hi
I have a 01 dakota with 3.9 v6. The past couple of days the truck has been a little sluggish on start up like the battery was weak. Today it did the same time except it would not stay running unless i keep my foot on the accelerator. The lights would dim and brighten when i would push the gas and let off so i think the alternator is still charging. Is this just a bad battery or do i have a bigger problem. Thanks

 

Check batt connections make sure they are tight might just need cleaned. I had same problems with my dakota sometimes it would just randomly do what yours is doing and my pos cable was corroded so I cleaned it and hasnt done it since.

 

thanks. my pos terminal was corroded pretty bad. I cleaned it and the truck started and ran but it was still acted like a weak battery. i took the battery off and cleaned both terminal good. I will try it again in the morning. Thanks again

 

Mine was pos connection also last year. I ended up getting a new battery too.

 

Because you're having to step on the gas to get the alternator to charge it, it leads me to believe that the alternator is going bad. A bad alternator will run down your battery and make it look bad. If you can get it moving, have a competent person test your battery and alternator at your local parts store. Notice, I said competent! I took my wife's old sebring to one of those guys once. He looked me in the face and said everything was completely fine (this was after he fumbled with the controls a bit). The very next day it was in the shop and the alternator was getting replaced.

Unfortunately, if it is the alternator, you won't be able to move it very far before it wants to turn off again. A bad alternator will also throw out inconsistent voltages and will confuse your computer. So don't be afraid if other electronics start acting up. That is just your computer shutting things down because of the weird voltages it's receiving from the alternator.