94 Ram-No Start

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jd340

jd340

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So, I hop in my truck this afternoon, cranks but no fire. Did the key dance, and got codes 11 and 27, I think. 11 is cam signal lost, so my cam sensor is toast, correct? I had trouble with the truck dying a month back after going through some ice cold puddles. An hour later, it fired up no problem. Today, it was a cold start, no start, the truck had been sitting all day. Sorry for the ramble, just wanted to add a little background info. Anyone able to confirm?
 
I was worried the crank sensor may be bad too. Of course, the truck is DOA at my parents apartment and my tools are not, including my booster pack. The wiggle test, I can do right now. ;) Will the crank sensor throw the same code as the cam sensor?
 
Your cam sensor may only be out of adjustment. If it gets too much gap, it will not fire. They came with felt pads on them new to set the gap.

Try to bottom it out, then back it off a few thousandths of an inch and see if it will spark.

It would make sense if it worked hot, and not cold that your sensor may be at the "edge" when warm and over the "edge" when it cools and the gap gets bigger.

Try adjusting it, before going to buy a new one.
 
Thanks for the tip Krazy! Wiggle test was unsuccessful. Of course, it was dark, and I was at the edge of my reach, so who knows if I even wiggled anything. I found a used(?) cam sensor behind the seat I may try tomorrow as well. It's pissin' down rain tonight, so maybe I'll wait until tomorrow when it'll be snowing I'm sure.
 
krazykuda said:
Your cam sensor may only be out of adjustment. If it gets too much gap, it will not fire. They came with felt pads on them new to set the gap.

Try to bottom it out, then back it off a few thousandths of an inch and see if it will spark.

It would make sense if it worked hot, and not cold that your sensor may be at the "edge" when warm and over the "edge" when it cools and the gap gets bigger.

Try adjusting it, before going to buy a new one.
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Krazykuda, your thinking of the 3.2 and 3.5 style v6 engines with your statement I think. On these trucks, the "cam sensor" is the pickup in the distributor, there is no gap adjustment on these...... Good thing is they are easy to change...
 
True enough. The hardest part is working blind around that beer barrel intake! One of those time I wish I had a big block. lol
 
Have you checked for spark? I "think" the spark is triggered from the crank sensor, and injector pulse signal is provided by the cam sensor/dist pickup.
 
Not yet. Code 27 is injector pulse signal lost. I just got back from grabbing some tools. Of course, a spark plug socket was not one of them. The truck is on it's last legs, and I've been hunting for months for an affordable replacement. Spending money on it is the last thing I want to do at the moment, I've got long list of other things that need that cash first. Oh well, enough whining, time to suck it up and get er done. ;)
 
jd340 said:
Not yet. Code 27 is injector pulse signal lost. I just got back from grabbing some tools. Of course, a spark plug socket was not one of them. The truck is on it's last legs, and I've been hunting for months for an affordable replacement. Spending money on it is the last thing I want to do at the moment, I've got long list of other things that need that cash first. Oh well, enough whining, time to suck it up and get er done. ;)
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ok, well sounds like the dist pickup then, I would personally get a better name brand, such as the napa Echlin line, not the autozone stuff
 
Yep, I remember reading gdonovan's recent post about these issues. The used one I have is in a Mopar box, I will have to look closer and see if it actually is. No Autozone near me, either Carquest,Napa,or dealer. Thanks for your help!
 
So a quick update: go out to mess with it. I hook up the booster pack, and she fires right up! The weather has been right around freezing here the last few days +/- five degrees, after months of consistently cold weather. Was it something as simple as moisture in the gas? I threw in a bottle of gas line antifreeze, and unhooked the battery to clear the codes. Just about to go for a spin and see how it goes. I'll do the key dance again, and see if any codes show up. I have a feeling I'm on borrowed time though. Something is on its way out.
 
Also a possibility. They are about 3 years old now. I'll have to see what the paycheck will allow this week. A full throttle blast down a side road went well. A good throttle body cleaning is also overdue.
 
Well, no codes, and she's purring like a kitten. Even the idle has smoothed out. When I first got it running, if I revved it up, it would drop down low, almost to the point of stalling before it recovered and smoothed out. Now, I rev it up, and it drops back to a steady idle. I'm happy, but a little worried at the same time. I don't like when things fix themselves.
 
jd340 said:
Also a possibility. They are about 3 years old now. I'll have to see what the paycheck will allow this week. A full throttle blast down a side road went well. A good throttle body cleaning is also overdue.
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best just to keep a can of WD40 in your truck, gives you trouble just spray it on the wires and wait 5 minutes and try to start it
 
True enough, I should know better. I do always use dielectric grease on the terminals though.
 
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