Hello, this is my first post here at DodgeForum, hopefully im posting this in the right forum, and hopefully someone could help me out.. My wife was driving our 2002 Dodge Ram Sport down the road the other day at night and then all of a sudden the interior lights went out, all of the gauges (heat, gas, battery, temperature) went out, the windshield wipers wont work, the power doors wont work, horn doesnt work, and the headlights wont go off unless the engine is shut off.. The power windows however, do work. The red security light on the dash stays on all the time. The radio and the radio lights also work.. the light under the hood works.. Power seats work.. the engine starts up fine.. just all of these things dont work.. All of the fuses are fine.. Any help whatsoever would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance

 

Wow... I'd check the codes, and I'm sure it's throwing them. To do this, get in, hold down the Trip Odo. button, and turn the key to "run" but don't start it. It will run a short diagnostic and then it should display "C-Code" on the Odo. readout. Then it starts spittin' out codes, or least mine did after I reset the ECM yesterday. (Mine's an '02 as well). Then look up the codes on the net and see what you can come up with. Or, go to AutoZone and have them hook up for a free Check Engine Light scan. Either way, I'd get something done on that ASAP.

 

Run the test dirtydodge said, and you can post the codes up here, I have a chart of what they mean (or, you can look elsewhere online as well).

 

ok, i tried to check the codes, but not a single thing on the whole cluster shows up, except for a round dot, which is to the left of the gas gauge, and its always on.. the mileage never came up and nothing ever came up on the odometer when i tried to check the codes.. any other idea? thanks

 

It would seem as if your instrument cluster is bad (yes, you read that right).
However, do the following first:
Gain access to the integrated power module (aka Power Distribution Center, located in engine compartment). Ensure fuse 28 (10A) is good (actually, make sure all the fuses are good, a multimeters continuity tester is great for this, but only test continuity on a fuse when its removed). Also, verify that the fuse is recieving battery voltage.
If the fuse and battery feed to it (which should be present at all times) check out ok, disconnect battery negative cable. Remove instrument cluster. Reconnect battery negative cable. Check for battery voltage at the "Fused B(+)" cavities of the instrument cluster connectors (see attached picture). Than, check for continuity between the ground circuit cavities and a ground. If battery voltage or a good ground is not available at their respective places, make the proper circuit repairs.
If the fuses, battery voltage at the instrument cluster, and the grounds check good, it would appear you need a new instrument cluster (which, by the way, apparently is vehicle specific).

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