1996 OBD II Dakota on woodgas?

General Discussion
#1

Hello Everyone,

I have been a premium member for a while but just now starting a build. I have been looking for a '92-'95 OBD I Dakota, no luck so far but I did find a '96 Dakota 4x4, 318 but it’s a OBD II system. Before I buy it I was hoping someone with experience on both systems could explain to me the difference between the Dakota OBD II system for '96 compared to the OBD I systems used on earlier trucks as to how it will relate to operation on woodgas. My state (Mississippi) has an vehicle inspection but I don’t think they currently do any emissions testing however I did want to find out if the '96 Dakota OBD II system stores emissions data permanently in case I move to a state that does emissions testing.

Thanks,
Larry G.

#2

Good Morning Mr. Graves ,

I think you will do fine on your 96 dakota.

Sean French has done a great job with his. http://driveonwood.com/forum/707

I am not familiar enough with the OBD11 to answer your question about the code storage.

#3

Good Morning Wayne and Larry,

The best I can say is the 96 is an obd 2 system. However the trucks will run just fine on woodgas I am very happy with the way the first one came out really excited about the second and third builds. HWWT

#4 
  "      really excited about the second and third builds. HWWT   "

Hey Larry , The above is from a man that has been there done that . It is where the rubber meets the road.

BBB

#5

Larry, Wish I could help with the Dodge trucks but I won’t own one here as they rot way too fast. I just wanted to suggest that you get a decent diagnostic tool so you can read and re-set codes as they pop up. I typically get a lean bank code on my 98 S-10 as obviously I have the fuel pump turned off and occasionaly the woodgas mix is real lean. I get a low voltage code on the second O2 sensor as well but last time I had my truck on the lift the young mechanic pointed out the crack in my cat converter. Of course running on woodgas there isn’t much left to heat up the cat converter and feed that O2 sensor … Regards, Mike LaRosa

#6

Thanks Wayne, Sean, and Mike for your comments I’m glad to hear it will run fine on Woodgas. The truck is about 300 miles from me but I hope to get it Tuesday, should be worth the trip as it seems like a nice truck.

#7

Hi Larry, Good to have you here and talk for a while. Did you end up with the 4x4??

#8

Hi Carl,
Yes I got it, seems to be in good shape except for a Freon leak I need to find and fix. I hope the oversize tires and extra weight of the 4x4 drivetrain won’t hurt the performance on woodgas too much. Was great visiting with you too, wish I could have stayed longer. It was really helpful seeing the gasifier installed and in operation on your truck, I hope my build turns out as well as yours! Yesterday I welded the heat sinks and nozzles onto my fire tube, today I will start welding the fins onto the fire tube.
Here’s a pic of my '96 Dakota 4x4.

#9

Mike, can you or others experienced in this area give me some suggestions on which code scanner/diagnostic tool to buy? It seems you can spend anywhere from a little to a lot on one, I assume the more expensive ones give you more details on trouble codes and have more functions?

#10

Larry, most auto parts stores will check codes for you. You can also get computer adapters pretty cheap, or the dedicated tools like the pros use. Be aware that the Dakota OBD2 is pretty primitive, you may not use most of the fancy stuff from the nicer scan gauges.

If I had an OBD2 I would think about a ScanGauge: http://www.scangauge.com/

#11

Thanks Chris, the ScanGuage II looks like a good product but a little pricey…

#12

If you have a smartphone the elm327 bluetooth adapters on ebay have worked for me code reading/clearing and a very basic scanner for under $20.

Marvin

#13

Thanks, Marvin that’s very interesting. It looks like they work on only on the Android phones but I have an iPhone. I did see some that have a bluetooth USB interface so I could use it with my laptop but that would not be as handy as using a smartphone.