Ok so today i just did some minor work on my 2000 dodge ram 1500 slt. took the molding off, cleaned it, etc. well I got under the hood to wirebrush my battery terminals because of buildup got done and hooked it all back up. sub,amp everything. I went to start it and when i turned the key to start it it wouldnt start. Well i thought i had the door open for a while maybe the dome was on. tryed jumping it and fired up after probably 2 trys but as soon as i let off the gas it died. tryed the same thing died again. unhooked went back under the hood to make sure everything was hooked up right and it was. went back and when the key was in standby this time all the lights and guages freaked out. my dome slowly dimmed and got brighter. wouldnt even try and turn over and just heard clicks under the hood somewhere by the fuse panel i think. it was running just fine an hour before i unhooked/rehooked the battery. anybody help me please?

 

let me add that the dome light would pretty much shut off if i tryed to turn the headlights on. the stereo would not turn on either when i jumped it or on standby.

 

recharge your battery first. sounds like you just killed it. after it is charged check to make sure it starts. if it does check the altenator to make sure it is charging. if that is fine, just watch it and see what happens for the time being. if it dies again, it could be caused from your amp drawing power. this is unlikly though because all you did was mess with the battery terminals. it could also be that the battery is junk. so after you charge it and check the charging system replace the battery if it does it again.

 

Have a look at the IAC port on the back side of the throttle body as well. If it is really gummed up, it will take longer for the PCM to figger out how to idle the engine. Take it off, and clean everything good. (while the battery is disconnected....) put it back together, and see if that doesn't improve its attitude.

 

thanks a bunch! i will try it. glads to know i can start somewhere

 

ok so i charged the battery up full and when i went to start it it just clicked when i was forward on ignition trying to get it to roll over. stereo didnt light up when on standby. also i heard clicking before trying to start it i just put the key forward to standby. dome light and door ajar bell worked. when i put it on standby it clicked for about 3 secs then my cluster of lights came on. abs,check guages, seatbelt, etc. also after the clicking my O/d was off and i didnt click it? stereo never came on the whole time. would a shot battery cause all this? im pretty sure the battery is junk.

 

Where do you hear the click from? This problem sounds REALLY familiar though.....

 

i couldnt isolate the sound i didnt have anybody to help me but i swear it was near the backside of the fuse box under the hood. im hoping replacing the battery will fix it but seems like something isnt right. the battery is junk tryed charging it and it cant hold a charge for more than 1 to 2 minutes.

 

Sounds like a bad battery. Take it to auto-zone to get it tested, if it is bad they wille be able to tell you with in 5 min.

 

Make sure you have the terminals on real good and there tight, if the battery will take a charge it should put out enough to start the truck. Might want to spray with some cleaner too if it wasnt already done. After the pcm resets if its not gettin good voltage it can stall out even though the alt is good.

With the door open you can watch the dome light to get an idea of good/bad connection