Flickering dash lights - 2007 caravan
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Flickering dash lights - 2007 caravan
My dash only has lights for the odometer and trip, which flicker at a high speed (2-4 per second). Occasionally, without warning, this LED will go out completely for a couple of seconds, and, when this happens, the gas gauge and temp gauge both go to zero, and, the radio goes dead. After about 2 - 3 seconds, the radio comes back on, the gas and temp gauge bounce back, and the odometer LED resumes flickering.
On another thread, I spoke about my rear wiper not working and that two places recommended replacing the BCM, so, I am wondering if a faulty BCM could cause this dash/radio intermittent problem. It doesn't seem to affect the car in any other way (drives fine, gets good gas mileage, etc.).
The didn't get any codes when they read the BCM log, but, they say sometimes a bad BCM doesn't log any bad codes. I'd sure hate to replace the BCM only to still have this dash/radio intermittent problem. Any ideas? I checked, and rechecked, all the fuses in the IPM, and, of course, disconnected the battery for a couple of minutes - no change.
On another thread, I spoke about my rear wiper not working and that two places recommended replacing the BCM, so, I am wondering if a faulty BCM could cause this dash/radio intermittent problem. It doesn't seem to affect the car in any other way (drives fine, gets good gas mileage, etc.).
The didn't get any codes when they read the BCM log, but, they say sometimes a bad BCM doesn't log any bad codes. I'd sure hate to replace the BCM only to still have this dash/radio intermittent problem. Any ideas? I checked, and rechecked, all the fuses in the IPM, and, of course, disconnected the battery for a couple of minutes - no change.
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Joined: Jul 2011
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From: Red Lion, PA (USA)
Until a Technician responds - I wonder if your ride is also shutting off but you don't realize it because you are crusing down the road. Next time it happens - try hitting the horn to see if that is out since it isn't part of the dash. Did you check out your Battery connections (cables)? I had a Nissan with the flashing lights and found the connection to the dash panel wasn't firmly in place.
The van has a front control module in place of a BCM. I would remove the FCM and check the connections. In some cases cleaningthe connections or replacing the FCM has fix the problem. This is from what I have read on the forum.
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Your suggestion about cleaning the FCM seems to have solved the problem.
I removed the FCM (after disconnectin the battery, of course), and cleaned the contacts, and replaced it. The flickering went away, for now. Before I disconnected the battery, I checked and, sure enough, the dash led's were flickering. What's more, the volume control on the radio would not work (moving the dial didn't affect the volume setting).
After cleaning and replacing the FCM, the led's no longer flicker and the radio volume control works normally. Of course, the problem was intermittent, so, I won't know for sure until I go for a ride and see if it stays good over the long haul.
To be sure, I don't believe the contacts were dirty - they seemed clean, but, I noticed that the 4 torx screws that held the FCM in place were NOT as tight as I expected them to be. So, when I replaced the FCM, I tightened them up to at least the 7 lbs called for in the service manual. I think the tightening of the FCM retaining torx screws is what did the trick.
Alas, fixing this problem had NO EFFECT on the rear wiper (I was hoping foolishly that maybe this would fix that problem also). But, since a Dodge mechanic told me that one of the codes logged by the BCM was that the FCM had been disconnected some time in the past, I am concluding that someone removed the FCM and just didn't tighten the screws up enough. Thanks for the suggestion.
I removed the FCM (after disconnectin the battery, of course), and cleaned the contacts, and replaced it. The flickering went away, for now. Before I disconnected the battery, I checked and, sure enough, the dash led's were flickering. What's more, the volume control on the radio would not work (moving the dial didn't affect the volume setting).
After cleaning and replacing the FCM, the led's no longer flicker and the radio volume control works normally. Of course, the problem was intermittent, so, I won't know for sure until I go for a ride and see if it stays good over the long haul.
To be sure, I don't believe the contacts were dirty - they seemed clean, but, I noticed that the 4 torx screws that held the FCM in place were NOT as tight as I expected them to be. So, when I replaced the FCM, I tightened them up to at least the 7 lbs called for in the service manual. I think the tightening of the FCM retaining torx screws is what did the trick.
Alas, fixing this problem had NO EFFECT on the rear wiper (I was hoping foolishly that maybe this would fix that problem also). But, since a Dodge mechanic told me that one of the codes logged by the BCM was that the FCM had been disconnected some time in the past, I am concluding that someone removed the FCM and just didn't tighten the screws up enough. Thanks for the suggestion.