2000 Durango RT why is it hard to start and sometimes won't start when cold?
Asked by Ascona_285 Apr 17, 2011 at 05:57 PM about the 2000 Dodge Durango R/T 4WD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
I've changed every sensor plus changed plugs, wires, distributor cap & rotor, and pickup. The engine is hard starting on humid, rainy, or damp days mostly.
2 Answers
It may not be related, but my Dad has a 2000 Dakota 4.7L that that he bought new, at about 58,000 miles it started to be hard to start occasionally. After several trips to the dealer and various parts replaced, the the problem just kept getting worse. After several months and many failed fixes, they finally replaced the fuel pump and it's started and ran great since then.
Have you tested the battery? Have you tested the starter and checked the connections to both the starter and the battery? Check the pressure on the fuel pump as well. When diagnosing a problem, it is easiest to start with the simplest solutions first. All of the things you have changed should have come later in the troubleshooting tree. ---- My suggestion would be to start with the battery, make sure that it is the right size for your vehicle. Make sure it has enough CCA (cold crank amps) and that it has at least 12 volts. If that checks out, check the connections on the battery, if those are solid, next check the connections on the starter, clean them with a wire brush and coat with dielectric grease, then check the amperage the starter is pulling. If the amps are too hight (over 250amps) your starter is going bad and will need to be replaced. - Start there, and stop replacing parts that have almost nothing to do with the engine starting.