Ok, Im not really sure how to word this so that it makes sense, thus far not even the mechanics can figure it out but here goes nothing. So Weve got a 1998 Dodge Durango, all the bells and whistles you could want even the "bell" and doesnt stop. There is a bell that comes on, one that would normally be associated with a "dummy" light, problem is that there is no dummy light that comes on. The bell dings twice basically whenever it feels like it and then turns off. Ugh, I dont know what this could be and I guess the people I pay to fix things like this dont either. If you have ANY suggestions at all, I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much!

 

do all of your lights come on the dashboard when you first turn the key on. It's possible that there really is a malfunction that is causing the chime, but the bulb for the light is burnt out

 

assuming none of your bulbs are burnt out, i believe the chime is a function of the CTM, if its going off on its own and all idiot light bulbs are good that is where i would look (unfortunatley its a dealer only part and needs to be programmed by them, take all your key fob remotes with you if you do this as they need to be programmed to it.

 

yes the ctm does the chiming, but I'd start with small things like checking the MILs before jumping into complex and expensive things. Usually there will be a few seemingly unrelated electrical problems when the ctm starts going too.

I know people don't like links to other forums, but seeing as many of the people on dodge forum are also on durango owners club, I think this one will be ok. This link is to a post about running a self test on the instrument cluster. It will go through the odometer display, then the MILs, and then the gauges.

 

Replace the battery as it could have a bad cell grounding out. Also you could try just cleaning the battery terminals and posts.

Also check the power steering sensor for oil on the harness at the sensor.

Also you unplug the CTM and plug it back in.

Check the grounds under the dash especially at the CTM.

 

Ok, Im going to try to talk to you both at once. I thank you for your suggestions, we are going to see if we cant do some self check stuff of our own. When the "dinger" goes off it could be idling or going 70mph on the freeway. I noticed today that when it did ding, I dropped form 2500rpm down to less than 1k then with my foot still on the accelerator(on the highway) by the time the chime was done and the truck figured out I was actually going it proceeded to jump up to almost 4000rpm. I dont know what is going on or why this is happening but you guys sound very Dodge smart so....do you think it could be electrical? A computer? Like I said I will too do some checking. Thanks again, any other input with this "new issue" I'd appreciate it.

 

I'm thinkin a bad battery.

Sounds like it could be grounding out. Also clean the terminals when you replace it.

 

By the way, Thank you "That_Guy, for the link, I'll let you know if it helps with the diagnostic. =)

 

Bad battery? Hmmm, going to have to investigate that as well. Thank you! I sure would like it to be something simple and relativley inexpensive like that, would not be good for the mechanic that is going to get this truck back tomorrow but would be awesome for me! Thanks for the help, Lets see what we can figure out. You guys are Great! =)

 

I've seen batteries Load Test good even when they are bad. In fact I just did that very thing 1 month ago. I knew my battery was shot and I took it in for a core, well they wanted to Load Test it. I said I didn't care either way, so they did and it came back just fine. I didn't care that it had, and they couldn't understand why I just didn't walk out. I walked to the back and got the biggest baddest battery that Auto Zone sells, (the Gold edition is the best), replace it and problem solved.

Rule of thumb, if the battery is 4 years or older suspect the battery first off. My battery was only 3.5 years, but it was still bad and it was a O'Reilly battery.