Hey guys, I have a '03 2500 4x4 diesel ram. I have two very wierd problems.

Problem 1 (just started this morning)

-I get in the truck, and the door ajar light will not turn off, and all interior lights are stuck on. all the doors are shut. Even wierder, is when im driving the truck, when i hit the blinker, the door ajar light blinks off when the blinker lights blink on. Every time the blinker "blinks" on....the door ajar light momentarily shuts off and the interior lights start to turn off. But then...the blinker blinks off and the interior lights brighten up again, and the door ajar light comes back. So they alternate blinker on, ajar light off. blinker off...ajar light on....untill i turn the blinkers off. Also does this with flashers. Sounds like a short or possibly a bad BCM to me, but i suppose it could be a bad switch at one of the latches. I would believe its a bad switch,, but its to wierd how the blinkers affect the situation, which leads me towards short or bad BCM. HELP!!!!!

Problem 2

When its below 60 degrees outside and truck is cold (has been sitting for more than 4 hours)....The alternator will not charge at idle...or anything below 2000 rpms for that matter. Once i put the truck in drive and start driving, i have to get the rpms up before it hits second gear....then the alternator activates and starts charging. If i just let it sit there and idle....the alternator will start charging after maybee 5 minutes or so. Untill then, it just sits there and the lights dim every time the intake grid heaters cycle on and off while its cold. I have had this issue for the 2 years i have owned the truck. Wierd huh?

Please help me!

JH

 

I know this sounds weird, but spray WD-40 on the latches. We had several fords that grounded through the latches. Funny things happened with the lights if not lubricated.

 

the charging thing is normal, its due to the grid heaters being on, and they shut off after it warms up a little, the electrical sounds strange tho, all i can say is check the little door switches

 

Bad grounds can cause alot of problems, check all the grounds you can find, just my 2 cents

 

Early 03 models had problems with moisture getting into the fuse blocks or power distribution center. Mine had lamp display light on, 1 brake light only, 1 headlight only, no turn signals. Changed the power distribution box and fixed all my electrical problems.

I just ordered the part for the power distribution center *PDC* or fuse block. From what I am reading this is a common problem on early 03 2500's. Dealer is charging $425 for this part.

WWW.MOPARONLINEPARTS.COM

Part number Part Description Quantity Price Total
68005474AA BLOCK NONE 1 $261.80 $261.80

Sub Total $281.78

This was an updated part with an extra bottom housing to cover the electrical connections and bottom of PDC to protect from future water damage.

Part number on the part was 56049019AF but with housing changed to 6800544AA