I changed the battery a few months ago and I noticed that my Dakota will not idle very well on its own. I drove it awhile and it seemed to get better but it still had its moments. This weekend I unhooked the battery to hopefully reset the computer and mow I have made things worse. the truck will not idle on its own. Right after you start it RPM's go to 1K and then drop down below 500, runs real rough and then dies. As I am driving, I come to a stop sign or red light and the truck just dies. Does anybody have any ideas?

WSR

 

Sorry I forgot to add - its a 2003 Dakota Quad Cab with a 4.6 V8

 

Well first things first I'd get a Ford engine out of a Dodge truck. Problem solved, haha :P

Now I think the guys would suggest cleaning your IAT sensor and clean your battery terminals, make sure they are securely attached, etc. I'm bumping up this post because normally get more attention, plus someone out there is bound to have had this problem. I have but it was with a VW Passat and VW Eurovan.

 

Start with removing the throttle body and cleaning it out thoroughly including the IAC passages. They can get very full of carbon.

It's easy to do.

Your PCM will need to relearn the idle after you've disconnected the battery.

 

Clean the throttle body and then let it re-learn idle.

Just unhook the battery for 5 mins, put it back on, and then start it up and feed it gas to keep it idling - not too much, just enough to keep it idling.

Do this for about 5 mins and it should re-learn the idle and be fine.

Mine did this when the battery completely died.

 

I'll back them up on the idling one, when I or my old shop had work finished we'd have vehicles idle for over an hour. Major repairs we'd have idle for half a day sometimes. DakDan is right about the IAC one of my sensor in there I pulled out was covered charcoal black in a layer of carbon. I was surprised it worked, cleaned it and definitely noticed the difference.

 

Change/tighten you battery cables. These trucks need good battery connections to run right. My 98 would do this when my positive cable wasnt that tight. It would start but not idle. Drove it hard for a few miles and cleared up. Never did it again after I replaced the terminal