Hello everyone. I hope to find help with my Dodge Dakota 1997.
Long story short. I had a hole in the brake line, I fixed it. Right after the battery died, tried to jump start it 3 times to get home, but each time the car was dying after 2 minutes ride. During the last jump connected the cables wrong, car didn’t start anymore. Towed it. Recharged the battery, tried to start the car, the horn went off, security light on the dashboard, pulled out the horn fuse,
no start. Found out the alternator was bad. Suddenly it decided to start, but instrument cluster didn’t work. Tested the fuses, iod, cluster, something like fog lamp and perhaps radio were blown. Changed them. Didn’t help. Instrument cluster was only showing turn lights, high beam
and brake (not sure about the break), no gauges, nothing. Interior light, door locks, windows, radio, port for checking codes also don’t work. USB port, cigarette lighter, ac - work. Replaced the alternator, now battery is charged. BUT THEN I found something interesting. I was playing with the light switch and noticed that for a second the open door sound turned on. I continued and right when I slightly pulled the switch and froze between off and the first on position everything started working! But if I move the switch everything shuts off again. With this manipulation the car works perfectly, I even checked the codes, there was none. What could it be and how do I fix it? Fuses are fine, took off the dashboard, visually checked behind the cluster, switch wires, radio wires.. Looks fine. Also wipers turn on from time to time when I turn the car on and the only way to turn them off is to freeze between off and next position but with the wipers switch this time. And the honk now only turns on when I start the car and open the door, previously it was shouting non stop. Please help me!!!

 

That's rough. You could try finding a light selector switch in a junkyard and swapping it. You'll have to pull part of the dash. Unfortunately reverse jumping can do some serious damage and you'll be tracking it down piece by piece. Your computers are the ones I would be most concerned with. Your CTM might be shot. They are cheap on ebay atleast.

 

when you put the cables on backwards, you burned (shorted) out a number of components. What that number is depends on where you connected the clamps on your truck - if both were direct to battery, or if one went to a bracket or other chassis point instead of the black battery terminal.

Mostly likely in that specific position, there is a proper ground connection being made which is making all the electronics happy. In the normal positions, those things are grounding through any other circuit/path to ground they can find.

 

If the alternator wasn't bad before, cross connecting will make it bad. You probably blew out that little diode that takes the alternating current it makes and changes it to direct current your electrical system can use.

Does your turn signal switch work properly? It's called a smart switch or multifunction switch and it does a lot of things. Fairly simple to replace but it handles headlights, high and low, turn signals and even your wipers.