Hi Kids,

IÆm new as a member, although IÆve lurked and gleaned valuable knowledge over several years while trying to do a few maintenance / repairs to our truck. IÆve tried to be diligent to reveal other discussion on my quest, but a new topic may be relevant.

We have a 98 owned from new, that first filled the role of kid-pooler because the wife wouldnÆt drive a mini-van and well, at that time seven passengers meant Land Cruiser, Suburban, Expedition otherwise. Oh yeah, the Durango was new, but felt like you were peering out of an underwater cave in the Caribbean. It became the daily driver for the youngest daughter when she got licensed, and all of her Civic / Eclipse / Cobalt driving friends truly appreciated the æMomteroÆ during certain winter days. Soon we'll get her into something smaller but still winter capable (AWD). Anyway, sheÆs about to head off for her third year at University, and the truck is not running.

A couple of weeks ago, it wouldnÆt start û sounded like a dead battery. I have a 100 month Die Hard in it, about 60 months old. Took the battery to Sears, and after they charged it, it tested good. Reinstalled it, and it started with little trouble. Two days later it was dead again. Not thinking much, I leapt to the alternator and replaced it. Contrary to some experiences I have read, here in Colorado, I have had great luck with my local Carquest for many parts for this truck. This was a real Denso remanufactured 100 amp unit. Got the alternator installed, restarted the truck and then ran several weekend errands. It started fine the next morning, but not the next. IÆm thinking IÆve got something sucking power while sitting, and I really donÆt have the proper time for such a snipe hunt.

Anyway, is it crazy to consider jumping it to restart and charge the battery again, and then empty the fuse block, and replace fuses with my meter to see if I can find a circuit at the fuse that is drawing current? At least as a place to start tracking the proper wiring?

Sorry for the long-winded intro. I hope to soon inherit the truck for myself at long last, and maybe start experiencing some of the fun and frustration all you legends enjoy.

Thank you for your support,
Tim

5 years is nearing the end of any battery's normal life, no matter the warranty. Also, you would do well to ensure all power and ground connections are free of corrosion and tight. And don't just do a visual, because corrosion can be hidden out of sight between the connection.

My money's on the battery, though. And I'd be willing to bet the alternator wasn't bad to start with. If I were you, I'd see if the Carquest still has your core. Then, I'd pay them for it and shelve it for future use or to have rebuilt at an alternator shop...

Thank you for the quick reply Mr. daze,

I can't argue with any of your thoughts; 5 years is not bad, I guess I wanted to give the Sears tech a small credit - and I wouldn't mind getting the other 40 months (at least pro-rated credit). I've cleaned up the connections, even though they didn't look bad. And, just wondering, since it starts readily when jumped, I infer that the cabling from the jumper cables on is reasonable. Maybe not?

My urges have been in line with your money - I may well go ahead and get the new battery - 5 years is not bad, and why send her off into another winter with a battery nearer the end. That would be cheap piece of mind. I also have not returned my alternator core, figuring I might want to get it rebuilt as I evolve this truck.

A starter going bad can act like that too. Our 98 was going random on no-starts last month. Jump it and it would go. Tested batteries and they were okay. Swapped between Monteros and the same would happen. Alternator was new about three years ago. That left the starter. Replaced it and it's been 100% first-start for a month now.

Thank you MontyMcV,

That's great to hear (no, really). I had even decided that was next and priced a starter, then described my whole logic of why it wasn't the starter to my wife, figuring that I would have the same response when I was jumping it. Since the starter didn't act up when jumping, I figured the starter was fine. Maybe the battery and the starter, then I'll be ugly in spares (questionable). Thanks again for the contribution.

change your battery cables

Are the lights, windows, radio, etc still working when this happens?

It could the be the neutral safety switch. When my switch started to go south, I thought the battery was at the end of its life put a new battery in and was still having the problem.

Nowadays, I just keep engaging the ignition until the truck decides to start. Usually, 4 or 5 tries gets her going.

~ Jon

Thanks for all the sage pointers. I think the battery was the answer. New battery, has started for a week with little driving. Now off to ball joints. Where did I see that post ... ?