ok i have a 2001 dakota 4.7 a month ago i pulled into gas station turned the truck off when i went back it was acting like the battery was dead so i tried to jump it and it would start but when i put it in gear would die so i figured the battery was bad so i replaced battery and alternator just to be sure she fired up no problem ran fine for about a day. then while driving my cd player started flshing and reseting then i lost all gauges and it died. tried turning key over and clicked like battery was dead again


took battery in had it tested auto zone said it was a bad battery and replaced again worked like a dream for 3 days this time then did it all over again so i was getting pretty irritated at this point took both battery and alternator out had both tested battery and alternator came out good had battery charged up and put back in ran fine for a couple days then died again i have no idea wats going on plze help

ah also pulled p1495 code leak detection pump but i have no idea wat that has to do with my charging system and when it is running my check gauges light will come on and i lose battery gauge it flatlines

 

sounds like a short.

try this

with a good charge in the battery. make sure key is off. shut doors. stereo is off. lights off. everything off. if you have a light under the hood remove it. disconnect the battery. negative first. then positive.

make sure battery is charged.

connect positive side of battery.

connect negative side of battery and look for a LARGE ARC when you first touch negative side of battery.
if you have a large arc then you have a short.

you could set multimeter to volts dc.(maybe amps not sure. read directions of multimeter)
once positive side is connected to battery.
touch the negative lead of multimeter to negative post of battery.
touch the positive lead of multimeter to the negative battery WIRE.
look for a spike in voltage and how much constant drain on battery.

you could also disconnect the battery completely
even remove the battery if you wish.
set multimeter to Ohms
touch positive lead of multimeter to positive battery WIRE
touch negative lead of multimeter to trk frame
see how much resistance there is from positive wire to ground.
a 1 ohm short is very very bad higher here is better.

have you added any new electronic components lately?
have you replaced any fuses lately? if so were they the correct/same amp that was replaced. going down is OK but going up is bad.

example - if you keep blowing a 10 amp fuse so you put in a 20 and it worked look for a short in that circuit.


how long were you away from the trk?

could be a bad brake light switch. keeping the break lights on when not pressing on the peddle.

this is just a few things to check

as far as the code i would worry about keeping it running then worry about code a little later.


this is a sign of a BAD short to ground that will drain a battery while driving.

look over every in of the positive battery wire to the fuse box under the hood and from there to the alt and make sure no wire is exposed.

again just a few things to check

always be extra careful when working with a battery
a necklace or bracelet could kill or cause a bad burn if contact negative and positive side of battery. battery may even explode
BE CAREFUL

hope this helps

KillerKilgore

 

I hate to say it, but it could be your CTM on the fritz. Do you have power accessories in-cab (windows, locks)? If so, the CTM can basically shut down the truck. If there is no power acc. then that wouldn't be the cause, and I would agree that it is a ground fault. May be cheaper to bite $75.00 and have the dealer put it on the BIG computer. Good luck.

 

wat and where is a ctm??

 

Driver side kick panel. This is the Central Timing Module that controls all of your electronics in the truck (radio, power locks/ windows, airbag, etc...) The dealer is the only one -that I know of- that can tell you if it is bad or not. It is a small box usually made by Motorolla. Good luck.