[AT] 98 Dodge 3500

[John Hall]

Dang it Charlie, Farmer told you YEARS ago what the problem was. :)

Check the Ground.
Check the Ground.
Check the Ground.

Unfortunately with todays vehicles there must be about 50 of such per 
vehicle, guess you missed one!

John Hall

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "charliehill" <charliehill at embarqmail.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 23, 2009 8:07 AM
Subject: Re: [AT] 98 Dodge 3500


> This is a long story but worth reading, especially for you Kevin.  It 
> might
> help you figure this thing out.
>
> My old pickup (89 GMC) got to running bad when it was maybe 6 or 7 years
> old.  It would spit, sputter and backfire but only when the cruise control
> was on.  Well you know the solution to that, I stopped using cruise 
> control.
> Not because I wanted to, I just couldn't find the problem.  Eventually it
> got to where it ran terribly all the time.   The problem went on for close
> to 2 years (maybe longer than that) getting progressively worse until
> finally it was nearly undrivable nearly all the time.
>
> I studied every manual I could find and checked every component I could 
> find
> the specs to check and couldn't find the problem.  Finally I went to a 
> Chevy
> dealer in a nearby town.  I knew the folks (now out of business).  It was 
> a
> small family owned outfit.  I was able to talk them into letting me go in
> the shop with the mechanic.  I proceeded to tell him everything I had
> checked.  I asked him to check the cruise control module.  I couldn't do
> that because the data for it is not in any of the aftermarket manuals.  I
> knew my problem initially had something to do with the cruise.  I needed 
> the
> factory manual to check it.
>
> He listened to me but then politely said to let him do his checks first. 
> He
> proceeded to re-check everything I had checked and didn't find it.  Then 
> he
> decided to replace electronic box in the distributor.  That didn't work so
> he took the new one off and put my old one back in.  Finally he went and
> pulled the data for the cruise control.
>
> There is a ground wire on that truck that goes to ground on one of the
> thermostat housing studs.  He checked the resistance on that ground and it
> was out of spec.  He took a 9/16 wrench and turned the stud about a 
> quarter
> turn and the problem went away.
>
> Here's what happened as he and I were able to recreate it.   I remembered
> that not long before the problem started I had changed the thermostat. 
> The
> ground wire is double nutted on the stud in the thermostat housing, the 
> wire
> is just long enough and it's kind of hard to get the stud tight in the 
> block
> and then get the double nut tight on the ground wire without pulling the
> gound wire apart.
> I had gotten the double nuts tight on the ground wire but unknown to me 
> the
> stud was about 1/4 turn loose in the intake.  It was not leaking but 
> enough
> antifreeze had seeped into the connection to screw up the ground.  The
> problem didn't start immediately after I changed the thermostat and once 
> it
> did start it took it a couple of years to get to the point  of having to 
> fix
> it.  Before that it had been intermittent and to begin with only when the
> cruise control was engaged.  Since there was no visable leak on the stud 
> and
> I didn't have the manual with the Cruise control specs I had no reason to
> check that stud.  The ground wire was as tight on the stud as it could be.
> The problem was the stud being loose in the intake.
>
> I spent well over a year.  I think more than 2 years looking for that
> problem and fixed it with a 1/4 turn of a wrench.  Kevin if you are still
> reading, my point is that your problem is probably something just as small
> and hard to find.  That is why someone dumped the truck.  They couldn't 
> find
> the problem and gave up.  If I had just, for some odd reason, decided to
> change my thermostat again my problem would have gone away and I might 
> have
> never known what fixed it.
>
> Charlie Hill