I recently got a great deal on a 2002 Dodge Dakota SXT with a V6. Drove it home last night and got to tinkering today. Here is my problem.

Underneath the steering column I found a huge bundle of wires and relays. The owner before me had a remote start. Well I took off the plastic pieces to get a better look and I found a dangling wire. I know I wouldn't do a great job describing it, so here are some pictures.

The end is a circular plastic piece that has a metal ring on the inside and it seems to be a button that can be depressed. It is not plugged into anything as it should be. I followed it up to a plastic piece where there is a bundle of purple wires coming out of it. The connector from the purple wires to the plug area is covered in a black, mesh like material.

I do not want to drive the truck if I will cause a catastrophic failure. I looked through the FSM this evening but could not find any documentation on the piece. Please help!

Thank so much in advance. I look forward to adding to this board in the future. I do have a rattling noise on the front end, but one thing at a time!

 

Welcome to the Forum...

I have no idea what that switch/button thing is. If it was not connected to anything and the truck runs and starts OK then it should be OK to remove it. It almost looks like some kind of valet or override button or maybe it is a programming button of some sort for the remote start.

The relay in the other picture is definitely aftermarket. It may be a starter interrupt relay, I say that because of the heavy gauge wires on it. Follow those wires from the relay and see what they are connected to. If they go to the ignition harness, look to see if there is a wire there at the harness that has been cut in two and has two of the relay wires connected. There are two different starter wires at the ignition switch harness. One is dark blue with a yellow stripe and the other is a solid yellow wire. You can splice the cut wire in the harness back together and the truck should start and run normally.

As for the bundle of relays and purple wires, you will have to get in there with a good light and some wire cutters and follow the wires all back to see what they are connected to. I have never seen or heard of any OEM Dodge electrical components with all purple wires under the dash..Whatever this is in your truck, it is most likely some kind of aftermarket remote start or some other electric accessory. You might need to find a good car audio/alarm shop and see if maybe they could remove it for you. If you can post more pics of what is under the dash, I may be able to tell or guess more about it. There are others here on the DF that have a lot of experience with electrical accessories too, maybe someone else will have more info for you.

Jimmy

 

Did the owner mention anything about an aftermarket alarm? That button looks like a valet switch. And the relay looks like a starter kill relay.

 

do you happen to have a manual trans? that almost looks to me like the clutch switch. maybe they removed and bypassed it to use the remote start. it is a dodge connector for sure.

 

Ok here is an update. First of all, thanks so much for he replies. Let me give some information based on the questions.

The owner mentioned that there was a remote starter in it. He had deactivated it by cutting some wires. Not a really smart person, but I have since reconnected everything and it is all working as it should be.

The wire that I put in the photo is certainly a Dodge one. And the transmission is automatic, so it would not be anything dealing with the clutch.

Here is the update though and I am hoping a piece of information that will lead to a solution. When the truck is turned off, the little nub in the center is only popping up a little bit. As soon as I start the truck, the nub pops up and pushes it relatively far. When I kill the engine, the nub goes back down. It has to do with the ignition, but still I am not sure where it goes.

I have drawn an arrow in the picture I have attached here pointing to what I am calling the nub.

Thanks again for all the help!

 

I have no idea what that part is for. It looks to me like it might be part of some other part under the dash some where. It looks like it snaps on to some other part or component. I have never seen any such part like that under the dash in my truck, or in any other Dakota either. Maybe get under there and see if there is some part that looks like it mates up to that one.

I wonder if maybe the previous owner had one of those breath checker devices, you know the ones for people who have had dui's and have to breathe into a tube so the truck will start once the truck knows the driver is sober. Maybe it is some kind of solenoid for a trailer brake kit or something. Can you see where the wires from that thing with the nub on it go? Maybe trace it back and see if it is part of some other system on the truck somewhere?

Jimmy

 

Thanks again for the reply. I checked all under it to see if I could find a part it mates with. No luck.

As for the breath checker, maybe but it looks like an oem part. I really think it is a genuine dodge part.

When I trace it back it goes to the right and in behind the radio area.

Based on the nub popping out upon ignition I have to assume it has something to do with ignition, right???

 

I have no idea on it, have never seen a part that looks like that. It might be a good idea to take it in to the Parts guys at the Dodge dealer, maybe they can use their parts diagrams to help identify it.

Jimmy

 

Good one Silver it may even have a part # on it if it cant be removed take a few clear pic's of it to a dealership with any part # on it.

But I think its a Dodge part from its looks.

 

Thanks to all who helped with my issue. I finally figured it out today with much frustration. The piece in question was part of the ignition system as I suspected. The reason why no one knew what is was is because it is normally plugged into a spot on the steering column. Unfortunately, the plastic female end of the clip was broken so I had to do some fixing first before I could attach it. I feel much better that I found its home, but sadly, I still have no idea what it is and what it does. That bothers me.

Anyway, thanks for all the help. I have a few other problems, and I am starting a new thread to ask those questions.