Ok, battery is on the way. Were headed to Auto Zone to get a new one. I'll try to get the gold, I want the best, assuming it doesnt cost a fortune. I did run that test with the "trip" and found nothing, not one error or anything. I did look a bit closer at the dash and noticed that there are a handful of light icons that NEVER come on. The security light, transmission temp, gate door, check engine, overdrive and then the 4x4 part and fulltime lights do not work. I dont know if thats important or not but they didnt come on so I thought I should say something if I want accurate help. whew, hope this will spark something because you all have really been more helpful than the people I pay $100 an hour to fix this thing.

 

Yours is a 1998, so with that you do not have an on board diagnostic tool, they only come on the 2000+ models. You do have a instrument cluster reset and diagnostic tool that you depress the mileage button while you turn the key to run until is says reset or something, but that only reset the cluster, not the PCM.

Auto Zone Gold series battery's are cheap and they give you the best warranty, 3 year free replacement and 5 years prorated after that! That's a total of 8 year warranty!

I bought a 800 CCA that had both side terminals and top terminals all for like $106 is all. I only buy Gold series.

Remember to clean the terminals real good using a $2 terminal cleaner, but don't take off too much or the terminal won't fit snug on the new battery. Also I would clean the battery terminals before installation just to make sure there is no coating on it.

 

New battery= New terminals... there like what 2 bucks?

 

+1 on the gold series im very impressed at the price and what you get out of those things. Thats all i ever recommend.

 

Ok, new battery and still same old problems, ugh I wish I would have known these issues even existed before I bought this thing. anyway, I got a new battery and got new cables too but it didnt seem to help, not all bad though at least I got rid of the old walmart battery. So, I wonder if any of you might know how to associate the "dinger" with the rpm/loss of power, only for a split second though. I wonder if maybe the ding might be a symptom of whatever the bigger issue is, rather than a warning like the "dinger/bell" usually is. Does this sound logical or rediculous?

 

You might want to check the codes, I think AutoZone can do that for you, just to see if there is something and the light just isn't coming on. If the drop in RPMs and the bell seem to be happening at the same time, then they might be related.

 

Ok guys, my baby is back in the shop. I went to Auto Zone and they told me that hooking the machine up would be a waste of time because my "check engine" light isnt on. So, Im pretty well out of things to check as I am not very car savvy. However, you all have had wonderful ideas and suggestions so I will let everyone know if/when the mechanic calls me tomorrow with the diagnosis. Ugh, really hoping for the best. Anyone have any ideas on worst case with this?