2nd Gen Dakota Tech 1997 - 2004 Dodge Dakota Tech - The ultimate forum for technical help on the 2nd Gen Dakota.

Electrical problem 2002 Dakota SXT

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
  #1  
Old 09-03-2017, 09:30 AM
SXTMESA's Avatar
SXTMESA
SXTMESA is offline
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default Electrical problem 2002 Dakota SXT

I drove my truck to work and when I got there 20 miles it died after idling 5 minutes. I pushed it to a parking spot and started my shift. After work I got in it and it started but ran like it was going to possibly stall. I got it out on the road and made it 5 miles shy of my house. I was running on battery only because the gauges all failed before stalling out. I got towed home and swapped the alternator. I noticed that the two ground wires were melted. I replaced the ends and reattached them to the alternator. I got the battery charged and it turned over all gauges working. Voltage gauge read very low 10-11v then it stalled after 5-10 minutes of running. I tuned it off to preserve the charge. One of those ground wires is a group of wires all coming from the fuse box. The other is a heavy gauge wire I assume goes to the starter?
Right now I have a new alternator but I don't know for sure if the old one is bad because the truck runs exactly the same.
 
  #2  
Old 09-03-2017, 10:17 AM
HeyYou's Avatar
HeyYou
HeyYou is offline
Administrator
Dodge Forum Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Clayton MI
Posts: 80,743
Likes: 0
Received 3,176 Likes on 2,929 Posts
Default

Have the alternator tested. If it tests good, voltage regulator is toast. Unfortunately, the VR is part of the PCM... So, you can either install an external regulator, or, replace the PCM.....
 




All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:56 PM.