2005 Dakota Dash Lights Inop
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2005 Dakota Dash Lights Inop
HI
New to the forum with a problem with a 2005 Dakota 4.6L 4x2 automatic. BTW my 2005 Ram Quad 4x4 Hemi no problems and 170k miles. Anyway, on the Dakota the dash lights are inop. All other lights work fine and dim properly and function fine. But the dash lights are the problem. I disconnected the dash, pulled the fuses to the pcm, unplugged the headlight switch, re-installed the dash and everything else and the dash lights worked. At night when I needed them they didn't work again. Any ideas?
Chuck
New to the forum with a problem with a 2005 Dakota 4.6L 4x2 automatic. BTW my 2005 Ram Quad 4x4 Hemi no problems and 170k miles. Anyway, on the Dakota the dash lights are inop. All other lights work fine and dim properly and function fine. But the dash lights are the problem. I disconnected the dash, pulled the fuses to the pcm, unplugged the headlight switch, re-installed the dash and everything else and the dash lights worked. At night when I needed them they didn't work again. Any ideas?
Chuck
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Exactly.
The only lights that are not working are the ones to light the gauges. The heater / ac controls, PRNDL, Miles etc.. dim as they should. It has a POS aftermarket radio I plan to switch soon. But will continue to use an aftermarket unit with amps, comps, subs etc.....
When I bought the truck the lights didn't work at the dealer. The dealer told me it was a bad connection. I had THEM fix the dash lamps before I bought the truck. A couple of weeks go by and it happens again. I disconnect the cluster, re-connect everything and they work. That night they didn't work again.
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Taking it back to the dealer is out of the question since it was sold as is with no warranty over 30 days ago.
Since EVERYTHING else dims and all other lamps are working I'm thiniking it may be the cluster itself ie the printed circuit board or something along those lines. I was a master tech up until 1998 and this sort of thing always killed me with no service bullitens from the maker. By disconnecting and reconnecting you'd think it was simply a connector. But I checked the connectors, female and male, for loose, burnt or corroded connections. I cleaned the connectors, both, with RidOx and Caigs De-Oxit for a better connection to no avail. I have a really good salvage yard that handles nothing but trucks and are very reasonable so I may go and grab a Dakota or Durango cluster and give that a try if nobody else has any ideas on what it could be.
Chuck
Since EVERYTHING else dims and all other lamps are working I'm thiniking it may be the cluster itself ie the printed circuit board or something along those lines. I was a master tech up until 1998 and this sort of thing always killed me with no service bullitens from the maker. By disconnecting and reconnecting you'd think it was simply a connector. But I checked the connectors, female and male, for loose, burnt or corroded connections. I cleaned the connectors, both, with RidOx and Caigs De-Oxit for a better connection to no avail. I have a really good salvage yard that handles nothing but trucks and are very reasonable so I may go and grab a Dakota or Durango cluster and give that a try if nobody else has any ideas on what it could be.
Chuck