My 2002 dakota check guages light has been coming on. and my battery guage is pegged. it will go out on its own. when driving at night my lights will flicker some then quit but the check guages light will not come on. i had battery checked and alternator i was told battery was bad and alterntor was good replaced battery. still get the same thing

Start by cleaning, or replacing the corroded part. Charge the battery, if necessary. If the car starts, then take it to AutoZone or O'Reillys and have them test the alternator, usually for free.

Either the dash light dimmer is turned off or the dimmer control is defective.

regulator out again,it is the black box on the back of the alt. just change that and clean the battery terminals well ,try again.

Most check engine lights are built in the instrument cluster with your water temp guage,fuel guage oil light or guage and all of the other warning lights.The check engine light will come on when you turn the key on and immediately go out unless there is a problem then the light will flash telling you a problem is detected and then stay on when the problem has to be corrected.Hope that helps and have a good night.

do all your guages work. Do you have any obd code? This normally means that there is a guage not registering correctly or you have a gauge that shows something wrong. Will the check engine light go off if after starting the auto and then shutting it off, you restart right away? Sometimes doing this causes a guage that is sticking to work. I have had this happen with a low battery, and other times, with some autos it conuianues every now and then, such as my 2004 Ram sometimes when it has set over night or very cold..

That depends. Usually a check engine light is an indication that something is amiss with one of the sensors in your vehicle. The computer can compensate to some degree for sensor malfunction and sensor drift. Most vehicles have two lights, a check engine light/service engine now light and a check guages light. If you vehicle is equipped with a check guages light this is a warning light for you to check the guages as something is seriously wrong with your vehicle (ie no oil pressure, overheating, low charging condition).

I would monitor your critical guages to make sure they are showing good (oil pressure, temp, and charging system). If the vehicle is running and driving well you should be fine. The check engine light come on in some cars when the car needs an oil change, sometimes it comes on when a sensor is on the fritz, or when you have a missfire situation. It can mean any number of things.

You can also unhook the battery cable for 15-30 seconds and reset the computer. This may clear the light. If the condition that tripped the light is no longer present or it takes a while for the light to come back on I would say your issue is not that serious.

You need to check the alternator regulator. if it lets the alternator go free, it will burn out the diodes.
This is a skilled task. If your not sure get help.

go to advance auto part or autozone to have them check your alternator.

Get your alternator checked. A local mechanic can do this. Also some auto parts stores will do it as well but you may need to have it off the vehicle.
I have had the battery terminals corrode and disrupt the operation. Check your terminals, if they are bad, clean them. If it is time change out your battery.

Check the wire harness plugs in the back of the guage package... They might be loose and making and breaking connection when you hit a bump... Two upper, two lower screws normally on imports and domestics on the guage cluster...