Gauge cluster/ no illumination
#1
03-16-2019, 05:42 PM
Gauge cluster/ no illumination
Hello all, always on here but never post due to great answers & troubleshooting found, but am stumped on this one.
01 Ram 3500 diesel 4x4.
problem: no dash light illumination. Have factory manual but get lost looking at 8w-40-5. Problem initially started with blowing a fuse occasionally. Would replace #5 5amp & would be good to go. Now w/ new fuse & following fsm, I have no voltage at highest reostat setting before dome lights as per the test procedure. Below is what I’ve done/ checked.
1. Replaced headlight switch to no avail.
2. Checked fuses
3. Checked continuity at fuse panel in engine bay
4. Hooked up obd 2 scanner & searched for codes= nothing thrown anywhere, ie, ecm, engine,Srs, etc.
5. Checked continuity at every light on back of cluster=all good
6. Equals stumpage....…
everything works, dash wise, except for the darn illumination. If anyone could clue me in on how best to decipher the 8w-0-5 section, I’d be very much appreciative, if that is relevant. The old headlight switch reostat seemed a little suspect, but new one had no effect on problem. Curious why I have no voltage at fuse. Is it because it´s day time? Many thanks for any ideas you may have. Am down here in Central America & roads are terrible.
Stumped in Central America
01 Ram 3500 diesel 4x4.
problem: no dash light illumination. Have factory manual but get lost looking at 8w-40-5. Problem initially started with blowing a fuse occasionally. Would replace #5 5amp & would be good to go. Now w/ new fuse & following fsm, I have no voltage at highest reostat setting before dome lights as per the test procedure. Below is what I’ve done/ checked.
1. Replaced headlight switch to no avail.
2. Checked fuses
3. Checked continuity at fuse panel in engine bay
4. Hooked up obd 2 scanner & searched for codes= nothing thrown anywhere, ie, ecm, engine,Srs, etc.
5. Checked continuity at every light on back of cluster=all good
6. Equals stumpage....…
everything works, dash wise, except for the darn illumination. If anyone could clue me in on how best to decipher the 8w-0-5 section, I’d be very much appreciative, if that is relevant. The old headlight switch reostat seemed a little suspect, but new one had no effect on problem. Curious why I have no voltage at fuse. Is it because it´s day time? Many thanks for any ideas you may have. Am down here in Central America & roads are terrible.
Stumped in Central America
Last edited by trigger29; 03-16-2019 at 05:44 PM. Reason: Spelling
#3
03-16-2019, 09:22 PM
Note that joint connector #5 splits up to the instrument panel lighting, AC control lighting, radio lighting etc.. Step 1 is to find out why the fuse blew repeatedly, if the truck has an aftermarket radio my money is on a wiring problem there.
Another thing that seems to frequently trip up people is that there are multiple separate circuits with separate power sources controlled by the light switch. For the dash lighting check if there's power at the pink/red going to the light switch. If not the problem is somewhere upstream.
Another thing that seems to frequently trip up people is that there are multiple separate circuits with separate power sources controlled by the light switch. For the dash lighting check if there's power at the pink/red going to the light switch. If not the problem is somewhere upstream.
#4
03-17-2019, 01:24 PM
#5
03-17-2019, 06:50 PM
#6
03-17-2019, 07:51 PM
Well, everything looks good stereo wise & no power going on pink & red going to switch. I also found out I have no parking lights period. When switched to park lamp & key is out of ignition, I get the warning chime as if it thinks the lights are on. I have been troubleshooting solo & when I got out of the truck I noticed no park lights, furthermore when lights are on I have only headlights & no tail lights. When I turn emer flashers, taillights blink as normal. #1 fuse is good, all fuses are good but still no power to number 5 5 amp. Am lost & going backwards, lol. Going to search on here for related problems. Thanks for any comments.
dumbed down in C.A.
dumbed down in C.A.
#7
03-17-2019, 11:38 PM
Yes the pink/red is also power for the tail lights, but *not* the headlights or front parking lights. As stated above the fact that there are separate circuits switched by the headlight switch can be confusing. Another Chrysler "specialty" is the "cascaded fuses" that the truck has. For the issue in question, there is a 20A fuse in the PDC under the hood that powers the pink/red wire and then after the switch there is another fuse in the interior fuse panel for the interior lighting. Backtrack to fuse F in the PDC from the light switch pink/red.
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#8
03-18-2019, 12:49 PM
Thanks dertruck, gd to know & will start there at pdc. I checked the fuse yesterday & confirmed it’s good, but will get in deeper from there in looking for a short or ground problem. Will also confirm all grounds. The biggest PIA is I can’t physically get or see the back of the fuse panel to see if no. 5 cables are fried. If I could, I would at least be able to eliminate that part. Where the heck are these junctions #5&8? I get lost trying to trace this stuff & my big question is the huge pinned plug with the 10mm bolt in the center. Is this relevant? It’s located right above the clutch pedal under dash. I have performed the diagnostic test on the gauge cluster as per pg 566/567 in fsm & everything checks out except the obvious dash lighting. Thanks for you TS help!
-N-
ok, i checked continuity from underneath pdc park lamp fuse to top of big pin plug I was asking about above & everything checks out & have also found no evident chafing or breakage. I then checked from HL switch to underside of big plug & have continuity there as well. So I’m leading to a ground issue? That pink & red I’m checking branches off & feeds fuse #5 or? I’ve checked all grounds around battery & will check the grounds behind driver kick panel now. Thanks
-N-
ok, i checked continuity from underneath pdc park lamp fuse to top of big pin plug I was asking about above & everything checks out & have also found no evident chafing or breakage. I then checked from HL switch to underside of big plug & have continuity there as well. So I’m leading to a ground issue? That pink & red I’m checking branches off & feeds fuse #5 or? I’ve checked all grounds around battery & will check the grounds behind driver kick panel now. Thanks
Last edited by trigger29; 03-18-2019 at 05:16 PM. Reason: update
#9
03-19-2019, 12:25 AM
"Checking continuity" typically refers to measuring resistance which at this point doesn't really provide any clues. You need to check voltage to ground along the pink/red, starting at the fuse in the PDC. Ground issue seems unlikely as the dash and the tail lights use completely different grounding points.
#10
03-19-2019, 02:46 PM
So, I have everything torn apart & now everything works, lol. I have no effin clue what I did. So pdc park lamp fuse is a 15 amp. In AM I checked resistance at this fuse compared to every other fuse & park lamp had 23ohms, everything else 0. Left side of fuse was 12.5v, right side:12.4. All other fuses read same voltage across both fuses. (Which, at the time raised my eyebrows but didn’t equate it to a bad fuse?)..... When checking resistance of pink/red cable from pdc to pin plug I had 0ohms,I interpret that to mean there is no break or short in this run. When I checked #1 fuse in cab it had the same voltage with right side being 12.4v......somewhere in tsing the pdc fuse gave up the ghost & blew. I replaced this mofing fuse & now everything works. I’ve wiggled every son of a biscuit cable trying to get the thing to blow or trip or something & it’s solid. I don’t want to admit it, but it’s probably a suspect fuse?
my last question: #5 5 amp fuse now has power but it’s only getting max 11.9v when dimmer switch is in parade mode. I understand that v’s drop as you dim down dash lights, but does this sound normal?
on the upside....I just purchased OEM dash panel & structure so will have another chance to look at everything again in about 5wks.... will take this effin thing for a drive tomorrow after all buttoned up & see if gremlin shows up again. Thanks all for replies.
my last question: #5 5 amp fuse now has power but it’s only getting max 11.9v when dimmer switch is in parade mode. I understand that v’s drop as you dim down dash lights, but does this sound normal?
on the upside....I just purchased OEM dash panel & structure so will have another chance to look at everything again in about 5wks.... will take this effin thing for a drive tomorrow after all buttoned up & see if gremlin shows up again. Thanks all for replies.