Has anyone had whacked out gauges on a Dakota?

From : thatdamnkid

Q: its a 98 dakota 2wd with automatic v6. my abs light and emergency brake light are on. so i took it to my mechanic and told him it probably needed brakes. he checked it out and said the brakes were fine. and he tried everything and couldnt get the warning lights to go off. since then my speedometer started fluctuating all over the place and that has finally quit working altogether. i know there is a trick where you unhook the battery then hook it back up and run the engine at 2000 rpms for 2 minutes. might this fix my problem thanks for any help andy .

Replies:

From : redneck tookover hell

i know there is a trick where you unhook the battery then hook it back up and run the engine at 2000 rpms for 2 minutes. might this fix my problem thanks for any help andy its not a trick its called resetting the computer try it and see politics the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich. .

From : gunbunny31

why dont you try to fix the problem. replace the rear speed sensor. it will cause the abs light to come on and send the speedometer crazy. i probably have 35 or 40 of them in stock i sell 2 or 3 a day for the same reason. .

From : kirk a wolff

this sounds like a similar problem i had with my 97 neon. the problem was a weak transistor in the cars main computer. evidently chrysler purchased a large lot of these transistors and they were all weak and would fail after a few years. i found out about it on allpar.com in some discussions. the transistor was in control of power that went to the instrument panel. at first the speedometer started jerking back and fourth between the actual speed and zero. the abs and other lights would come on whenever this would happen. basically the transistor was turning on and off by itself when it was supposed to be on. take a look at any postings about your speedometer on allpar and let me know if you find your truck has the same problem. i wouldnt be surprised since they are close in age. its a 98 dakota 2wd with automatic v6. my abs light and emergency brake light are on. so i took it to my mechanic and told him it probably needed brakes. he checked it out and said the brakes were fine. and he tried everything and couldnt get the warning lights to go off. since then my speedometer started fluctuating all over the place and that has finally quit working altogether. i know there is a trick where you unhook the battery then hook it back up and run the engine at 2000 rpms for 2 minutes. might this fix my problem thanks for any help andy .