Hey Mechanics--problem here.

Son's band just bought a '94 Dodge van, 250. Just driving along--it loses power. He said it goes along fine, then it loses power and the throttle won't respond and it loses enough power to have to pull over. It does it on an intermitant basis. He'll push the accelerator down--nothing--then it'll take off like it's supposed to. (I was just talking to him while he was driving it and he said it's going fine. This is intermitant.

They had another Dodge van that did the same thing , but they never figured it out. Any ideas?

Maybe a filter in the gas tank?

 

Vacuum leak maybe? hard to check all the vacuum lines on those, kinda tight under the hood probably huh
Could be intermittent because sometimes cracked hose seals up just enough, sometimes it don't.

 

bad fuel pump or gas cap would be my first guess

 

Alright. I'll call him now and ask him to check. I didn't find out from him whether it's carbed or FI.


(aww--he's doing something else right now, so I still don't know the gas-feed situation)

 

Gas cap??? Would that do something??

 

Oh yeah, a bad gas cap really can make a difference. Can't get good pressure if the gas cap isn't sealing.

 

OK. Thanks KR. I'll take you and BBs advice and tell him.

 

So will a trouble code show up someplace to be seen? Or does it take some kind of computer check instrument? And thanks.

 

everyone is speculating on the van....I was gonna go another route and blame the kid.. ...is there any way you could just disown him?....could save lots of headaches

 

Did you say a fuel pump in the gas tank?? What the??

 

Be easier to disown the van. These dodges(of which they have had a few) seem to get the same problem. He said they put $$$$$$ in the last one--still did it. Maybe they should just take it somewhere, but it's so damn expensive nowadays.

 

A gas cap wouldn't cause that, only thing that's going to affect is evaporative emissions and a bad fuel pump if it's leaking down would cause extended cranking time or wouldn't start at all. Doesn't sound fuel related to me, more on the engine control side of things.

Sounds like a bad tps or crank sensor, in other words an electronic component. More than likely tps, it's a potentiometer (variable resistance like a fuel gauge sending unit) and can cause all kinds of intermittent issues. Also could be a pcm. All three of those parts are common issues with chryslers. A bad map sensor can also cause that. I don't believe that's a maf system, so it should have a map.

You don't need a scan tool to check codes, that's OBD1. You should be able to ground a pin on the diagnostic connector and watch the check engine light flashes. I can look it up if you want, I have prodemand on my laptop. Is it the 5.2?

 

Thanks meagain. VERY good information. My take is that he can read the info on this site and get'er fixed. The site covered a lot of little,cheap fixes that would/could preclude a major expense. I always figured that if a problem comes up--go to the cheapest possible fix first and work up from there.

 

Also could be a ground/voltage drop issue, which is always fun to diagnose.

I'd check the battery terminals first. Make sure they are tight and not super corroded. Also you can go by autozone or something and make sure the charging system is in good shape. Excess diode ripple in the alt spits out ac voltage which can wreak havoc. It's a free check at places like that.

Edit: Since it's intermittent and you don't have the equipment (you really need an oscilloscope to see if and when a sensor is dropping out).. it wouldn't be too expensive to clean the throttle plate and throw on a new tps. They are probably $20. There's a good chance that will fix it based on what you are saying. But then again those things have issues with the governer pressure solenoid and switch in the valve body of the trans too, haha. But that doesn't sound likely from what you are saying. That usually makes it start out in 2nd gear.

 

Deviate---that site Meagain recommended mentions the things you mentioned--crank sensor--map--etc. 5.2, as in liter?

 

Damn---there's a lot to consider!! I think I'll tell him to take it to one of the auto part stores,as you mentioned and have them put it on the ---whatever that machine is. I think one of you indicated that it's computerized --1994?

 

Yeah, 5.2 liter 318 cubic inch.