I have a '95 Dakota 5.2L V8 4x4 auto. It's always started on the first key turn without hesitation. Over the past week however it would not start on the first try but would always fire up after the 2nd attempt. I thought maybe she's just getting older. Then Sunday night I'm driving to work and I notice my battery gauge is reading maybe about 16 (definitely higher than where I remembered it in the past). I wasn't driving hard. Maybe top speed of 40mph in the 5 minute drive I have from home to work. After my 12hr midnight shift I go out to my truck to leave and it wouldn't make a peep when I turned the key. Not even a tick. So I took the Interstate battery out and had it tested at Autozone. It said it was bad. So I bought a new Duralast and put that in. The truck fired up after a couple attempts. But as I was driving it home (5 minutes) I noticed while sitting at a red light that the battery gauge needle was twitching back and forth ever so slightly and still seemed to be a little higher than normal. Maybe 15. I checked to see if any of the other gauge needles were twitching as well but they were all perfectly steady. Also when I looked close at the dash lights they were dimming a little then coming back up. Any ideas?? I'm afraid it wasn't just the battery being dead that caused the truck to die. Something killed the battery. Would the twitching battery gauge needle and dimming lights be caused by a bad alternator? I haven't had it checked yet as all the stores were closed by the time I got the battery in. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

It could be the voltage regulator... In my '91, it's in the PCM (computer) on the passenger side - under the hood. Do a forum search for voltage regulator, and you should come up with some tests to perform.

I had changed my alternator - however, I didn't realize at the time that the regulator was external to the alternator on these Dodges.

Rex

 

Clean the contacts on the battery and wires to start. Make sure you got em in their tight too!

 

Yeah I found out that the voltage regulator is not with the alternator. But I haven't checked it yet :/ I know the terminals looked like crap on the old battery. Very corroded. I cleaned them pretty thoroughly before I put the new battery in. I've been driving it for about 2 weeks now on the new battery. Maybe 150 miles total. The gauge is still around 15 but I had the alternator checked. They said the battery was running (or pulling - I don't remember his exact term) about 14.3 volts while the engine was running. He said this was acceptable. I don't know if AutoZone sold me too small of a battery but my truck never starts on the first key turn ever since putting this battery in. Sometimes it will take 3 tries, but its always a minimum of 2. I think the cranking amps is too low and now I'm worried that it will not start in our freezing NE Ohio winters.