engine trouble blues :(

[emcemc]

ok guyz im gonna kill myself im going crazy over my moms truck she cant afford to take it to a shop and i cant afford to so im fixing the dam thing i dont know these dodges im a chevy guy

its 94 ram 1500 5.2 v8 on gasoline

it all started with no power on hills so checked the cat it was fucked so i replaced it i tested the fuel pump and if seemed to be going so i replaced it then it ran better but still was not 100 % then i checked the distributor and it was a bit burnt on some of the points so i replaced the cap rotor wires and plugs then it seemed to be 100%

a week later i changed the oil and she drove to the store and the thing would not start it would start then die so i went there and rechecked my work all was good pushed on all plug wires to make sure they were on good gave if the once over and could not get it to go so i got mad slammed the hood and the TRUCK started right up and she drove home so i suspect a losse wire but now it runs but seems to run like it did befor i replaced anything its got power loss but not as bad and the weird no start thing anyone got any ideas there no codes from the ecm PLEASE help

yours truly
Evan:9

[rhandwor]

Use a DVOM and check the voltage at the coil positive. It should be over 11volt but normally is around 12volts. Use a 12volt test light and place it on the coil negative. Have somebody try to start the truck the test light should blink. If it doesn't blink the pickup in the distributor is going bad. If you don't have voltage buy a one years subscription to http://www.alldata.com/ they have good wiring diagrams. Cost $25.00 per year with a discount for additional vehicles. If you have a haynes manual check for a diagram. Could be a loose or corroded wire or a bad ground. The proper diagrams will save you hours of time.

[emcemc]

Originally Posted by rhandwor

Use a DVOM and check the voltage at the coil positive. It should be over 11volt but normally is around 12volts. Use a 12volt test light and place it on the coil negative. Have somebody try to start the truck the test light should blink. If it doesn't blink the pickup in the distributor is going bad. If you don't have voltage buy a one years subscription to http://www.alldata.com/ they have good wiring diagrams. Cost $25.00 per year with a discount for additional vehicles. If you have a haynes manual check for a diagram. Could be a loose or corroded wire or a bad ground. The proper diagrams will save you hours of time.

ok i was just trying this and theres 2 wires to the coil a green with a orange stripe and a black with a grey strip

found that the black /grey was negitive so i put the dvom + to the battery positive and the grey wire to the dvom - and i get 12.30volts then if i connect the dvom to the coil positve and the battery negitive i get no voltage so wtf is going on
i thought that the negitive would be turning on and off and the positive would be a solid voltage but it the opposite

i do have a manual and the wire from the pcm is the black/grey and the green goes to the auto shut off relay or what ever its called

????????im lost is a maze i also found that the negative that connects to the body of the truck from the battery right beside the battery pulled out by hand from the battery terminal but i some how doubt that was the problem

[rhandwor]

When checking voltage the black wire on the DVOM goes to the negative terminal. The red wire goes to the hot wire being tested. A disconnected ground wire will cause you many problems. Fix this and see what happens.

[emcemc]

ok i just took off the dis cap and the contacts for the rotor in side were white looking sorta like corrosion i just replaced it like 175 miles ago, could this cause the small power loss. Was i supposed to put die electric grease in side there because i didnt and the book said something about it but i dunno i thought it just meant the plug boots also i hear a clicking kinda noise i wonder if it is the valves because i just put in 10w30 syn oil but i swear its comming from the distributor. i fixxed the ground that was not that great but it hasnt changed nothing


for the test light do i put it in series with the negitive or one side to the negitve and then other to positive battery and should it blink once or like a fast blinking

[rhandwor]

The end of the test light is connected to the ground. The metal tip with the point is touching the coil negative. The pickup opens and closes a switch like the points used to open and close. As it fires the coil it happens each time the plug is fired. As the engine is spinning it blinks frequently with the started engine so fast it is hard to see. If the manual said to use dielectric greese use it.
You can spray starting fluid into the throttle body if it starts you have a fuel problem.

[rockwood84]

make sure the battery terminals are clean and tight .