[AT] 98 Dodge 3500

[Stephen Offiler]

I have been meaning to make this suggestion and John Hall's note has
reminded me again.  Really, to work seriously on any vehicle whether
an old tractor or a new(er) truck requires information.  We routinely
get the I&T or reprint factory shop manuals when we pick up an old
tractor, right?

One suggestion I have is AllDataDIY.  Most probably don't know AllData
but this is an online service that provides factory service
information on nearly everything on the road for professionals, at a
very large annual subscription fee ($x,000).  They have a
do-it-yourselfer version as well.  Here instead of getting ALL the
info, you sign up for one specific vehicle only.  I think it cost
around $30 for the first vehicle for the first year.  You can add
additional vehicles for less, like $17 or so, and after the first
year, re-subscription is around the same.  They also occasionally have
sales, providing multi-year discounts, like $30 for five years.  I
usually grab these when I can so right now I am at $6 per year for my
subscription.

My point:  you need information just to locate where all those ground
points are.  Happily there probably aren't nearly as many as 50.  A
dozen is a better estimate.  Once you know exactly where they are,
checking/cleaning them is a walk in the park.  But trying to find them
all without information pretty much guarantees you will miss some, and
of course Murphy's Law guarantees you will miss the one you really
need.

Perhaps Chilton has a manual covering  this model as well, but I have
tried to use a Chilton's on my '97 F250 and found it severely lacking,
mostly because it covers too many models and years and provides sparse
detail or none at all when you try to get right down to it.
AllDataDIY does get you right down to the last little detail.  It
requires a combination of mechanical knowledge and computer skill to
use AllDataDIY but I think every single one of us on the ATIS list
already meets that. It does take more than a bit of effort and
understanding to use AllDataDIY effectively.  For example, navigating
the electrical diagrams requires that you first understand their
symbols and conventions, then it takes some patience bouncing around
between  many pages of  diagrams, but there is a page explaining how
all that works too.

Another benefit of AllDataDIY is that you get full access to the text
of Technical Service Bulletins, which are issued by the factory when
known problems surface that might affect a lot of vehicles.  You can
get just the titles of the TSB's from many sites, but you get the
actual content with your AllDataDIY.  They can provide those "magic
silver bullet" solutions to weird problems sometimes.

I am not affiliated in any way with AllDataDIY, just a happy
subscriber.  Kevin, rest assured you cannot/will not be able to fix
this problem yourself without INFORMATION of some sort.

Steve O.


On Sun, May 24, 2009 at 7:05 AM, John Hall <jthall at worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> 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
>