I have a 2000 Durango with a 4.7L engine and 148,000+ miles. I drove it on Thursday, no problems. Didn't drive it Friday. Saturday morning it started, then immediately died. started and died, started and died. It would run as long as I kept the rpm at 1500-2000rpm. Left it sit all day and when I tried it Saturday night it started and idled at 800 rpm just fine. This morning ... Started and died, started and died, etc. Any ideas? Cash is short so where to start would be really helpful.

 

I just fixed mine from doing the same thing. For some reason my battery wasn't providing enough amperage, and some of my engine control stuff didn't work properly because of it. Everybody thought it was the IAC, but it was just a bad battery.

Take it to an auto parts store, and get these checked for free.

1. Check the battery.
2. Check the engine computer.
3. Check "Check Engine" lights.

It shouldn't be much of an issue. Could be just a bad IAC valve or a bad battery.

 

You seem to be absolutely right. I am at my mechanic's now and we are waiting for a new battery to be delivered because his diagnosis agrees with you. I did learn something new. I purchased the Durango a year ago and it appeared to have a brand new Interstate battery in it. My mechanic showed me where the manufacture date was which was 2010 and then another sticker showing that it had been re-furbished in January 2012. There was another sticker which said it had no warranty. He said that when batteries sit on the shelf too long they are returned to the manufacturer and "refurbished". then a sticker is added which says "Econo Power" which means it has been refurbished and has no warranty.

 

I found out that your PCM may go haywire due to a bad battery. Even with the battery changeout, the issues with the PCM remains. You will either have to try to reset the pcm to clear out the bad data created from the bad battery or have it reflashed.

Happened to me when my battery died. Limping home trying to keep the truck from dying. After replacing the battery, the truck still will not hold idle and stutters, it will stutter and die. Luckily my PCM is custom programmed, I took out my tuner and reprogrammed it. Idle/stutter issues gone.