I have a 2002 Dodge Dakota 4.7 v-8. I drove it to the store and it stalled out (happens sometimes) when I tried to restart it nothing happened. I had no power to the dash for a few seconds then power came back. Turn the key over and lost all power again. Let it sit for a minute turn the headlights on and the cab lights and headlights flickered and I could hear a clicking type noise (the key is in the off position). Also sometimes when I turn the key to on it takes a few seconds for the dash to get power. The battery gauge takes awhile to register (volt meter reads 12.58). I cleaned battery posts and made sure the cables were tightened down. Still nothing. I have a viper alarm system and sometimes when I try to lock or unlock the vehicle it seems the batter is "dead". It barely unlocks or locks the vehicle. But then again sometimes it locks and unlocks just fine. I am at a loss.

 

I would check your fuses and your relays, you might even have a wire that is grounding out somewhere it isn't supposed to be.

 

Check your grounds. I had a similar problem cleaned my terminal and it was fine for a little bit. I would have power until I would hit start then it would click. If it sat for a min I would magically get power back when on the on position. I finally figured out even tho my terminal clamp seemed tight it wasnt making good contact. I replaced them both and its been fine since. You can also get autozone,napa,advanced to check your battery. It will look fine if you just throw a volt meter on it but when it needs all that power to turn your starter it will fail. I would have power until I would hit start then it would click. If it sat for a min I would magically get power back when on the on position

 

How old is the battery? you can get 12V out of a dead battery....When you place a load across it, then, you get 0, or very low.

The erradic dash etc sounds like a dead battery.

 

A combination between lose/bad grounds and the battery being bad got it all fixed. 12.6 volts all the time just not enough cranking amps. Had a couple lose grounds on the fender and the frame. Thank you for the help.