A few months ago the battery went dead in my 2002 Dodge Ram 1500.
I got a jump from a friend, and ever since then the Windshield wipers, Horn, Fog lights, High beams, Turn signals, & digital thermometer all were not working.
I checked all the fuses. Nothing wrong. Checked online and found lots of other people with my same issues. Lot's of them were saying PCM aka Fuse box. But a number of the articles were describing my situation exactly.
The Jump start and surge of power apparently fried something.
All of the things that were not working ran through the Front Control Module via the PDC.
I bit the bullet, and bought the $318 part called the Front Control Module.
It takes about 3 bolts, and 4 screws to change it.
When I turned the car back on....everything worked.
I'm only writing this because I noticed on here that some people are 100% sure that it is not the FCM. I'm glad that I did not heed their advice.
It's hard to be 100% about anything. I narrowed down my list of problems and came to my own conclusion.some of my problems might be traced to the fuse box (PDC) but with so many problems all running through the FCM and having occurred after a jump start, the FCM was a clear place to start.If it hadn't been the FCM I'm sure it would have been the PDC as they work in harmony. Good luck, and be careful jumping your dead truck off
I'm not a mechanic.

 

Hi I live in England and have a 2500 ,5.9 diesel ram truck
There are not that many hear and even laess good information on problem fixing
I jumped in it 2 days ago and had the lamp out come on on the dash , On further checks I found only the right rear turn signal light working only 1 rear bake light 1 front park / side lght working and also on low beam on the left front and high beam on the right front working. A lot of lights all out at the same time ,I have checked all bulbs and they are all ok .

one other issuse I had a while back was I lost power coming in to the trans relay I hooked up a feed from the battery direct to the relay and its worked perfect ever since ,I wonder is this part of the same problem ??

I found this thread and was sure I would need a new fuse box rather than a fcm after reading about other problems like I have ,

I took my fuse box apart and found that it looked very good no corrosion on it , so do i need to replace fusebox/pdc or the pcm ?? I also had dtc P1652 on my code reader come up at the same time .

 

From my understanding the corrossion occurs in the internal circuit boards of the PDC....which you cannot get to without cutting open the plastic casing. I also did not find any corossion on the actual harness connector terminals.

 

Jay
Thanks for your reply .

I did open up the plastic case on the fuse box , it was only a 2 minute job to drill the 3 plastic securing points on the top andgently lever the plastic casing away . The whole inside looks very clean , I did try cleaning up the plug terminals but this never made any differance .

looks like I will have to bite the bullet and just purchase a new fuse box and hope it fixs it .

 

Hmmmmmm......had this problem with my running lights....Parking lights to you and I mate, several years ago.
However, my fusebox was very obviously corroded when I opened it up.
You really need to see if there is high resistance in these PCB paths, as that's what causes the FCM to not see the signal to switch.
If your fuse box looks ok....go over the circuit board to see if you have any high resistances. If you have, try to trace it back and repair it, buy running a new line in using hard wire and soldering it in. This will save you on the cost of a new box, which will run into hundreds of £££'s over here mate.
Hope this helps??
Al.

 

Does anyone know what the Front Control Module (FCM) does for the fuel system? Or better yet have any documentation on the FCM? I believe my FCM is malfunctioning and shorting the voltage to the fuel pump. However before I replace the FCM I would like to confirm that this is actually the problem (as it very expensive over $900).

The problem is:
The fuel pump is not turning on.

Information I have found but its not enough:
Fuel system wiring diagram - http://www.dodge.com/bodybuilder/200...tionsystem.pdf
Integrated Power Module (IPM), Power Distribution Center (PDC), and Front Control Module (FCM) - http://www.dodge.com/bodybuilder/200...nformation.pdf
TSB for one that will not crank (This does not apply to me as my truck will crank but not start. See step 15, I would like to find a tsb like this for my issue.) - http://www.wkjeeps.com/tsb/tsb_wk_0806005.pdf

My Durango seems to have 2 PDC's:
PDC#1 has no fuses or relays for the fuel pump but the lead between the fuel pump relay and the fuel pump routes through it. The FCM is also attached to PDC #1.
PDC#2 has the fuel pump fuse and fuel pump relay.

What I tried and the response (over the past few days):
1. Checked voltage at the fuel pump. When I turn the key to run it goes up to about 8volts then back to 0volts in a second or so.
2. Checked the voltage at the fuse (bypassed the fuse with a multi meter) in PDC#2. When I turn the key to run it goes up to about 8volts then back to 0volts in a second or so.
3. Checked the voltage at the relay (bypassed the relay with a multi meter) in PDC#2. When I turn the key to run it goes up to about 8volts then back to 0volts in a second or so.
4. Checked the voltage at PDC#1 (bypassed PDC#1 with a piece of wire and checked at the fuel pump). When I turn the key to run it goes up to about 12volts then back to 0volts in a second or so.

Every thing is working right now this seems to only be a problem when its cold and wet so I am unable to check it out again until the problem comes back.
When it comes back I am going to test it again with just the FCM disconnected. Hopefully this will give me definitive proof it’s the FCM. However If I am unable to figure it out I may just try to bypass the IPM all together so I don’t get stuck again. But I would rather find and fix the actual problem.
If anyone has any information on why the fuel system gets routed through the IPM or any suggestion it would be greatly appreciated.

 

As Per Dodge Ram FSM;page 1244 of 8410
Sorry I dont have the durango FSM



The following
functions are Controlled by the FCM:
² Headlamp Power with Voltage Regulation
² Windshield Wiper “ON/OFF” Relay Actuation
² Windshield Wiper “HI/LO” Relay Actuation
² Windshield Washer Pump Motor
² Fog Lamp Relay Actuation
² Park Lamp Relay Actuation
² Horn Relay Actuation
The following inputs are Received/Monitored by the FCM:
² B+ Connection Detection
² Power Ground
² Ambient Temperature Sensing
² Ignition Switch Run
² Washer Fluid Level Switch
² Windshield Wiper Park Switch
² PCI Data Bus Circuit

 

Oldman, the FCM can be purchased separately from the pdc.

Looking at the PDF files you sent there is a fuse (18) and a relay int he pdc for the fuel pump, then the PCM handles the pump control.

The asd relay can also shut it down.
Locate and check the ground for the fuel pump also.

The FCM should only be about 300$ (in Canada, less in the US)
The PDC (fuse box) is somewhere around 400$ US
Don't let the dealer tell you it's one part, it's not.

Each of these parts will have its own dealer part number on it, write them down and ask for individule pricing..

 

OK I read every post on this and I can say after taking my Fuse block aprt completely each layer checking for corrosion... I am corrosion free little dust was all and I mean a little .....

I guess Im down to buying a module now. This all started when I changed my last battery .... lost brake light ....actually all light control ...headlight come on with key both for a while then only the right side.... all parking lights came on. No wipers, no horn , no fog lights, Classic case of corrosion in my book after reading everything... that was a bit of work ... Any how if any one has any question on how to take apart a 2003 dodge ram PDM or ( fuse block) give me a shout....


Russ
2003 Dodge ram 1500 quad cab .... 190k miles been a good truck

 

Think this might be a good thread to post this on....

For all of you having the difficulty of having no parking / running and plate lights I faced the same issue recently. There is a simple extremely cheap solution if you know how to use a soldering iron and a multimeter.

If you remove the fuse box and detach the FCM you can test for continuity between pin 15 where the FCM plugs in and pin 30 on the parking lamp rely (think it is 30 - writing this out of memory). If there is no continuity open the fuse box and go to the bottom side of the very bottom layer of the boards (should be the only green circuit card looking layer) and simply solder in a wire from where FMC pin 15 is connected to the board to where the relay pin 30 (the only pin extending to the surface from the bottom layer to the relay). when everything gets put back together there is ample room to have a wire on the board in that location. I personally did not run a wire I found the "dead" spot on the trace and repaired it. Running a 22 guage splice wire would have been much easier - I was thinking that it wouldn't fit, but when I got it back together I realized it would have. Either way, I didn't have to buy a new fuse box or FCM. While I was in there I did a little weather prevention as well, just to try to avoid future problems.

If anyone has any questions just let me know.