Wow. I'm glad I found this forum. I think I've had/have every problem already posted.

A few times a year and without explaination, I would find my 98 Durango to have a dead battery in the morning. I would charge it, start it and forget about it until the next time it would occur.

One evening a friend of mine stopped by and after entering my house he asked me why my front wheel well was lit up.

What?
I had no clue what he was talking about. Upon our investigation we decovered that the light under the hood was no longer attached. It was hanging by it's wires and would flicker on and off. My battery died the nights it flickered on and stayed on. I removed the bulb and the problem was solved.

I hope this helps some of you.

However, this past week I've been experiencing a 'weak', not dead, battery. The truck struggles to start and after it does I need to keep my foot on the gas. I pull out of my driveway using the 2-foot driving method and if I'm lucky I don't have to stop for the first 1/2 mile I travel because then it will not stall for the rest of the trip. I can run in and out of offices and stores but if the truck sits for more than an hour I have to go through the whole process again.

Any ideas? Where do I start?

 

Well it sounds to me like you have a bad battery but try this first. Open the caps on the battery and check to see if you have water almost to the top if not take some distilled water (only use distilled water, other water has minerals in it that can shorten your battery's life signifigantly) and fill them to about half an inch from the top or so. Without water/low on water your battery will be weak and it will drain. Also just for safe measure after you do this take the battery to Autozone they offer a free service to check and see if your battery is bad. If it isn't bad and you still have problems then I would suggest taking your alternator to Autozone they have equipment that they can test it with to see if that is your problem. Sometimes alternators go out very slowly and other times they just stop working all at once. Hope this helps you out let us know how it goes.

 

Our Ds run very strangely with dying batteries. The PCM doesn't like that at all. Get the battery checked (under load, not just at charge). I'd say a new battery will fix your drivability issues.

IndyD

 

Get a new battery. Indy is right about the PCM. Also have the battery checked with a load tester. But if it were me I'd just replace your battery with the biggest baddest battery that Auto Zone sells. This is what I've done for years and never been let down, not to mention the warranty’s kick butt.

Stock batteries only have a average life span of 4 years. Not to mention they are usually under equipt to handle your cars average imput and output in my opinion.

 

I have just replaced the battery. It started right away. I haven't driven it yet, only idled in the driveway but it did seem a little rough.

Might just need a tune up. If there is a problem other than that I will keep everyone posted.

Thanks for your thoughts.