I have 02 Dakota quad cab, auto transmission, 4.7 V8. Sporadically, when turning the key, the shift indicator will light up around the P but as soon as I try to start it, it goes out and the truck won't start / do anything. It happens off and on and when I shift through the gears, it'll light up around everything except park and neutral. Then after 5 or 10 minutes of trying every type of variation with the key, gearshift, stepping on brake etc., it'll magically stay on and start. Any ideas?

 

Possibly a short across the ASD relay??

 

Kindly check distributor cap and rotor to check out there are no carbon deposits or water inside, if that is fine then check your coil wire whether it is functioning properly, check all your spark plug wires and check out that they are dry.

 

atul1 - It doesn't have a distributor cap - why would coil wire or spark plugs have any affect on gear shift indicator - problem has nothing to do with that