I have a 2003 1500 quad cab, 4wd, 4.7L. While on a trip pulling my camper, I had to have a radiator and clutch fan replaced on a Friday, with no dealer nearby. I had a reputable shop in the town do the work, and they sent me on my way about quitting time for the week.
Saturday night, we left for home, then noticed the issues. None of these problems were there before she went into the shop. When cranking, normally it starts almost immediately. Now you either hold it for several seconds, or you can release the switch and hit it again and it will fire right up. Second, the cruise control will not come on. When you first turn on the ignition switch, the cruise light will illuminate along with all the other cluster lights, so the indicator must be ok. Third, the tranny will not drop into passing gear. From a stop, it will drop down and work up through the gears, but when travelling, it will only drop out of OD and then to 2nd. It will not drop to low at all. I think these MUST be all related. One thing, I noticed they DID NOT disconnect the battery during the service. Any ideas? Sorry I'm so long-winded, but wanted to get all the info I have out there.
Thanks
Kevin

 

Welcome to Dodge Forum.

For one thing, 2nd gear IS passing gear. You'd have to be really crawling along to get it to drop into 1st when you mat the loud pedal. For the cruise, there may be a fuse or relay that needs attention. A PCM reset may resolve this for you. Pull the PCM fuse, get in, buckle the belt and turn the key to on. Wait for all the flashy lights and chimes to stop, turn it off and put the fuse back in. It will take a bit longer to start than normal, but this may be what it wants. Certainly can't hurt.

 

That may work. I can't see replacing a fan clutch and radiator having any effect on the electrical system. Might check all of the fuses for a blown one as well.

 

Me either, however all of these problems were nonexistent when it rolled in Friday morning. Matter of fact, I was using the cruise control on the way to the shop. And as far as the passing gear, it was working VERY WELL coming through the mountains pulling the camper Thursday afternoon. And I would have noticed the starting issue when I started it to pull it from the parking lot to the staging area at the shop. Something happened while it was there, I guess I was hoping it was something familiar I could check before I took it to another shop here at home Monday. I checked all the fuses with an ohm meter and pulled the 10 amp pcm fuse and tried the reset, with no results.
Thanks for the info.
Kevin

 

Only other thing I can think of right off would be maybe something got unplugged under the hood. Might look around for anything that might be unhooked that shouldn't be. I would think that you would get a check engine light for that though.
Might also raise the main fuse box under the hood and look for moisture under there. They have been know to get corroded and cause all kinds of electrical problems.
Good luck, let us know what you find.

 

Check the Tranmission speed sensor... that was my problem for the cruise.