My Dad's 05 or 06 Dakota would not start after sitting for a few weeks. Mom called the dealer where he bought the truck and they told her that with 'these new electronics, they need to be started about once a week.'

They ran out to the farm with a little black box, plugged it in to the wiring harness somewhere and the truck fired right up.

What's up with that? The truck is hardly being used and we can't see running out to start it every week.

Is this really part of 'the new electronics'?

TIA!

Well , some of what they say is true , but , get the battery checked for sure, these 'newer' vehicles have allot of 'hot ' items that are running all the time clock , security.
They normaly don't use allot of energy, but if the battery is getting close to it's 'departure', staying charged for weeks at a time could be a challenge ?
hope this helps you .

The battery is good, the guy from the dealer only plugged in the box he brought out to a port (inside the cab I think) and the truck fired up without a jump.

I'll call the dealer and get the first-hand details. I have never heard of needing to start a perfectly good vehicle on a regular basis to keep the computer happy.

Yes you need to start them or disconnect the battery.All the electronics drain the battery.Mopars when the battery gets low or bad plays havoc with them.He probally plugged into the acc port inside and jumped the batt.Keep leaving it sit with the batt hooked up and it will be jumk soon.Had a guy with a Caddy that just couldnt accept the fact that he couldnt let it sit for weeks and the batt wouldnt die.We replaced the batt twice even though after a charge it tested good.Last time told him either use a disconnect or start it and let it run.Rocky

You guys are both correct. I called the dealer and they said exactly that, just normal parasitic drains from the electronics, etc. What they SAID to Mom wasn't what she HEARD; Mom's not a 'car chick' so it would have just been better if they told her the battery was dead.

I have often had cars sit way longer than 4 weeks and still start. Hopefully the battery is just weak being the original. If the battery is good I'll just get a battery tender and go from there.

Thanks again!

Might not hurt to think about a solar powered battery charger, it'll keep it from draining the battery

Get a "battery tender" charger. they are cheap, just plug it in when not driving the truck. You cant expect cars with all the seperate modules to remember all the parameters with out any voltage draw.

it is prob. the battery . if it is a 05 or 06 the battery is 5 to 6 years old.About the elec. drawing the battery down the new cars might have .75amp draw on the batt. for up to 1/2 hour then it should drop down to .02 or .03. if not there is a draw on the system could be light's on the inside or other draw's . brad