Thanks everyone, it was the battery. Got everything tightened up real good, and its working perfect again.

 

Glad you got it working right! Glad we were able to help ya! Just remember, always try the simplest thing first! Will save you time and headache later on!

 

2005 Dodge Caravan:


You can add dash light dimmer to the list that will cause this problem.
I am a certified technician and I usually work on school busses.


My sisters VIM converted wheel chair van had similar issues to the ones in this forum. I checked the harness in the door, cleaned the grounds and ran Vd on the circuits. I did load test the battery and found that it failed, but was not the main problem.


In the end, I saw some one post about their head light switch. I finally got the idea to mover the dimmer wheel and low and behold, when I moved it to the off position all the problems corrected themselves. I have been driving it for two days and all is well. I am going to replace the switch to ensure that the vehicle performs properly.


I have heard a quote "All of us are smarter than one of us." I find forums can sometimes be very useful. So thanks to all of us.


Bill Porter


Red Deer, Alberta
Canada

 

There was an NHTSA investigation into the headlight switches which resulted in a lifetime warranty on the switches for certain 2005 and 2006 model year vans (built between March 2004 and December 2005). I don't know if this applies in Canada, but it is worth checking with a dealer.

 

The extended warranty (not exactly recall) was for them not working at all, but it doesn't hurt to check your VIN for eligibility.


Yes, the headlamp switch or any input to the cluster, even such as a lighted sun visor, can cause a string of symptoms that appear as BUS related.


Closing this almost 5 year old thread....