Posted on December 14, 2009 - by Richard

Save Money On Misfire Code for Dodge Trucks

Symptoms:

I came across this misfire code for Dodge trucks when a service contractor asked for my help regarding his 1996 Dodge Ram 2500. According to him, the check engine light came on the dash and the engine started misfiring. It also hesitated and the engine was almost powerless when he showed me the vehicle.

This truck has a 5.2L fuel injected V8 engine and OBD2 diagnostic system. It also featured a remote ignition coil located at the front right side of the engine.

Diagnostic for misfire code for Dodge Trucks:

To troubleshoot misfire code for Dodge trucks, I normally start with a code scanner to determine what fault codes are stored in the engine computer. Unfortunately, my advance $200 code scanner won’t communicate and I have to use an older $40 cheap scanner to do the job. I found 4 misfiring codes namely:

P0300 random misfire
P0301 misfire in cylinder 1
P0303 misfire in cylinder 3
P0305 misfire in cylinder 5

This truck has not been serviced for over a year and fixing misfire code for Dodge trucks like this needs a quick tune up. I replaced the spark plugs, distributor wires including the distributor cap and rotor. When I replaced the coil wire, I noticed the wire has a heat mark and crack on the wire which was touching the exhaust. Obviously, the wire was burned by the hot exhaust manifold causing most of the misfiring problem.

When troubleshooting misfire code for Dodge Trucks, I normally double check my ATS common fix database. This process will tell me what other garages are doing to fix these codes. And guess what? This is supposed to be a common problem caused by fuel pump failure. Reading the database further, it explained that the fuel pump on this model usually goes because of some design problems which features a fuel filter located inside the fuel tank. Because of this, frequent replacement of the fuel filter is next to impossible making the fuel pump to fail.

When the tune up was completed, I reset the code and had the vehicle road tested for about half an hour to see if the code returns. During the road test, we passed by the parts store to pick up a bottle of fuel tank additive. I also told the truck owner to use premium gasoline next time he fills up.

I took a video shot of this diagnostic procedure as shown here below:

Saving money tip for misfire code for Dodge trucks:

This applies for this model only (1996-1997 Ram 2500): If everything fails when troubleshooting the misfiring problem, you are supposed to replace the fuel pump and filter assembly. However, parts cost hovers around $350 (fuel pump) and about 2-3 hours of labor. Before you do this, add a fuel treatment additive to the fuel tank and put a tank of premium gasoline.

Final fix for misfire code for Dodge trucks:

The code returned after the truck was driven for 2 hours. The driver then followed my fuel advice and code has never came back in the last 2 weeks.

Thanks!