I bought a used 2001 Dodge Dakota Quad cab and I am having some weird stuff going on. The dome lights will not go out when you shut doors, the fuel gauge has gone to "E" a couple of times, the rear defroster button light is constantly blinking, and the A/C is going in and out. I think it is CTM but the mechanic where I bought the truck says it is not all related. Any ideas??????

 

I will move this to the 2nd generation Dakota sub-section.

 

The first thing I would do is check all the fuses. My 97 has a fuse panel at the end of the dashboard as well as under the hood.

I had a brand new car that suddenly started turning on its interior lights when the doors were closed, and off when they were opened. That was a blown fuse.

I have no idea how this happens, but it happened to me. Maybe this will clear up some of it, and then you can focus on what is left.

 

Welcome to the forum...The AC is not controlled by the CTM, neither is the fuel gauge. If it were my truck I would start by load testing the battery, cleaning the battery cables and terminals and checking/cleaning all ground connections. If you have low voltage problems or battery problems with the truck it can cause all kinds of odd problems. Dakota's are very sensitive to bad batteries, if it gets below 12.5 volts the truck starts having problems. A bad battery can surely cause problems with the CTM, but I do not think the CTM is the main cause of the problems you described.

Also check your alternator. You should have at least 12.6 volts at the battery with the truck not running, and 13.5 to 14.5 volts on the battery with the engine running at idle and no electrical accessories turned on. Then turn on the AC, fan speed on high and turn on the high beam headlights and the voltage should still be at least 13.5 volts at the battery. If you have more than a one volt drop when you turn on the heavy electrical loads like the lights and AC, you should have the alternator tested. Best way to do that is remove it and take it to an auto parts store, they will check it for free. If one store says it is OK, take it to a different store for a second test, just to be sure.

Jimmy

 

I'll piggyback here: twice in the last two days my dome lights have not shut off after closing the door (2001 Dak). I opened and closed the doors a few times and they finally turned off. I'm not having any other problems.

 

OK... checked all the fuses didn't find any that were bad but I did notice that there is a wire in the back window that goes to the rear defogger strip that the whole strip has been pulled loose. Would this cause a fault that causes the rear defrost light to blink? I know it makes it where it wont work but just wondered if that would cause some kind of fault. Also I was able to get A/C working .... the light doesn't light up when the "snowflake" button is pushed. Does this mean that the Heater/AC control module behind dash at controls is bad or is there a bulb?

 

Also ... the fuel gauge has never acted up again.... Who knows?!?! Electrical problems suck!!

 

OK ... So here we go ... rear defroster light still blinking but dome light problem is fixed .... with a trade-off for now. I took it back to where I bought it and left it with them. They swapped the ctm (of course didn't tell me that and let me know I was right) so now the dome lights work right but my key fobs don't. The part numbers are not the same as the old one so who knows what the heck is going to happen next. All I know is I am getting ready to take a 9 hour trip and if I break down I am going to have to break someone's nose! I can't stand car dealers!

 

The problem is shops and dealerships don’t seem to want to listed to the customer in fact trying to get them to listen can be downright impossible I can’t figure them out it’s like they live in a different world of their own that has nothing to do with the customer.

It’s bizarre to me

I try to do all my own work its become so bad

 

Your old keyless entry remotes must be programmed to work with the new CTM. The keyless entry system is an internal part of the CTM. Only a Dodge dealer can program the remotes, it has to be done with the Dodge DRB-3 scan tool, so unless the dealer where you bought the truck has a DRB-3, you could see if your Dodge dealer will program the remotes and then bill the selling dealership for it. Or you might pay for it yourself and try to get a refund from the selling dealer. The Dodge dealer would probably charge at least a half hour of labor for the re-programming.

Jimmy