engine popping and hesitating on accel and dying at a stop tII glh

[saw wave analog]

they just keep coming heh.. the car has been feeling a bit sluggish in the upper rpms for the past couple of days, i was going to change the plugs this evening anyway to see if that cleared it up.. but then this happened. i was leaving work to go to lunch, drove the car in this morning.. started and ran fine all the way in, when i went out to leave just now it wouldnt start.. kept cranking it over for a minute or so and it finally started up, drove ok for a minute, but on accelleration i get a loud ass POP and the car hesitates and runs like shit, it sounds like fuel cut on a dsm but runs rough in the upper rpms.. real rough.. i kept going at low rpm and it was running ok, but on my way back into my parking lot it died entirely every time i let it idle, took a good bit or cranking but it did start back up again every time. what could cause this? the car has crappy wiring, could a bad ground somewhere have this result? im changing the plugs when i get home from work, hopefully they will tell a story of some sort.. give me some leads to go on, and maybe one day this bastard will become reliable

[mo' parts]

popping is a sure sign of timing gone wild. i would check that cam timing for starters.
could have been the belt was stretching and then jumped timing. let us know how things look.

[minimopar]

Check your fuel pressure.

[saw wave analog]

ick. i hope its easier to do timing on a TD than it is on a dsm. im sure i could dig this up in a search but i am at work and we are busy as hell, do you have a link to a guide to setting/checking the timing? i only get a couple minutes to check things and i want to be as prepared as possible when i get home

say the belt is junk and i cant just reset the timing, how long of a job is it to change it out? any special tools i need?

thanks guys.. this site has been a massive help since i got the car.. hopefully i will get it running in top form soon so i wont have to keep coming on here begging for help

[mo' parts]

http://www.thedodgegarage.com/
click on turbo database in the lefthand column.
i think its no. 33

[saw wave analog]

awesome.. i just printed that out and will check it first thing when i get home, thanks a lot for the info

if the belt is shot has anyone had problems with pepboys or autozone stuff? dealer will be closed when i get off so mopar isnt an option tonight.

ive heard people mention the motor ground straps coming loose can cause similar problems as well.. what are the locations of these things so i can check them out as well?

just when i get one thing taken care of another one pops up.. good thing i like the car so much otherwise i might be getting angry at it by this point hehe

[puppet]

Check your codes .... might save you some horsing around.

[mo' parts]

Quote:

Originally Posted by puppet Check your codes .... might save you some horsing around.

that should be up top with the "sticky's", before posting threads for diagnosis, as i always forget to tell people to look there first. oh well.....

[saw wave analog]

easier said than done, i dont know if the car is even going to make it home.. im assuming autozone would pull them for me but seeing as how i am doubtful that the car is even going to start when i leave if i do get lucky and it does im going straight home.. i have high hopes about the timing.. it feels like its been missing in the higer rpm range lately, i was thinking bad old plugs but cam timing seems just as likely. guess we find out in 2 hours. maybe ill get lucky and it will be easily solved.. emphasis on maybe

[puppet]

Go to Russ's site, there he describes how to pull the fault codes yourself. Could be as simple as the vacuum line to the MAP being pulled/blown off.

[saw wave analog]

printed out the minimopar guide and the dodge garage one too. im off in 10 minutes, assuming the car makes it home ill know if its the timing pretty soon, and ill check the codes and post up the results as well. wish me luck getting home first off, and secondly getting it fixed

[saw wave analog]

well... i made it home, but now i am sure it isnt timing belt related. with the ignition in the on position i can hear the fuel pump turning on, then off, then on, then off.. pretty randomly. i can also hear things switching on and off under the hood. unplugging the power module wiring connector closest to the firewall and plugging it back in produces the same effect.. things turn off and then on. another electrical problem.. imagine that. i dont even know where to begin troubleshooting this one. im going back out there now, but if anyone has any advice on things to look for i am more than willing to hear it. i got the timing belt cover off to have a look at the belt and everything looks good, tension is good, no obvious damage so im not even going to look into it since it seems certain now that its just another wiring or power module issue. id suspect the power computer itself except that when i plug it in and unplug it it turns everything on audibly every time.. maybe its a loose connector..

back to the garage. at least its somewhat warm out

[minimopar]

Hmmm...some kind of grounding issue perhaps? With the engine not running and the ignition on, the fuel pump should come on for about 1 second. It won't come again until the engine is cranked. If it is turning on and off like you say, then either the ECU thinks it is seeing a signal from the HEP, or the power to the ECU is sagging when the pump comes on, effectively power cycling the ECU. I would go over the grounds between the intake and the firewall and the ECU grounds at the fuel rail bolt. Also check the big ground at the front of the head. Then check you battery terminals.

What year electronics are you using? Use a multimeter and shove the probes into the back of the logic module connectors. Connect the meter's ground to the power ground pin on the logic module and then use the positive probe to check the direct battery feed and 8V feed to the LM. Measure it while the fuel pump is doing its weirdness. If the power looks unstable, measure the same circuits at the power module. The pinouts are here:

http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/ecu/index.html#ecus

[saw wave analog]

minimopar- you are the master of both space and time. i had no idea that that shitty ass ground on the front of the head was for the ecu, and thats what it was

i cut the craptastic stock connector off, crimped on a ring terminal, mounted it to a valve cover bolt and the car runs smooth as shit.. you are the man

[85GLHT-Omni]

Saw Wave Analog:

Keep us updated on whether this was the fix or not. Awesome bit of diagnostic work by Minimopar. Bad grounds can probably explain most of the electrical problems with these cars.