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Dodge Dakota Electrical Problems

497 messages,  Last post on Mar 11, 2013 at 11:04 AM

You are in the Dodge Dakota-2010 and older Forum.

What is this discussion about? Dodge Dakota, Electrical, Truck

Messages Page 7 of 51

#54 of 497 Re: Resistor board for heater fan keeps blowing [canadaed] by jennyjet74

Apr 16, 2007 (10:08 am)

Replying to: canadaed (Nov 13, 2006 4:10 pm)
Hi, we have a 2001 Dodge Dakota Sport. We purchased it pre-owned and now I know why. We have replaced the resistor 3x's, and then once that was working ok it went to the ignition and then the wiring harness. Trucks been in the shop 9x's since we bought it, all electrical! Keep being told that they can't duplicate the problem! Its in the shop again, going on 4 days now, lets see what happens next.

#55 of 497 Re: Resistor board for heater fan keeps blowing [jennyjet74] by dustyk

Apr 17, 2007 (3:29 pm)

Replying to: jennyjet74 (Apr 16, 2007 10:08 am)
Are you working with a Dodge dealer or an independent garage?
 
Regards,
Dusty

#56 of 497 Re: Dodge Dakota: Electrical Issues [kcram] by faber2409

Apr 19, 2007 (6:30 pm)

Replying to: kcram (Oct 18, 2006 8:58 pm)
ok well i have a 01 dodge dakota standard cab. When i was driving this morning i went to put the truck in drive and on the D the box didnt go around it to tell you that your in drive or any gear when u put it in. i just ignored it no big deal. and now when i went an tried to start it i put the key in and turned the key once to bring on the gauges and that did nothing but only turn the radio on then i went to turn it over and it didnt do anything but the lights and radio still work properly i'm lost on what to do... help!!

#57 of 497 Re: Dodge Dakota: Electrical Issues [faber2409] by bpeebles

Apr 19, 2007 (7:14 pm)

Replying to: faber2409 (Apr 19, 2007 6:30 pm)
There is a safety-interlock that will prevent the starter from enguaging unless in "P" or "N"... I am suspecting that your problem is related to that.
 
BTW: The "O" aound the "D" does not mean "it is in Drive"... it means OverDrive.

#58 of 497 Re: Dodge Dakota: Electrical Issues [bpeebles] by faber2409

Apr 20, 2007 (4:06 am)

Replying to: bpeebles (Apr 19, 2007 7:14 pm)
but i cant even turn it over to see what gear its in i know its in park but the lights dont show up and its the the O around the D is like a square box which indicates what gear your in i cant get it to turn over or even start the guages

#59 of 497 Re: Dodge Dakota: Electrical Issues [faber2409] by dustyk

Apr 22, 2007 (6:37 am)

Replying to: faber2409 (Apr 20, 2007 4:06 am)
The absence of the little square box that surrounds a gear position indicator (P R N D 2 1) on the vacuum fluorescent display indicates that there is no signal received from the Transmission Control Module within 3 seconds. It generally indicates that the transmission range selector circuit has a problem or the IOD fuse is open. If the IOD fuse is open you will find that the transmission will eventually go into LIMP MODE.
 
Check all of the fuses in the Instrument Panel (to the left of the steering wheel.
 
Regards,
Dusty

#60 of 497 Dakota Fuse Box by faber2409

Apr 23, 2007 (5:28 pm)

Ok now i know what was the problem the fuse that controls all the electronics on the front dash blew... so i replaced it an the truck turned on back to normal an all the guages turned on and it showed the miles which i didnt when the fuse was blown in the fuse box by the engine... as i was driving it back to my house the fuse blew again so my whole truck shut down and all the power steering and brakes locked up so i replaced it one more time and it blew instantly do u have any clue whats making this fuse blow its a 20 amp fuse it's blew twice now and idk whats the reason for it to keep blowing let me know... thanks... (Matt)

#61 of 497 Re: Dakota Fuse Box [faber2409] by bpeebles

Apr 23, 2007 (6:17 pm)

Replying to: faber2409 (Apr 23, 2007 5:28 pm)
A fuse blows when too much current is drawn thru it. It is there to protect from more extensive damage. (like a fire!)
 
20Amps at 12Volts is 240 watts... that is a LOT of power you are drawing. (more than enough to make wires red-hot)
 
The only way to properly troubleshoot is with a schematic diagram and DVM. (DigitalVoltMeter) One common way to troubleshoot is to put an ammeter in series with the fuse and then reconnect devices in the circuit one at a time whilst monitoring the current draw.
 
(You better know what you are doing... or DO NOT TRY IT... you could fry the entire electrical system)
 
One possibility: if you have added ANY aftermarket electronic devices (Stereo, Foglights, cellphone charger, CB radio....etc) Try disconnecting them first.

#62 of 497 Continuing electrical problems on '90 Dakota by tjfitz

Apr 28, 2007 (8:11 pm)

I've posted four times on this topic (#4288, 4298, 4299 and 4356---and another topic #4227) since June 2006 and it's still happening.
 
My daughter finds that the battery goes dead overnight. She has had the truck checked-over by two local mechanics. The first, said to be an electricals specialist, said he found many misconnections and corrected them. He also found the dome light wire was a continuous 1 ampere drain and couldn't find the cause so he disconnected it.
 
The next mechanic, in a different town, and one who himself owns a '91 Dodge Dakota, found a bad O2 sensor and replaced it and also said the battery was bad and replaced it. My daughter went to get the pickup and when the mechanic's partner tried to start it, the battery was dead. He was puzzled because the pickup had started fine twice before while in the garage. He jump-started it and my daughter paid $$$ and drove off, somewhat disturbed and worried. The mechanic who had done the actual work was recovering from surgery in a distant hospital and could not be contacted for an opinion. The next morning, the battery was dead-again. Remember this is a new heavy-duty battery.
 
The work done had included "disconnecting" the maintenance-needed light that comes on after a certain number of miles. Either that, or the light had been reset. My daughter wonders if the dome light, with its 1 ampere drain, had been reconnected as part of the overall more recent work.
 
I am thousands of miles away and can't be there to help my daughter beyond recommending she buy a trickle charger and keep the battery on-charge whenever the engine is off, or to disconnect the negative terminal when the engine is off. We would be very grateful for any insights!

#63 of 497 Re: Continuing electrical problems on '90 Dakota [tjfitz] by bpeebles

Apr 29, 2007 (7:07 am)

Replying to: tjfitz (Apr 28, 2007 8:11 pm)
insights:
 
The first person who worked on the vehicle sounds MUCH more like a electronics person. The items which you describe he took care of are likely candidates for a problem like this.
 
The SECOND one you describe replaced NOTHING that would help the problem besides line their wallet. (obviously when it would not start..they were eager to see your daughter leave)
 
----------
With that said, I am trained in electronics myself (clik on my bio to see!) and I know that a problem like this can be VERY dificult to isolate. It takes knowledge of electronics, an accurate schematic diagram and critical measurements with sensitive measuring devices.
 
The first thing to do to locate a current drain is isolating the various circuits. This is most easilly done by pulling fuses one at a time and putting an ammeter in series with the fuse-sockets. It should take no more than about 20 minutes to isolate which circuit is the culprit.
 
After that, it becomes more difficult but an accurate schematic diagram will point to the possible devices in the circuit which are suspect.

Messages Page 7 of 51

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