I have a 94 sonoma drove it about 20 miles today and turned it off when i went to start it . it would not do anything. the other night my lights dimed a few times but have never done it again.just trying to figure out where to start

Sounds like the altenator.

Could be, but you will need to check for trouble codes, since the engine light came on. The code or codes may help you troubleshoot it.

Check that the wire to the temp sender unit has not come off and is shorting out on the head.It it is it will read as overheat on the gauge straight away

Sounds like an electrical issue. You'll want to take it in.

So what do you have for voltage at the battery? Sounds like the alternator went bad. There should be around 14 volts at the battery with the engine running. Anything less and the alternator would be the first thing I suspected.

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It may be possible the starter was replaced at some point and someone forgot to install the start shim or shims. Also, check the charging system because you may have a bad alternator.

Take it back to where you got it and make them refund your purchase price. If they refuse and you finianced it go to them, There a law called "The Lemon Law" that makes it unlawful to sell something like that. Sounds like you sure bought one. Don't do anything to it just get hold of the place where you bought it and tell them to come get their junk out of your yard! dhgill1949

try fuelfilter and check the fuel psi it maybe fuelpump.goodluck

Running so few miles has accelerated the aging of the battery - the battery never had a chance to fully recharge in such small trips -  so now you have to replace it a year sooner than usual.
Just replace it.

The battery may have went completely dead, even though it was just changed.