5.2 Dodge Won't start

[TTP]

I have a 2001 Dodge Ram with a 5.2 that will not start. I have changed out the PCM, coil, plugs, distributor cap, cam sensor, rotor. It is also not showing on the Solus scanner any oil pressure. Replaced the sensor still no luck. Hooked up a gauge to the port shows 45psi cranking. Somethings missing but I don't know what, does anyone have any suggestions? ASD and fuel relays are testing good. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

JOE

[Spence]

I have a 2001 Dodge Ram with a 5.2 that will not start. I have changed out the PCM, coil, plugs, distributor cap, cam sensor, rotor. It is also not showing on the Solus scanner any oil pressure. Replaced the sensor still no luck. Hooked up a gauge to the port shows 45psi cranking. Somethings missing but I don't know what, does anyone have any suggestions? ASD and fuel relays are testing good. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

JOE

 

Oh boy... Hmmmmmmm,

 

Do you have test equipment? Such as but not limited to:

 

Scan tool? If so which ones...

 

Spark tester?

 

DVOM?

 

Test light?

 

Fuel pressure gauge?

 

Propane enrichment bottle?

 

Labscope?

 

Pressure transducer?

 

Compression gauge?

 

Also do you have an information system to look things up? If so which ones...

 

It's Saturday. I am at the shop are you?

 

Ball in your court. I'll check back later.

[Jeff]

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[TTP]

Oh boy... Hmmmmmmm,

 

Do you have test equipment? Such as but not limited to:

 

Scan tool? If so which ones... Snap On Solus and Vantage, Auto Ingenuity

 

Spark tester? YES

 

DVOM? NO

 

Test light? Duh...

 

Fuel pressure gauge? YuP

 

Propane enrichment bottle? NO

 

Labscope? VANTAGE

 

Pressure transducer? ?? For the oil I used a manual gauge, if thats what you are asking

 

Compression gauge? YES

 

Also do you have an information system to look things up? If so which ones... ALL DATA

 

It's Saturday. I am at the shop are you? NOPE closed shop for Thanksgiving

 

Jeff- Fuel pressure is good, I have not checked the sync, but will let you know.

 

JOE

[Spence]

Oh boy... Hmmmmmmm,

 

Do you have test equipment? Such as but not limited to:

 

Scan tool? If so which ones... Snap On Solus and Vantage, Auto Ingenuity

 

Alright then... When you hooked any of them up on a Chrysler product look to see if you have any codes. If so which ones? I don't like when Chrysler has a code they will put in a value for the PID that has to deal with that code. In other words the value being used is shown and NOT the true value. For example if you had a coolant temp DTC say open circuit. On any other vehicle but Chrysler I would expect to see -40F. With a Chrysler it will look at the IAT and mirror it during start up. Or you might see a value of 115F to maybe 140F.

 

With that said as an example I would like a PID scan. If there is a DTC that PID may not be real. Key on engine off before you even try to start the truck and if you have no DTCs then look at all values and compare to what you would expect to see. Some things would be the temperature. If this is in your shop and it is 60F then the IAT and ECT should be close. Another would be the M.A.P. I would expect something around 29 or 30 kpa. If you see something less I would be concerned.

 

Now if all those are good. Crank the engine. Do you see a rpm reading?

 

Hopefully you get the idea of what I would like to see.

 

Spark tester? YES

 

Good. Did you use it? If so did you have spark every other revolution of the engine. Not just spark when you turned the key on or off.

DVOM? NO

 

In this day and age you need one. I have many. DVOM's come with different options on different model. You need to be able to measure voltage, voltage drops, ohms, amps. and more. I would look into Fluke. If you want a couple different models I would be glad to recommend some depending on the use.

 

Test light? Duh...

 

Should I take that as a yes? If you are poking fun at me just be ready for the kick back.

 

Fuel pressure gauge? YuP

Good and I see from your response to Jeff you used it. It's just when you started this request for help you failed to give us all your test results so we could make a decision on a path to try and help you. All I saw was a lot of parts thrown at this and it didn't help. It seemed to me(with all due respect) you didn't do testing, didn't have the equipment to do the testing, didn't have the info to know what you had in front of you, wasn't trained for testing and/or had a tech that was lazy in testing.

 

Do you have anything else you would like to share that you tested?

 

Propane enrichment bottle? NO

 

I would suggest getting one. Great test tool! You could flow a little propane into the intake to see if this would lite up for a second. In place of it some carb cleaner or silicone spray could do the trick. Be CAREFUL!

 

Labscope? VANTAGE

 

It'll do. Have you used it much?

 

Pressure transducer? ?? For the oil I used a manual gauge, if thats what you are asking

 

Nope. I was asking as I use one for doing compression testing. I can actually see the intake and exhaust valves opening during the compression test as well as I use it with the engine running in the spark plug hole for a running compression and snap throttle compression. We don't need it just asked to see if I wanted to see something. No biggie.

 

Compression gauge? YES

 

Good, did you happen to check any of the cylinders? If you didn't I wouldn't head there yet unless you said the engine cranks fast and easy.

 

Also do you have an information system to look things up? If so which ones... ALL DATA

Good. I don't have AllData but at least you have it for looking up specs. Does it cover the year of this truck?

 

It's Saturday. I am at the shop are you? NOPE closed shop for Thanksgiving

 

You posted on Friday and I read it on Saturday. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving! I would of been glad to help over the weekend.

 

Jeff- Fuel pressure is good, I have not checked the sync, but will let you know.

 

JOE

 

Looking forward to you updating with your test results. Hopefully I gave you some things to think about.

 

Spence

Edited November 26, 2012 by Spence

[Spence]

Anything? Inquiring minds wanta know...

[TTP]

Nothing yet to report, have not had a chance to get back on it.

 

BTW I do have a DVOM, didn't recognize the acronym, it is a Fluke.

I also have a Power Probe it is awesome for troubleshooting electrical issues.

 

I really appreciate you checking back

[Spence]

Nothing yet to report, have not had a chance to get back on it.

 

BTW I do have a DVOM, didn't recognize the acronym, it is a Fluke.

I also have a Power Probe it is awesome for troubleshooting electrical issues.

 

I really appreciate you checking back

 

Thanks for not letting us hang.

 

Kinda figured you had a DVOM. Which model of Fluke?

 

I check in once or twice a day. If you get some test results I would look forward to hearing about them.

 

For starters do you have spark? Not only at the coil wire but at the spark plug too.

 

What is the cranking vacuum reading with the throttle plates closed?

 

Talk to ya later

 

Spence

[TTP]

OK,

Here is the complete history, I did not include it because I felt it might cloud the issue.

The 5.2 in question has been installed in a 1990 Jeep Wrangler. We rewired the harness to integrate the OBD1 and OBD2 systems, since at the time of this swap no one was making a harness. The Motor is out of a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 2x4, it was recently rebuilt and has about 50,000 miles on it. It was running fine when we removed it from the donor vehicle.

 

I am not showing any oil pressure on the scanner, but I can manipulate the sensor and prove it works fine. I also installed a manual gauge to verify there was oil pressure.

We have spark verified from the coil to the plug, it will pop off every once in a while like its trying to start, but thats it. If you add a shot of either/carb cleaner it does nothing.

We verified that the signal was coming from the crank sensor and replaced the cam position sensor. Today I am going to check for sync between the two.

I am also going to test for high resistance readings on the ground circuit, to see if our harness has any issues.

[Spence]

OK,

Here is the complete history, I did not include it because I felt it might cloud the issue.

The 5.2 in question has been installed in a 1990 Jeep Wrangler. We rewired the harness to integrate the OBD1 and OBD2 systems, since at the time of this swap no one was making a harness.

 

Ugh! I don't think it would of clouded the issue at all. If anything it might be some of the issue. I would of preferred you been more up front in the beginning.

 

The Motor is out of a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 2x4, it was recently rebuilt and has about 50,000 miles on it. It was running fine when we removed it from the donor vehicle.

 

Ok... You have a good engine. That's a good start.

 

I am not showing any oil pressure on the scanner, but I can manipulate the sensor and prove it works fine. I also installed a manual gauge to verify there was oil pressure.

 

Good that you verified oil pressure. You know you are not good to hurt the engine. It's now an electrical issue. It shouldn't keep this from firing up. Do you think it will keep it from starting? If so why?

 

We have spark verified from the coil to the plug, it will pop off every once in a while like its trying to start, but thats it. If you add a shot of either/carb cleaner it does nothing.

 

Have you pulled any of the plugs to see if they are flooded?

 

What is the cranking vacuum with the throttle plates closed. This next step I want is important you follow it if you are going to use rely on the results. Keep cranking it for 15 seconds and what is the vacuum/pressure reading at the end of the 15 second cranking period?

 

We verified that the signal was coming from the crank sensor and replaced the cam position sensor. Today I am going to check for sync between the two.

 

If you had spark your crank signal is working.

 

I am also going to test for high resistance readings on the ground circuit, to see if our harness has any issues.

 

Do you know how to do voltage drop tests? If so check your grounds that way.

 

 

I do a lot of engine swaps. Ones that mate an engine that was never in a vehicle to a different one. Instead of trying to cross between two different fuel/ignition systems we install a stand alone PCM. We then do our own programming. You may want to consider that.

 

In the mean time which computer are you using. The OBD I or the OBD II? Which sensors are being used and are they of the system that the PCM uses?

 

Thanks for the update.

 

Spence

 

 

 

[Spence]

Any news?

[TTP]

Any news?

 

It was a shorted out computer, new one installed and it ran.

[Spence]

It was a shorted out computer, new one installed and it ran.

 

Thanks for the update.....