Hi, I have a 01 Ram 1500. The battery keeps going dead. We replaced the battery because it was about 5 years old. Truck ran fine for about a week and went dead again. We recharged it and it runs for another week. It went dead again, we recharged it and now it will start but will not stay running. As soon as you start it it dies unless you keep your foot on the gas. We had the alternator checked and they said it was fine. Any ideas?

 

The gauge shows that it is charging when you keep your foot on the gas pedal.

 

idle problems are caused by the low battery condition. if you recharge the battery some more, the idle problems will likely clear up.

you have a charging problem or a battery drain problem. you can test the alternator output, it should be 14+ volts on the big wire. the voltage regulator is integrated into the pcm, so this could be the problem. you can also test voltage at the battery. it should be about 12+ volts with engine off and 14+ volts with engine running. check all this first.

if ok, then look for a battery drain problem.

 

Sounds like a parasitic draw. You will need a multimeter to check and see. Here is a link that may help .
http://www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Parasitic-Battery-Drain