harness for corroded connections but found none. I checked the ASD and fuel pump relay and both were working properly. I was getting proper voltage everywhere I checked and I could not find any reason for the motor not to start. After a couple of weeks not being able to find the problem I started to recheck everything and found the coil wire connection on the “new” distributor cap had corroded along with the coil wire. I replaced the cap and all plug wires (including the coil wire) and now the truck starts fine. I could not believe the distributor cap would fail after only one month. Please make sure all of the basic ignition items are checked before replacing expensive sensors and computers! (thank goodness I did not try a new computer!) Hopefully my lesson will help others. Thanks for these Forums!

[angus10]

What brand cap did you use? Was it a cheapo from AutoZone or the like?

[rider54]

The cap that went bad after only a few weeks was the cheapest one at Advance Auto. Lesson learned. Never again!!

[angus10]

Not to rub it in, but. That's what I figured. Glad you got it fixed.