I am new to the forum and I would like a little help in diagnosing the problem.

I have a 2005 Dodge Dakota Quad cab 2wd with 3.7 engine automatic trans.

My problem is this, the dashboard lights up like a Christmas tree with alternating lights, etc. The shifting lights will not come on to let me know what position the transmission is in.

I have cleaned all of the battery posts, etc. and the truck will not start.

Any ideas? ie the computer, neutral Safety Switch on the transmission?

I would appreciate any help you could offer.

 

Took the truck to Auto Zone to look at the error codes and it about fried their reader.

 

Welcome to DF

I would start by checking the connections at the TRS (Transmission Range Sensor). Unplug the TRS connector and see if you still have the same problem with the cluster. Also unplug the VPL sensor on the transmission case if you have one. In the mean time, I will move your post to the 3rd Gen Dakota section.

 

Welcome to the forum. Does the truck run or not? You say it wont start but you also say you took it to autozone and "about fried their code reader". Please explain what you mean by that.

 

I talked to my son in law and he stated that the dash lights come on, the head lights shine brightly but the engine will not start.

The shift point indicator lights do not come on. He has tried moving the shift lever to different positions and tried to start the truck and it still does not start.

 

When you turn the key to ON, do the self-test lights (these are all the regular warning lights that come on each time you try to start the vehicle, including the Check Engine light) come on?

What did you mean about it almost "frying" a code reader? This would be serious if the connection did in fact overload the reader electrically. How did the truck get to Autozone for the test?

 

Unclear if the truck is in a running state or not, but my battery recently failed and gave me similar symptoms. It had enough power to run the lights brightly, but when I tried to start the truck the starter would just click repeatedly and the cluster would flash and go crazy. Put in another battery and all is well again.

 

^^ Yes, my next question was going to be have you had the battery checked? A volt meter won't tell you anything, you need to have it load tested. It can have 12 volts, enough to make the lights shine, accessories work, etc, but not enough to start the truck and these trucks start doing some crazy **** when the battery is running low or if there is a bad ground.

 

I want to thank everyone who had suggestions.

It turns out it was the battery. My son-in-law stated that he checked the battery with a volt meter and it read 12 v.

I told him about a couple of the suggestions on the web site and sure enough, when he had the battery tested under a load, it was defective.

Thanks again for your help.

Tom Mollet

 

Thats awesome! This is a great forum.