So..I was done towing the boat for the summer and put the durango in the garage for a few months (4 to be exact). I forgot to unhook the battery. Anyway, today I tried to start it, and the battery was completely dead. I charged the battery for about an hour and it started right up, then died. tried to start it again, fired over then died again. Third time I tried it struggled to fire, so I stepped on the gas and it sputtered a couple seconds then seemed fine. took my foot off the gas and it died. After doing this a few times i got it to stay running. Took it for a 10 minute drive (ran fine) and parked it. tried to start it right back up, and had to step on the gas to get it going again. tonight I tried to turn it over, it started, then died again.

havent had any previous issues with it before. I also put new gas in it. I can hear the fuel pump engaging, so i'm thinking its fine. no codes. I'm thinking its a battery issue but just not sure.

Any suggestions?
03
5.9 ltr

 

Sounds like you need a new battery

 

Yeah it sounds to me like a dead battery, not drained but dead. Usually the batteries aren't meant to be completely drained and it sounds like this is what happened. These rigs do weird things when the battery is either old or dead so yes, your suspicions sounds correct!

Duralast Gold is a great battery for these rigs because it has one of the highest CCA as well as CA and only cost around $100 from AutoZone. It also comes with a fantastic warranty, 8 years I believe.

Check it out! (Part # 34DT-DLG)

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par..._176415_11966_

 

Definitely go with the Duralast Gold, worth every penny.

 

+1 on the DuraLast Gold Series. You get a 3 year free replacement and 5 year pro-rated warranty after that for a 8 year total warranty. And they are actually pretty cheap in cost!

 

yup now battery time for you, and that should take care of it

 

Thanks for the info guys. I went to Autozone and bought your recommended battery. Put it in, and runs great now. Glad it was a simple fix. Now to tackle the next problem of fixing my melted plug for my blower motor resistor. Called 15 diff auto Salvage places and noone had the plug or wires....go figure....very common problem I guess.

 

+3...4...5....whatever it is....Duralast Gold you didnt mention how long the battery was in... I am going to figure OEM so sometime late 02 or early 03 depending on your build date.

I spent Winter of 2009-2010 in Minneapolis so I know how important good CCA and reserve charge is. I got mine prior to departure to MSP and have had no battery related issues since then. Closest to any battery issue was the NEG ground cable between the battery and block had finally given its all and had to be replaced.

Nothing builds character like changing your neg battery cable in middle of January with five inches of snow and slush on the ground and sleet/freezing rain falling on the ground.

Although it doesnt hurt to check the cables every so often, the Duralast GOLD should be a good head start. Being in Minnesota I would hope that you went with at least the 800 CCA although if you are permanent resident I would recommend 900 or 1000 CCA if available.

 

Yellowtop optima is my choice lol

 

I've blown thru 3 optima batteries so they're not high up on my list. Especially for their "warranty" they are so proud of.