Hello Fellow knuckle Busters. I recently had acquired a 89 Dodge Dakota with a V6. Found on an Old Farm in northern Minnesota, she had been sitting in the woods for 13 years. Believe it or not the truck has minimal to no rust at all anyone who knows what Minnesota Winters do to vehicles, finding this truck in this condition in this area is nearly impossible. So far was a very minimal cost the truck drives fairly good. Good Morning Has Its issues when on how it wants to run everyday is different. So as I've been slowly trying to locate the culprit of the running drivability issues I keep hearing how about nine volt battery that is sitting somewhere under the dash that after 30 years once it dies causes the truck to run my s***. I was hoping to find someone on here who can give me a little bit more detailed information on the whereabouts of this mysterious 9 volt battery hidden underneath the dashboard of the early Dodge Dakotas. ??????

 

So far as I know, that 9 volt battery thing is a myth...... The battery under the hood needs to be in good shape, but, I am betting that there is a new one under there. Is the check engine light on?

Welcome to DF! Moving this to first gen Dak section for ya.

 

Never heard of any such 9v battery. Not even as a myth.

 

Sounds like someone has created a new version of "muffler bearings".
Read the FAQ section linked in the sticky threads section above the normal threads. That will give you a place to start. That old parked that long some of the sensors are probably going bad. Did you find out why it got parked? Your answer may be in that reason.

 

9V batteries are only a partial myth. They aren't on any vehicle I'm aware of. However, back in the 1980's, you have to have a battery memory saver if you replaced the battery in Corvettes and some other cars.There was a tool that you plugged into the cigarette lighter plug and you installed a 9V battery in it to hold the memory so you didn't have to reprogram the computer.

As for the different driveability conditions, I'd do a good tune up with new cap, rotor, plugs and plug wires. It could be something involved or it might just be a hair line crack in the distributor cap. Sometimes there's more or less moisture in the cap.

 

Not entirely a myth..... at least on a 87.

 

Well son of a gun!

 

Yeah, I never looked for it on mine, but I imagine after 35 years, it would be corroded.