Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Dodge Dakota Electrical Problems

1…5678911»

Comments

  • magickmagick Member Posts: 1

    I'm having two problems with my 2001 dakota, which may or may not be related. The first is that at night, when I open either of the doors, the headlights go out. At first the dome light came on, but now it doesn't anymore. The second is that the radio keeps resetting itself. We took it to a garage where they supposedly rewired and fixed the radio, but after a few months it started resetting more and more. Now it is almost every time we start the truck.

  • mandyspet124mandyspet124 Member Posts: 3

    hey guy i have a 2002 dakota replaced the computer and it still want turn over with the key,no lights come on when i turn the key to the on positon ever thing else works checked the fuse no power to the starter fuse inside the truck can soneone please help.

  • schuyler1schuyler1 Member Posts: 4
    PLEASE I NEED HELP! I recently just purchased a 1998 Dodge Dakota V8 having electrical issues first off the driver side door won't work, the over head console, forward two dome lights, horn, doesn't work haven't checked AC, heater isn't as warm as it should and the after market CD player works but sounds like wires are shorting out through speakers. The guy I bought it from said he replaced the battery and fuel pump since he has had it. Runs and starts. I checked all the fuzes everything's good, took the door panel off connections are good, after reading this forum my guess now is the CTM? Does this sound right is their anything I can do to make sure. I live in Ketchikan Alaskan their is no dealer ships. Please Help?
  • schuyler1schuyler1 Member Posts: 4
    Is any one out their that might know? CTM or PCU?
  • schuyler1schuyler1 Member Posts: 4
    Driver side window, horn, over head console, doom lights, AC none will work, electrical issue 98 Dakota. CTM?
  • schuyler1schuyler1 Member Posts: 4
    ..?
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Try cross-posting over in Edmunds Answers too.

    The speaker noise could just be bad speakers, but it's always a concern that something hooked into the wiring has caused other issues down the road. If nothing else, you could try disconnecting the player and see if you can reset things that way. BBBind.com has free wiring diagrams if you want to scour them for ideas.

    You could try calling some dealers (or maybe find an indy shop that repairs CTMs) and see what they say. Maybe that would save you a long ferry ride!
  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,745
    You need to pick one of the above failures and trouble shoot to solve it. Do that repair and then see what problems are left and repeat. The Central Timing Module is part of the VTSS (vehicle theft security system) and does monitor the door switch inputs and sends their status on the communication bus to other modules that need that information. That would be part of how the dome lights themselves work, but only a part of the circuit. The CTM is a component that has seen its fair share of failures but it doesn't have anything to do with the drivers side window, the horn, the AC, heater, nor the overhead console. One thing that you definitely don't want to do is to go get a used one and try to install it. You run the risk of teaching modules on the truck that it then would have additional options that your truck might not have been built with.

    You do have a shop near you that is a sponsoring member of the iATN, The Auto Works on Tongass Highway. Three techs in All American Auto are also members.
  • rprefferrpreffer Member Posts: 2
    98dakota2wd said:

    I have a 98 Dakota that the tail light isn't working. I've tried replacing the bulb and still nothing. When the head lights are on, the right tail light is out. When I brake, it lights up and when I turn on the signal, it blinks fast. I've changed one front turn signal bulb and changed the rear last night and it still does not work. Any help would be great...

  • rprefferrpreffer Member Posts: 2
    Hello 98 Dakota , I have a 2004 with the same problem. Front light s worked and flashed rapidly. The left rear marker light worked but no left turn signal nor brake light. Bulb and socket tested good. With the left signal turned on, I ran my hand along the wiring harness with no faults found. When I got to the flasher unit I pushed the box slightly to the left checking for loose wire . The slight shifting of the box slowed the rapid flashing and the rear unit is now working. I Thank GOD for fixing it with no big repair bill. Good luck.
  • thrdrlthrdrl Member Posts: 2
    edited August 2015
    Hi All,
    First time posting. I have a 2001 Dakota in which both dome lights flicker. If I turn the headlights on, the flickering stops. If I temporarily disconnect the (new) battery, flickering doesn't start until the dome lights are activated. Replaced the headlight switch on dash but made no difference. No other lights seem to flicker.
    thanks...
  • andrewp7andrewp7 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1991 dodge dakota v8, which just started having problems with the blower and now some electrical. Not sure if its because of the Michigan winter but everything seems to work just fine while the truck is on but once i start it up and its running, the blowers sometimea shut off. This has happened a few times and then just this morning the same happened but the radio shut off as well and my blinkers wouldnt work. The headlights and interior lights seemed to work just fine and the battery was charged up. Curious as to what the problem could be. Any suggestions?
  • bigjay603bigjay603 Member Posts: 1
    edited April 2016
    Ok I guess I must add my 2 cents to all the above problem, I go out to go to work this morning and I turn on the light's and the cargo light comes on I check the switch and it's not on no big deal I can check that out when I get home well as I pull up to the gate to my yard and get out to unlock the gate the horn go's off like to scared me to death I was outside my truck when this happens, so I get back into the truck and start hitting the horn repeatedly to try to stop this horn from going off at 5:45 in the am well after getting to my parking spot I turn off the lights and the horn stops, cargo lights go out head lights go out and all is well until I turn the light's on and it all start's up again. Would this be a light switch problem HELP MY TRUCK HAS GRIMLINS. O I have a 2002 Dodge Dakota V-8 magnum 4x4 club cab.
  • thrdrlthrdrl Member Posts: 2
    edited May 2016
    My flickering dome light problem turned out to be a flaky CTM. Picked up a good used one on eBay for $25. Ten minutes to replace. Now have to get remote key fobs reprogrammed. Found a locksmith to do both of them for $75 + $30. I'll bet the CTM is to blame for most of the electrical problems in this thread.
  • zachhayszachhays Member Posts: 1
    I have an 00 SLT 2wd 4.7l V8 dodge Dakota. It sat for a bit and then we got it running and drove it again and then I parked it for a month went back to it and my battery was dead (I already know why). And so I put a new one in and recharged the old one for 2 days on low. I didn't get jack inside or outside the truck except my radio and the dinge when you open the door with the key in, all the relays under the hood went nuts and drained my battery. I've pulled all the fuses and checked them to see if they were still good and they are. So what's wrong?! Someone please help me cause I need my farm truck back now!

  • Ranger_Rick99Ranger_Rick99 Member Posts: 1
    Aright, I replaced my heater core and think I pinched a wire in the cable box to my instrument panel.
    When I hooked the battery back up after the repair to my heater core my hazard light indicator was on CONSTANTLY as it would usually blink when turned on, and the high beam indicator light was on. After startinvit I realized the instruments weren't working either.
    Thought that I damaged the whole panel so I got another from a recker shop. The high beam indicator went off but hozard indicator was still on and instruments weren't working.

    PS: when using blinker they flash as usual and when not being used they are off, just the panel light is the issue. What do y'all think?...
  • SiuSiu Member Posts: 1
    2003 Dodge Dakota since last year, it shows on the gauge that there's NO BUS, and engine lights is on, check gauge light is on too and some other lights, and the rpm and mph gauge is not working......need help
  • ProjectLBZProjectLBZ Member Posts: 1
    I know this is an old forum, but I can't find help anywhere else.. I just recently bought a 2001 Dakota sport and its showing the "no bus" error. It starts up no problem, but its stuck in limp home mode. After replacing all the solenoids and checking all the fuses I found a green wire that's connected to the transmission relay in the fuse box on one end, but isn't leading anywhere and is just hanging around. I'm assuming this is my problem but I cant find any diagrams to help me figure out where it's supposed to go. Will that also fix the "no bus" issue?
    Previous owner claims to have done an engine swap and it runs strong aside from the fact that I have to manually shift from 1 to D at every stop light
  • Toast9758Toast9758 Member Posts: 1
    so you know the deal, I seem to have a pretty unique/rare situation, 1988 Dodge Dakota 3.9L V6.
    I've swapped over almost the entire wiring harness (Engine and Interior) I know the interior harness is good, pretty sure the engine harness is good.

    Battery refuses to charge, I've got a new ignition switch (saw a video that said that was part of the system), new alternator (90A), and a new PCM from Rock Auto. This is one of those PCM's that has the voltage regulator inside the PCM unit itself instead of an external unit. Made sure the numbers match up with the PCM, still no charge.

    There's another part of the engine wiring harness that sits on top of the engine, in which connects to the alternator, AC compressor, throttle body n' such, in which I deem the "secondary engine harness". I've got a hunch that the problem is in that part of the wiring harness, it's just a matter of weeding it out.

    I've got a complete and separate engine harness in which I can swap out if it's in the main engine harness and I've got another interior harness I use to eliminate the interior harness that sits in the truck.

    But anyhow, any of you got an idea as to what my problem may be and how I can fix it?
  • BKWoodringBKWoodring Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2003 Dakota 4 door 4X4 sport, 4.7L, 5 speed. The other day I was working on my trailer lights with the truck and I left the ignition on without it running for a bit by accident. I went to start the truck and nothing happened. At first I thought I just killed the battery, so I put my charger on it for about an hour, still nothing, checked battery and it had 12v. When I turn the key to on the radio fans work but no dash lights and it won't turnover. Checked all the fuses, all good.
  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,745
    edited November 2022
    How exactly did you check the fuses?

    Do you have a scan tool and if so, what modules responded and were there any trouble codes?
Sign In or Register to comment.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles