How To Test The Distributor Pickup Coil (1989-1991 5.2L, 5.9L V8 Dodge Ram Pickup)

TEST 2: Making Sure The Distributor Pick-up Coil Has 8 Volts

If you've gotten this far, it means the distributor pickup coil didn't show that 5-to-0 Volt switch during TEST 1.

There's a good chance the sensor isn't sending out its ON/OFF signal because it's not getting power from the fuel injection computer.

So now, we're gonna check if the orange (ORG) wire is feeding 8 Volts DC to the distributor pickup coil.

If that wire has power, the next thing we'll check is whether the sensor's got a solid Ground.

Here's what you need to do:

1. 1

   Disconnect the pickup coil from its wiring connector.

2. 2

   Attach the black lead of your multimeter on the battery's negative (-) post.

3. 3

   Set your multimeter to measure DC Volts.

4. 4

   Turn the key to the ON position —but don't crank or start the motor.

5. 5

   Touch the red lead to the female terminal labeled with the number 1 (see the photo of the connector above).
   
   Confirm that the terminal actually corresponds to the ORG wire of the connector.
   
   NOTE: Make sure you're checking the engine wiring harness connector —it's the one with the female terminals.

6. 6

   Your multimeter should read somewhere between 7.5 and 8 Volts DC.

Here's what your result tells you:

CASE 1: You're getting 7.5 to 8 Volts on the ORG wire. That's the reading you want.

The next check is to see if the black with light blue stripe wire has a good Ground connection: TEST 3: Making Sure The Distributor Pick-up Coil Has Ground.

CASE 2: You're NOT seeing 7.5 to 8 Volts on that ORG wire. Without that voltage, the pickup coil can't do its job.

Most of the time, it's because the ORG wire has an open-circuit somewhere between the pickup coil and the computer.

Tracking down the exact break goes beyond the scope of this tutorial, but your next move is to trace the wire and repair the open-circuit.

TEST 3: Making Sure The Distributor Pick-up Coil Has Ground

For the distributor pickup coil to send out its ON/OFF voltage signal, it also needs a solid Ground connection.

In this last test, we're gonna check the black with light blue stripe (BLK/LT BLU) wire to make sure it's giving the distributor pickup coil a proper Ground.

IMPORTANT: The pickup coil gets its Ground straight from the fuel injection computer. Don't connect the BLK/LT BLU wire directly to 12 Volts —that'll fry the computer. The method I'll show here is both safe and reliable for checking Ground using a multimeter.

Let's go through the steps:

1. 1

   Disconnect the pickup coil from its connector.

2. 2

   Connect the red lead of your multimeter to the battery's positive (+) terminal.

3. 3

   Switch the multimeter to read DC Volts.

4. 4

   Turn the key to the ON position —don't crank the engine.

5. 5

   With the black lead, gently probe female terminal 2 of the connector.
   
   Confirm that the terminal actually corresponds to the BLK/LT BLU wire of the connector..
   
   NOTE: Make sure you're checking the engine wiring harness connector —it's the one with the female terminals.

6. 6

   Your multimeter should read between 10 and 12 Volts DC.

Let's interpret your test results:

CASE 1: You're seeing 10 to 12 Volts on the display. That tells us the sensor is getting the Ground it needs. All good there.

The pickup coil needs to be replaced if you got these three results:

• No voltage switching between 0 and 5 Volts in TEST 1.
• You had 7.5 to 8 Volts on the ORG wire during TEST 2.
• This test confirmed the BLK/LT BLU wire is delivering Ground.

CASE 2: The multimeter stayed at 0 —no voltage reading. That means there's no Ground, and the pickup coil can't do its job.

Most of the time, that's because the BLK/LT BLU wire is broken ("open") somewhere between the sensor and the computer.

Finding the cause of this missing Ground is beyond the scope of this tutorial —but your next move is to trace the wire and fix the issue.

More 5.2L, 5.9L V8 Dodge Ram Pickups Diagnostic Tutorials

I've written quite a few 'how to' diagnostic tutorials for the V8 Dodge Ram pickup and you can find them in this index:

• 5.2L, 5.9L V8 Dodge Ram Pickup Index Of Articles.

Here's a small sample of the articles/tutorials you'll find in the index:

• Throttle Body Temp Sensor Tests (1989-1991 5.2L, 5.9L V8 Dodge Ram Pickup).
• How To Test The Fuel Pump (1989-1991 5.2L, 5.9L V8 Dodge Ram Pickup).
• How To Test Engine Compression (1989-2003 5.2L, 5.9L V8 Dodge Ram Pickup).
• Troubleshooting A Blown Head Gasket (1989-2003 5.2L, 5.9L V8 Dodge Ram Pickup).