My 1993 Dakota V6 3.9L has a new battery, but still acts like dead battery. When the new battery was put in, I had O'Reilly check for bad starter, etc., and they said it checked out okay. When it does kick in, it starts immediately, like it always has. Any ideas?

 

Does all the wiring have good connections?

 

Like GreenDak22 said, make sure the wiring connections are good, clean, and tight.
Battery terminals (if it looks a little dirty, clean them as well)
Starter wiring terminals (there are two of them).

 

Like said above make sure all wiring is clean get a wire brush make it shinny. Clean the battery side and starter and clean the ground wire at the ground at the engine and body and battery.

 

Great! Thanks, I think the starter cable might just be the problem, I will check that and let y'all know how it goes. My Dakota is away from me for a couple of weeks, so I will have to wait to check it. But, I really think you guys might have nailed the problem for me. Since the battery is new, I think those cables are okay, but starter cable might be rusted. Like I said, the starter and alternator checked out good.

Man, I love this old Dakota! Best vehicle I have ever owned, and that is many.

 

I had one of the terminals on my battery that got a little loose. One day, when it was cold, the truck died at a light when i hit the breaks. The bad connection made it so i couldn't start the truck. Thankfully i was on a downhill slope, so i could roll through the light to the side of the road, but it pissed people off. The accessories worked fine, and it clicked, but wouldn't turn over. A bad connection, not a broken one. Make sure everything is tight, and free of insulating debris.

 

Mine is clicking, just a one time click, then, if it catches, it starts right up. It's kind of like a bump, or sometimes nothing. I don't think it is battery cable on the battery at least, since I just put new battery in and cleaned the cables. When I get back to it, I will check the starter cables, and ground cable... I'll post back when I learn more; thanks again.