I have a 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 4X4 5.7.

The first symptom I had was that the front left orange marker light would turn on when I hit the brakes.

That went away and then the lower tail lights seemed to "stay on" when the lights were on and were unusually bright.

Now the left front turn signal marker light won't work with the blinker and the left blinker fast blinks after a few seconds even though the lamp still lights when when the parking lights or headlights are on.

There are a couple other nuances like my trailer lights were acting like my tail lights one time where they stayed bright and then the next time they worked fine.

I tried to clean the negative terminal on the battery and that did not fix it.

I have read it could be the fuse box or it could be a ground somewhere else. Where do you recommend I start or has anybody seen this problem before? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Start by checking all of the main grounds.

Then you might want to replace the multifunction switch.

You might have a problem with the TIPM which can be a little pricey to replace.

 

If it is the multi function switch it should have a 10 year 150,000 warranty on it.

The fast blinker I would first try replacing the bulbs to rule that out.

A tech here recently told me that 9 times out of 10 problems with trailer lights are going to be found to be caused by a bad ground on the trailer.

 

Will do, thanks for all the tips...

 

by multifunction switch you mean the turn signal assembly? Or do you mean something else?

 

Go to www.rockauto.com

and then put in your make model and year then search for multifunction switch and purchase it.

It's basically just the little stick that comes out of the left side of the steering column that you move to put on the turn signals, and wipers.

by the way, does your truck only do this when a trailer is hooked up? Or is it all the time? or is it random?

 

My only problem with the multifuntion switch is that the brakes are involved. Would the multifunction switch have any interaction with the brakes?

The problem happens without the trailer.

 

Do you mean the brake lights or the actual brakes?

If it's the brake lights then yes it is possible b/c the system uses the same bulb for a blinker as it does for the brake lights in the rear so it is still a possibility.

If it is the actual brakes themselves (problems stopping) then I would say you have a MAJOR short circuit somewhere and you should really have it checked professionally.