I was at the car wash sweeping out my dak, I left the doors open for just a little while, went to start truck and battery was dead... I knew the battery was gettin bad its 5 years old..I got jumped, and it started but would only stay running while I gave it gas.. I tryed to drive it home and keep my foot on gas but traffic was backing up and I pulled in to parking lot..When I got in parking lot it died...I started it again and it fired up and stayed running and idled a little ruff but I got it home..I shut it off and started it again, and it fired up and stayed running... I just went and bought new battery for it..I havent put it in there yet but I thought I would check the forums for any info if this new battery doesnt help the prob...Any help would be appreciated! Thanks

 

It wouldn't hurt to clean the IAC. But Dakota's are really very sensitive to low battery voltage. Bad batteries cause a lot of problems like this. It may run a lot better after you get the new battery installed.

Jimmy

 

How do I go about cleaning the IAC... Do I use any cleaner or just wipe it off?

 

You have to remove it from the back of the throttle body. Remove the two torx screws that hold the IAC in place and gently clean the pintle end with a shop rag soaked in carb cleaner. You just want to clean the black crusty junk off the pintle end. Check the o-ring in the IAC orifice on the TB to be sure it's not cracked or damaged. It's easier just to remove the throttle body itself then you can clean it and the IAC. You can clean the whole TB and use spray silicone to lube the pivot points and linkage for the TPS. Get a new gasket for it at the parts store, they are less than $2.00. While you have the TB off it's a good time to shine a light in the intake and check for pooling oil that could be a sign of belly pan gasket leaks too.

Jimmy

 

I put the new battery in it and all is good so far..... It still idles a little rough so I'm gonna clean the IAC now..Thanks for the info Silver!

 

I just took the throttle body off pulled out the IAC cleaned that off real nice. I polished the throttle body and look forward to putting that back on tomorrow...Now I've heard if u move anything on the IAC u can ruin it.. I spun the rag around it wiping off the carbon build up, which in turn spun the tube on the IAC...Should I be worried about it not working when I put it back on or not? Thanks

 

I hate to say it, but cleaning it usually never helps. IAC's go bad in dodge truck's and v8's for some reason. I was a sales manager at AutoZone and saw plenty of them come in. roughly $75 retail. It may work for awhile after you clean it, but it will start to act up again. I'm lucky and the IAC was changed on my dakota before i bought it.

 

This might be wierd but I bought new IAC, installed it on my polished throttle body and for some reason the sluggish shifting from 1st to 2nd went away!! It shifts smoother! I dont know what happened or maybe it just is being nice today but I was amazed!! I hope I can stay amazed and it wont start shifting the way it did before!

 

cleaning the tb def helped quit idleing for me. i just did mine but i didn't take either
one of the sensors off. heard they were easy to brake.
heres a before and after

 

Glad to know it helped. The IAC probably has something to do with the PCM, the RPM of the engine and the shift points on the transmission, but I don't know much about that, my truck is a 5-speed manual.

Glad it's fixed.

Jimmy