I’m at my wits end. Background-I hate wiring.

my 01 Ram 2500 Diesel sat up for years. My nephew recently home from Marines and he needs wheels to go out and get a job. I offered up the old goat. We put new batteries in and after replacing one battery ground terminal it came back to life. Purred like a kitten.

Now I can’t figure out why the blinkers don’t work and the wipers are also inoperable. Hazards DO work. I have checked all of the fuses and all appeared good. (Under hood and on the side of the dash) We replaced the multi-function switch and the same situation. No blinkers and no wipers. All other functions work.

Any guidance is greatly appreciated. I just wanted to get my nephew back on the road so he can get to work with the next chapter of his life.

 

Download the factory service manual for your truck from here. Wiring diagrams are in section 8W. Start tracing circuits, and see where you are losing power at.

 

I'd look for some gnawed wires. Rodents can cause problems that are hard to track down. Especially the nest of wires for your turn signals. It's possible you didn't get the connection tight.

 

Ol’Grouch
To which connection are you referring?

 

I've worked on so many different vehicles, I'm trying to remember how the "smart" switch attaches. I think it plugs in next to the steering column. Make sure it is plugged in properly and then check the wires down the column and around the under dash area. Check the prongs on the connection too. I worked on a truck recently that the right rear tail light didn't work. The back up and brake lights worked fine. I did all the normal trouble shooting and came up empty. Something didn't look right. I had to get a magnifying glass but one of the prongs was bent.5 minutes with a small screwdriver and it's working now. When it got plugged in, the prong got bent somehow.

 

Thank you for all of the input. Bad wiper motor, and a new flasher relay on the side of the dash. All is well. I needed to tighten the connections on a few bulb sockets but everything is squared away now.