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Pickups Dodge Dakota Dodge Dakota Electrical Issues
249 messages, Last post on Sep 30, 2008 at 5:32 PM
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I've posted four times on this topic (#4288, 4298, 4299 and 4356---and another topic #4227) since June 2006 and it's still happening. My daughter finds that the battery goes dead overnight. She has had the truck checked-over by two local mechanics. The first, said to be an electricals specialist, said he found many misconnections and corrected them. He also found the dome light wire was a continuous 1 ampere drain and couldn't find the cause so he disconnected it. The next mechanic, in a different town, and one who himself owns a '91 Dodge Dakota, found a bad O2 sensor and replaced it and also said the battery was bad and replaced it. My daughter went to get the pickup and when the mechanic's partner tried to start it, the battery was dead. He was puzzled because the pickup had started fine twice before while in the garage. He jump-started it and my daughter paid $$$ and drove off, somewhat disturbed and worried. The mechanic who had done the actual work was recovering from surgery in a distant hospital and could not be contacted for an opinion. The next morning, the battery was dead-again. Remember this is a new heavy-duty battery. The work done had included "disconnecting" the maintenance-needed light that comes on after a certain number of miles. Either that, or the light had been reset. My daughter wonders if the dome light, with its 1 ampere drain, had been reconnected as part of the overall more recent work. I am thousands of miles away and can't be there to help my daughter beyond recommending she buy a trickle charger and keep the battery on-charge whenever the engine is off, or to disconnect the negative terminal when the engine is off. We would be very grateful for any insights!
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Replying to: tjfitz (Apr 28, 2007 8:11 pm) The first person who worked on the vehicle sounds MUCH more like a electronics person. The items which you describe he took care of are likely candidates for a problem like this. The SECOND one you describe replaced NOTHING that would help the problem besides line their wallet. (obviously when it would not start..they were eager to see your daughter leave) ---------- With that said, I am trained in electronics myself (clik on my bio to see!) and I know that a problem like this can be VERY dificult to isolate. It takes knowledge of electronics, an accurate schematic diagram and critical measurements with sensitive measuring devices. The first thing to do to locate a current drain is isolating the various circuits. This is most easilly done by pulling fuses one at a time and putting an ammeter in series with the fuse-sockets. It should take no more than about 20 minutes to isolate which circuit is the culprit. After that, it becomes more difficult but an accurate schematic diagram will point to the possible devices in the circuit which are suspect.
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Replying to: bpeebles (Apr 29, 2007 7:07 am)
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Replying to: tjfitz (Apr 29, 2007 10:11 am)  Another thing... if you have to supply the mechanic if a diagram book then i wouldn't be taking my truck there... would you take your own drill with you when you go to the dentist... HELL NO>>>RIGHT
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Replying to: slayerdude (Mar 08, 2007 10:57 am) |
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The wipers on my '94 Dakota quit working. There is no motor noise. I checked the wiper fuse under the dash for continuity and it's OK. I bought a new used motor assembly thinking it must be the motor but it doesn't function either. Is the only other possibility the switch on the steering column? There must be a relay somewhere for the delay wipers. If it failed would it prevent the wipers from working also at the continuous settings? I also tried to get a 10V meter reading from various combinations of the four connections on the wiring harness that plugs into the motor assembly. I got some low readings but no 10V readings. Thanks for the help.
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Replying to: rubberman (May 29, 2007 5:23 pm) Count the caps on your battery...each cell is 2 volts. Most automotive batteries have 6 caps (12 volts)
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Im trying to find out how to buy a replacement part for my dakota sport. I dont know what it is called but it is an extra light on the tailgate, used as a brake light. Mines broken and I can seem to even find one online, unless I just dont know where to look. Can somone help me out?
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