92 Dakota windshield wipers come on and engine stalls

[gdavis1955]

I have a 92 Dakota with a 318 cu in engine that was running for just a few seconds sometimes and then dying. I am going to post a special explanation of the whole problem but the quick thing to check is the LEFT HEADLAMP GROUND. You can find this on page 12-46 of the Haynes manual for the 92 Dakota. A WHOLE lot of things are grounded at this one screw located just to the right of the windshield washer fluid container in the left (DRIVER SIDE) fender shield. If this connection is loose, dirty, flakey, rusted or non existent the vehicle MAY do any number of the following things: engine stalls, engine idles rough and misses, tachometer needles jumps wildly, left headlamp is dim, windshield wipers come on WITH THE WIPER SWITCH OFF, when you turn on the headlights OR the 4-way flashers the windshield wipers come on WITH THE WIPER SWITCH OFF! Make SURE the sheet metal screw that tightens the star lug connector at this ground point is CLEAN and TIGHT! ANY bad ground connection in the vehicle can cause the computer to lose ground reference and it can behave as if the computer is malfunctioning. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the computer but it will lose its ability to control engine functions such as ignition timing. Also check the main ground connection where the negative battery cable is attached to the engine block. On the 92 Dakota this is on the driver's side on the engine between the water pump and the power steering pump. The same problem can occur if the wires are corroded or broken inside the insulation or at the connection lug. The bolt or screw can be tightened down fine but if the wire is not clean and unbroken you can get intermittent problems or an engine that wil not start at all. Replacing the battery cable wires and carefully inspecting the wires for broken strands or corrosion is a very cheap and simple fix. If a shop can find this intermittent problem at all they will probably have to charge you hundreds of dollars to do this repair because it can take HOURS to find it if you do not know exactly where to look.