1990 LA 360 stops running when hot (help please)

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K.O. SWINGER

K.O. SWINGER

Meeting in the alley since 1976
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So I'm enlisting the help of anyone willing, I have a 1990 Dodge Maxi van that I enjoy throwing camping equipment in and taking off with my wife for short adventures. The problem is on hot days it will periodically not start. This is left us somewhat stranded twice both on hot days and the last time I had to have it towed home. I read somewhere it may have something to do with the ignition control box getting hot? It will restart after it cools down but on a hot day that could be several hours any help would be appreciated thank you in advance.
 
I had an 89 Daytona Shelby that on a road trip to DC and back (800 mile round trip) cut off on us on the interstate and would not restart. Had it towed to a shop, stayed overnight at a motel, shop called in the am and said it was fixed, that it was the ignition pickup in the distributor. Collected the car and off we went on home but I had my doubts if that was the problem as those things either work or they don’t. An ignition coil perhaps but not the pickup. Anyway, about a 1/2 hour into the drive it did the same thing. Ended up renting a car to get home, drove back up with a dolly to get the car.

Back at home I was able to systematically diagnose the issue. Turns out it was the electric fuel pump in the tank. It would get hot from running and seize up thus killing the engine. Replaced that and was good to go.

Very hard to replicate unless it gets hot but after it dies again, immediately see if you can hear the pump cycle on with the key on run.
 
K.O. SWINGER said:
So I'm enlisting the help of anyone willing, I have a 1990 Dodge Maxi van that I enjoy throwing camping equipment in and taking off with my wife for short adventures. The problem is on hot days it will periodically not start. This is left us somewhat stranded twice both on hot days and the last time I had to have it towed home. I read somewhere it may have something to do with the ignition control box getting hot? It will restart after it cools down but on a hot day that could be several hours any help would be appreciated thank you in advance.
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By "not start", do you mean it cranks over on the starter but does not fire, or it does not crank at all?
 
Professor Fate said:
By "not start", do you mean it cranks over on the starter but does not fire, or it does not crank at all?
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Can give it a shot of (starting fluid) into the air intake at the air filter or right at the throttle body butterfly. When you crank it to restart it. (open the throttle butterfly so the start fluid can get past it into the intake manifold)

If it quick starts you know the fuel pump is not pumping enough fuel, wore out or stopped all together.
 
Replace the ballast resistor first followed by the ECU box.

Most likely is the ballast resistor has failed and has a crack in the windings on the primary start circuit that becomes seperated with heat. However, the ECU could have a similar issue.

It’s cheap to just replace both and will likely fix it for little cost. 30 year old electronic parts are probably due to get replaced anyway.
 
Ddaddy said:
Replace the ballast resistor first followed by the ECU box.

Most likely is the ballast resistor has failed and has a crack in the windings on the primary start circuit that becomes seperated with heat. However, the ECU could have a similar issue.

It’s cheap to just replace both and will likely fix it for little cost. 30 year old electronic parts are probably due to get replaced anyway.
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A 1990 Maxi Van will have a TBI and PCM... no ballast or ECU. I would start with the distributor pickup coil. Gets hot, pickup fails... It's a longshot, but if a local shop/dealer has an old pre-OBD scanner and remembers how to use it, it may help narrow it down a bit for you.
 
Professor Fate said:
A 1990 Maxi Van will have a TBI and PCM... no ballast or ECU. I would start with the distributor pickup coil. Gets hot, pickup fails... It's a longshot, but if a local shop/dealer has an old pre-OBD scanner and remembers how to use it, it may help narrow it down a bit for you.
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Depends on the factory build date. Check the system Equipment to be sure. Assume nothing.
 
I had some luck with placing a cold pack from lunch on the coil when mine would do that on hotter afternoons. The soft ones that you can wrap worked pretty good. It would start up in just a few minutes. I've since gone with a different unit mounted in a different location but we haven't been as hot so far this summer..... good luck
 
More than likely your computer is going bad. AKA the ECU. you can order one at Auto Zone. there is a core charge. It is mounted behind the battery on the drivers side fender.
 
Sounds like a ignition pickup is the cause but the control box wil act the same way. You need to go THROUGH THE IGNITION when it is hot and see if you have spark or not and go from there.
 
Doesnt it have a cam sensor in the distributor and a crank sensor too?
My experience with these ..It's either the coil or the cam sensor in the distributor.
You can test for 5v at the senior wires while cranking it over. If it doesnt break and it's dead or solid voltage the entirety of cranking over..sensor is bad.
It sounds like its isolated to a no spark deal.
Coil or cam n crank sensors is where I'd start.
 
Always nice to post some follow up on things. Had any further problems?? Figure it out?? I just had my 90 W-150 w/318 cutoff while driving home from work last night wouldn’t restart for about 10 minutes, and it wouldn’t restart for a few minutes after fueling up on the way to work earlier. I’ve converted from the computer and fuel injection to the old style Chrysler electronic ignition with a carb, utilizing the in tank electric fuel with a regulator and was able to see I still had fuel pressure and fuel at the carb. The pickup coil and ecu are year old Filko brand items, has a newer ballast resister and wiring harness. The plug wires and plugs are new. The only older item is the coil, which for now is under suspicion. Will be double checking for solid grounds and connections, do some basic tests with a voltmeter but will be carrying a box of spares and the voltmeter so when it happens again I can hopefully pinpoint the problem when hot.
 
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