My friend bought an 05 Caravan at an auction and he's having a bunch of electrical problems. Items that do not work are the radio, climate control, horn and the dash lights don't light up right away.

I have an 01 Caravan and we tried to swap the fuse box from mine to his and the items that did not work on his before now work, but the dash does not work at all, the signals do not work and the brake lights do not work.

He called some scrap yards and he was told that the fuse box is year specific, but when he called a Dodge dealership (2 actually) he was told the box is the same for 2001 to 2005.

Is my fuse box from an 01 Caravan compatible with the 05? Anyone have any luck cleaning the fuse box? There is a lot of corrosion inside with a couple of broken terminals, but these can be soldered (I hope).

Are these boxes year specific, or id it the control module attached to it?

Many Thanks for the help and info,
Ian

 

MasterTech or Tizzy1 would probably have the answer but I would say if you install your 01 IPM into the 05 and some systems stop working then install the 05 IPM back in the 05 and those systems now work, they must not be compatable. Compare part numbers with your dealership parts dept.

You might try swapping just the Front Control Module (FCM) mounted on the front of the fuse box. It is a major player in lighting and some accessory circuits. The contacts on the connection between the two are a common culprit. Twist the spade contacts slightly to make better contact.

FYI - Your fuse box is really a PDC with an FCM mounted to it. The combination of the two make it an IPM.

Nothing to do with your problem but I have read 5th generation van (08-12) IPMs are back ordered 300 deep nation wide. They integrated the FCM into the IPM and called it the TIPM in 2008 and have had headaches since.

 

I believe 01 to 04 are one type and therefore compatible only in those years, and 05-07 are another type. Check Ebay too, sometimes you get lucky there.

 

Had similar problems with my 2001. I couldn't figure it out, cleaned all the connectors under that box... finally gave in and bought a brand new one mail order (275). Plugged it in, all issues gone.