I thought I would post my recent problem to help anyone else that might find themselves in a similar situation. This might only pertain to the 97 and 98 models with the electric door locks powered by a motor instead of a solenoid, but it might also be the same on later models.
I have my WK gasifier pretty much done on the truck, but decided to use it for my daily driver for right now on gasoline to get all the kinks worked out of this old girl before running on wood. I drove the truck to Menards to get a ball valve for my condensate tank and when I pushed the electric lock button, the passenger side locked, but the drivers side just made a motor noise, but did not lock. I didn’t think much about it and just went on into the store to get the valve. When I came back to the truck, as soon as I opened the door, the security system went off. I tried hitting the unlock button on the key fob, but it would not shut off. I opened the hood and pulled the wire to the horn so I wouldn’t look like a complete idiot, but no matter what I tried, I couldn’t get the security system to shut off. I tried disconnecting the battery, but as soon as I hooked it back up, the security light was still flashing. I tried letting it sit for about a half an hour, and although the lights had quit flashing, the security light was still flashing. I could actually turn the engine over and it would start, but would instantly die. I had my smart phone with me so I googled " how to shut off Dakota security system " and found an article that said to put the key in the drivers side door and lock and unlock the door twice. This didn’t work either. I ended up having to spend $105 to have it towed (flatbed truck) back to my shop. I’m not sure how the security system set itself, since the door wasn’t locked when I opened the door, but I think the gears stripped in the motor actuator had something to do with it. Anyway, everything I read said I should be able to disarm it by locking and unlocking the drivers door with the key twice, but no matter how many times I tried it, it wouldn’t. After taking off the inside door panel, i noticed that there were two wires running up to the back side of the key cylinder. I took off the two 8mm nuts and removed the door handle/lock assembly and noticed that the two wires went into some kind of rotary switch that looked like it was broken (it had lots of electrical tape around it from previous owner). When I unwrapped the tape, the switch literally came apart and I could see LOTS of corrosion, so much that the contact areas were not able to make contact. I thought that turning the key should have made and then broke contact, so I cleaned off the contact areas and connected them with a piece of metal twice, then hit the unlock button on the fob, and the security system finally shut off. I have driven the truck several days since this happened and haven’t had anymore trouble, but when I put the door panel back on, I left those two wires sticking out so I can easily connect them if this happens again.
Just thought I would share. I think I am finally able to get rid of this irritating security system by leaving those two wires unconnected.
GC