Dakota Durango Forum banner

Engine wiring harness

26K views 25 replies 14 participants last post by  tim901 
#1 ·
I purchased a 5.2L out of a '95 Ram to put in my Dakota. My question is will the Ram harness work in the Dakota or will I have to go junkyard shopping? The Ram was a 5 speed truck so I plan on using the ECM since I am keeping the Dakota 5-speed. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Dakota.
 
#2 ·
Ideally it would be best to have a 93 Dak V8 PCM, and then you could just add the wiring to your V6 harness for the extra injectors.

If the Ram PCM will work, then you could use the Ram Engine Harness.
However, On the OBD I stuff, wasnt the PCM one big plug? I know OBD II had 3 plugs, 2 for the engine harness and one for the chassis.

Im not sure how that one plug harness works, I've never seen one in person.

Just kinda thinking out loud here.
 
#3 ·
Not sure on the plug. Being a '95 it should be OBD 1. The reason I want to use the harness and pcm from the Ram is that I'm leaving the 5 speed in the Dakota. This is the first fuel injected Mopar I have messed with, but I have swapped a couple GM's to standard and most of them did not enjoy having an automatic equipped vehicle pcm.

If it were possible to find around here a V8 manual trans Dakota pcm, that is the route I would rather go.

Thanks for the input. Feel free to think out loud all you want, it seems to help me.:newbie:
 
#5 ·
From what I can find everything should work in the Dakota. The 318 is in a wrecked truck we bought so we still need to cut the fenders off to get to it. Luckily the rad didn't comeback far enough to hit the fan or any of the motor for that matter. Should be just a fun truck to drive.
 
#6 ·
The wiring harness may be different on the 95 rams. I was going to clean up my engine bay and ditch all the wires I didn't need when I went carbed in my dak and got a harness from a 95 ram van. None of the main connectors fit.

The '94 ram van harness that came with my 360 was identical to the stock '93 harness in my truck though.
 
#7 ·
You can just ad the injector wires to the V6 harness and run the computer out of the ram. The injectors in the engine match the computer and the electric speedo output will be a waste but shouldn't hurt anything. As far as the auto computer in a 5 speed that's what I'm running right now in my 95 it doesn't care you just need the manual trans computer to set the fuel sink or ground the right wire so the PCM thinks it's in park.
 
#10 ·
But if I use the '95 harness and pcm I should be alright, right? The Dakota is 5spd as it is and basic, no cruise or any funny crap. In theory this should be an easy swap, I hope.
 
#12 ·
I'm pretty sure the bulkhead connectors are different. These are the ones that connect to the firewall. If so the easiest way to run the two extra injector wires. I have a pin out diagram if it helps. That's the way I did it when I went to a 94 van V8 in my 93 V6.
 
#13 ·
i did the v8 swap in my dakota...used a 95 drivetrain and harness and put it in the 94 truck....the computer harness does not connect to the bulkhead connecter...it pretty much just connects to the intake and some various sensors and then goes to the ecu...then power and ground...as far as i can remember the 92-93 harness has a differnt ecu plug than the 94-95...and 96 is totally differnt with 3 plugs...i need to find the 94-95 mopar performance ecu for my truck 2wd 5.2 5 speed....anyone have one??
 
#16 ·
92 should be pre-magnum engine. A 93 Dakota will be a Magnum, so I don't think you have the right years above. A 93 PCM will work in a 94 and 95 Dakota. 96 is OBDII, so it is a different syustem in itself.

An automatic PCM will work fine in a 5 speed truck. Only the tach light will be off, which I never found it to be that useful in my stock 5 speed anyways. Also, a RAM ECM is running the same engine as the Dakota, therefore it should also work without a problem. Since both are manual I believe you said, you will have no problems.

Like OUtshined said, you can run the two extra wires or I see no reason why the Ram harness shouldn't work, it is the same engine and should be the same ECM. You already have a manual trans so you don't have to worry about the grounding for P/N switch. If you did ever change an auto to a manual, you just need to change the plugs that activate the P/N switch from the automatic trans shifter to the clutch pedal. It is pre-wired essentially. It is a green connector under the dash near your clutch pedal. Yellow wire I believe.
 
#14 ·
Grounding the neutral safety switch in my truck was probably one of the easiest things to do:


This is out of the '93 FSM for my truck. I originally spliced my v6 wiring harness for 2 extra injectors. This may apply to your '95, but make sure you check first!


Where in PA are you?? If you're local I may be able to stop out if you need a hand.
 
#15 ·
I'm about 30 minutes north of Scranton. I really appreciate the info, should be a help when I finally get to do the swap.
 
#18 ·
The Ram harness is different - the PDC on the one I looked at was in a different spot. The PCM connectors are the same. I ran a 94-95 Mopar 5.9 computer in my truck. The only issue it gave me was it tripped a code for tranny temp too low. My truck does not have a tranny temp sensor to begin with, so I assume that was specific to the 5.9 powered Rams.

If you are desperate I am parting out my 92. Have the engine harness already pulled. Also have the MP PCM.
 
#19 ·
I have a 95 ram pcm. As for the harness, my plan is to use the injector wiring from the '97 and use my harness. Does anyone have the diagram to so this?
 
#22 ·
Hi, I have a 1994 Dodge dakota club cab, 2 wheel drive, 5 speed, and it had a v6 in it. I took the v6 out and put a 318 v8 in it. The v8 came from a 1996 or 1997 jeep grand cherokee and I put a computer in it from a 1997 I believe,.. I will check that later.. a 1997 Dodge full size, 2 wheel drive 5 speed. I kept the original v6 wiring harness and added 2 wires for the injectors with no problem at all. I got the extra wires from a wrecking yard. I had to use a oil pan from a v8 dakota as they are different because of the jeep being a 4x4. I also had to get a y pipe for a full size and cut the end off of it to match it to the existing exhaust system,... outside of that I didn't have too much problems with it,... oh I almost forgot,... the other thing I had to do is get a flywheel and clutch for a full size truck to make it work with the tranny that was in the dakota. That was about all that had to be done to make it work.

I hope that this was a little bit of help to you. I am going to get some pics of it up soon.

Paul
 
#23 ·
Check on the year of that computer. I'm betting it had to be a 95 or older. 96 and newer were totally different wiring harnesses and computers as they went from OBD1 to OBD2 in 96.
 
#24 ·
I have a 91 dakota 3.9 v6,had it running,turned it off and later tried starting it,fuel pump hummed for probably 2 seconds then nothing from fuel pump.
Checked coil,pickup coil in distributor no fire, checked fuses,relays,broken and corroded wires,grounds all ok, lost check engine light,no codes, baffled!!!!
 
#25 ·
two second fuel pump activation is normal when you turn key on...

how did you check the coil, the pick-up and other items? How do you know they ar OK? Did you get specifications and use proper testing equipment to diagnose these items?

No spark has nothing to do with fuel pump or fuses

Without using a scanner to check for data, my first "guess" would be crank sensor....
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top