Dakota-No Spark

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Christopher K Rifley - 06 Sep 2004 21:38 GMT

Hello,
I have a 1993 Dakota with the 3.9 engine. The engine turns over like mad,
but I am getting no spark. Can anyone tell me what some of the common causes
of this problem are? Thanks in adavance.

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CLT - 06 Sep 2004 22:30 GMT

That hapend me and it was that the coil were leaking to earth by a few
cables that i dont know what they do but the sparks were no easy to
see couse the litle cables were betwen the coil and my sight. Check
out if there is any cable to close to the coil.
Sorry about my english!
CLT

> Hello,
> I have a 1993 Dakota with the 3.9 engine. The engine turns over like
> mad, but I am getting no spark. Can anyone tell me what some of the
> common causes of this problem are? Thanks in adavance.

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Tom Lawrence - 07 Sep 2004 01:46 GMT

> but I am getting no spark. Can anyone tell me what some of the common causes
> of this problem are? Thanks in adavance.

Bad coil, bad distributor cap/rotor, bad ignition module, etc.

Start with a fresh cap and rotor, then if still nothing, troubleshoot the
coil. First, back-probe the primary connections and see if you see voltage
there while cranking (the voltage will be pulsing several times per second,
so don't look for a specific voltage - just some change in the meter). If
not, the problem's in the ignition module, or even the PCM (not sure about
the specifics of the ignition system in a '93). If you do, hook a spark
plug to the end of the coil wire, and ground the spark plug to the engine.
Crank, and see if you get spark at that plug. If not, the coil's bad. If
you do get spark, the problem's either the coil wire (try a different one),
or the distributor cap (although this shouldn't be the case if you put a new
cap/rotor on to begin with).

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HORIZON A - 07 Sep 2004 18:08 GMT

Had the same problem with my 93 and after a long search and putting in lots of
new ignition parts with no results. There is a common corrosion problem with
this model. On the drivers side fender well under the hood, there is a bundle
of cables aft of the battery. Slit open this bundle of cables. You will find a
single red cable soldered to two red cables. This joint goes bad and eventually
breaks from corrosion.A bad connection stops processing data and power to the
control module on the passenger fender. No power no spark. Let me know what you
found.
John

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daniel l - 01 Sep 2005 13:42 GMT

you are absolutely correct!!!!! this is the exactly the same problem and
the same fix i encountered.
could not believe it!!! you saved me big$$$$$ and a lot of time trouble
shooting.

>Had the same problem with my 93 and after a long search and putting in lots of
>new ignition parts with no results. There is a common corrosion problem with
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>found.
>John

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