Hello everyone
i have a 95 dodge dakota 4x4 with a 318 TBI and read alot have had this problem so i will list what i have found to fix it in some cases
my truck shuts down like if i turned off the key some times not always basicly when it wants a break i guess LOL
anyways one solution i have found is that there are 3 red wires with a white stripe that get corroded under the fuse box that is under the hood and you have to get to them and fix the corroded wires by cutting them and reconecting them together so they have a good conection another is just the auto shutdown relay is failing and one was the pick up coil failing

however in my problem i have tried all 3 of these and none of them have solved my problem it still just shuts down on its own like if i turned off the key and after a few min somtimes only a few secounds it will fire back up for me then die again after a few secs or run for days withought doing it again
can some one pls help if you have figured out what is the cause of this problem thx

 

well i found that the crank sensor may have been the problem not 100% yet time will tell
thinking that when my trans was replaced they hit the sensor as it never did it before the trans install

so in a nut shell

there are 3 red wires with a white stripe that are soldered to a single red wire with a white stripe
get corroded and loose connection and must be cut and spliced back together

another problem is the auto shut down relay fails when it gets hot so you need to replace the relay about $6 from autozone

another problem is the pick up coil in the dist cap fails and must be replaced ruffly $35 from autozone

and last that i have found thus far is the crank position sensor that runs about $57 from autozone
and is located on the bellhousing of the trans where the trans and motor meet up and is on the passanger side kinda hard to reach

ill post if the CPS does not fix my problem and what areas i go to next

i was getting the code 11 on my computer the CPS should fix that

wish me luck :-)

 

check the ignition coil, i use to have a 96 dakota 3.9 and it would shut off the same way we replaced the computer 4 times, and then found out it was the ignition coil, the connection was loose.

 

start you dakota and while running grab the connector for the ignition coil and pulling a little, not like your trying to rip it out but enough to see if the connection will fail, if you do and the motor shuts off take a pair of needlenose and bend the connections from circle to square and then force them back on, it will be hell trying to get it back off but i did it and she runs perfectly fine now. i sold her at 202,000 and i talked to the guy that owns her and she's now at 219,000 and he said he hasn't had a problem