'05 Dakota Quad cab, 33k miles with 4.7L standard output. No mods...mostly wife driven. Start truck and drive 50 feet and engine dies and lots of dash lights come on... Restart with no problem but then the MIL light stayed on steady (no flashing)...drove about 10 miles and stopped for an hour.

Restarted normally and drove another 30 miles with no MIL and no issues?? Stopped for gas enroute and truck started and drove normally....no MIL.

Next day the truck will not start...hit the key 8-10 times. Cranked normally but no start...only time it fired was initial key on, but it was more of a cough than a fire!!

We decide to change vehicles...as everyone getting out I hit the hey again and it started normally....no MIL??

Drive 10 miles there, 3 hours later start and drive home with no MIL and no issues.

Last night while on this forum I learned of the key On, Off, On, Off and On...and look for codes (GREAT info by the way)...and tried it 3-4 times quickly and then slow, and no codes flashed...just steady odometer number.

So....any thoughts or advice??

Thanks, Bob

 

sounds like a corrodide battery terminal or some type of corosion on a connector.

 

Thanks for the thought and reply super...it cranked fine each and every attempt...so battery connection is probably good...can check it easy enough anyway...so I'll do that.

Maybe I'll unplug and plug in every electrical connection I see.

Gonna attempt to drive again this morning...we'll see

Bob

 

This is a shot in the dark, but when you/your wife gets home at night, do you guys play car shuffle in the driveway?

What I mean is, do you start the truck, and move it 10 feet so someone can park, and then shut it off?

 

No Monkey we don't...once in while we might but it's seldom. Wife drives this truck most of the time and often no more than 2-3 miles in town. It's mostly a town driven truck...although we occassionally drive 20-50 miles to state parks for hiking.

Our trip went: Drive 40 miles, shut off for 15 minutes, move truck about 3 parking slots (illegal spot to a meter), shut off truck for another 15 minutes and wait for our son, start it again to come home and drive about 100' feet and light came on.

Thanks, Bob

 

It it still happening? The dash didn't show any codes, but maybe a free Autozone scan will?

IMO, Intermittent = electrical, until proven innocent

 

Isn't a MIL light emissions related? Faulty O2 sensor?...probably not. Bad brain? Maybe. Bad fuel pump, or connection? Likely