Hi guys!

We have a 2004 Durango, 5.7L engine, Sport/Utility body that I drive to work every day. In the last two weeks or so, the little lightening bolt symbol has started to flash when I'm driving home in the evenings (highway pretty much all the way, but traffic, so I'm doing between 45 to 60 miles an hour). If I stop the truck and restart it, the light stops... also, the check engine light will come on first sometimes... we took it by an AutoZone to see if they could tell us the code for the engine, but the guy said nothing came up... so I'm not sure where to even start looking for what's wrong.

We lost everything in a house fire just six weeks ago, so we're not at the place to drop it off at the dealers and pay $300 to have them tell us what's wrong before starting to fix it... so I thought I'd start here and see if you guys had any experience with this. It hasn't stalled while I was driving, but it does feel as though it's accelerating funny... either slowing down or having a hard time keeping speed.

I'm not particularly handy, so let me know if there's anything else I should tell you... I just wrote out everything that was on the emissions inspection. lol

thanks for the help!

 

Your battery or alternator needs tested,
FF

 

Sham:

As FF has said, you should have your battery load tested. The symbol you describe indicates an issue with your Electronic Throttle Control system.

If your battery tests the least bit flaky, replace it.

Don

 

We had the battery tested and it seems okay, but we had to make an emergency trip out of town for a funeral and before we left we had an oil change... the mechanic mentioned that the pcv valve needed to be replaced. Could that cause this problem? And is that something my husband could do himself or is it a complicated repair? My husband is fairly handy (for example, he recently changed our brakes), and if he can find good instructions for how to do something, he's normally capable of fixing things himself.

thanks for the help.

 

Sham:

PCV valve is for sure something your hubby can change. In the case of the Hemi, it screws into the top of the intake manifold.

Have him remove it first and see if it rattles. If it does, it is most likely fine. These valves either work, or get gunked up and dont.

I could see you getting a Check Engine light for a bad one, but not the ETC lightning bolt.

Giving the throttle body a good cleaning may also cure the issue.

Don