'04 Dakota blowing brake light fuse daily!

From : ben

Q: help! my 2004 dakota quad cab 4.7ltr. v8 5spd auto with a/c trailer tow group 34k miles has been popping stop lamp or brake light fuses every day for a few weeks now and i cannot locate the source of the trouble. heres what ive done 1. trailer brake system - disconnected and removed not the source of the overload or short. 2. the 7-pin connector at the rear bumper cleaned additional hitch light in or out - fuse still pops. 3. removed applied elec. connector gel to all brake light bulbs top light was loose and burned out new bulb replaced with gel & some glue to keep the bulb stable. fuse still pops. 4. under dash brake switch inspected elec. connector gel applied to slide pin. fuse still pops. could the brake switch be bad how do i check this what else am i missing... other than wiring harness... which i would rather do anything than trace brake wires for chafing! thanks a million to anyone with guidance direction or assistance! - ben hoping not to get rear-ended in traffic .

Replies:

From : tom lawrence

could the brake switch be bad how do i check this while i doubt it the easiest way i can think to check it would be to remove the connector from the switch and jumper the +12v feed to the brake lamp output simulating what the switch would do. my guess is thats still going to pop the fuse. what else am i missing... other than wiring harness... which i would rather do anything than trace brake wires for chafing! unfortunately i think thats your most likely fault... somewhere in the wiring harness something has gotten chafed pinched or whatnot and is shorting out. pull all the bulbs and check for continuity between the brake +12v feed and ground pull the fuse and measure from the unpowered leg of the fuse socket. have someone watch the meter while you jiggle the wiring underneath the truck. .

From : bob m

did you check for voltage at the starter main lug where the heavy cable connects -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving first put a battery charger on the battery for over night. get a load tester and check the battery for resilience after the load. or use a multimeter and watch voltage as you remove the charger. if its dropping then you have a problem. if not try to start the van. if the voltage drops below 10.5v and the starter turns suspect battery problems. if the voltage drops out and the starter does not turn replace the starter. this assumes the engine is not seized. i just went out and tried it because the charger has been on the battery for the past 5 hours. i tried both of what you mention. the volage at battery was about 13.5 volts with charger and really did not drop after charger was removed. i put meter on battery and tried to start. i went from 13.xx to about 12.88 at start position then back up to 12.98 after i turned the key to off position but still no starter movement or noise. solenoid is on starter. bad starter now should i still try to jump the starter terminals thanks for the input always load test the battery and check its voltage first when diagnosing an automotive electrical problem. this proves that your power source is good allowing you to find the problem rather than wonder how much voltage you lost in the bad circuit. settles in to await the inevitable horde of electrical engineers and wannabees that will contradict proper 12v neg ground troubleshooting -- max everyone is entitled to his own opinion he is not entitled to his own facts. sen. daniel patrick moynihan of new york friday started my vehicle but had problems. sounded like battery had charge problem but started anyway. saturday tried to start vehicle. turned over but battery died. later tried charging battery in evening with smart charger. before the charger the whole eletrical system would shut down but the check engine light would come on when the door was open. its a 94 ford aerostar - other groups are dying now i have the charger going on the battery it no longer does that. sunday battery dead again charge again. tried to start again. nothing. so i asked a neighbor to help me and try a jump start. still nothing coming from starter. so what i did was test the start relay and jumped the terminals. nothing again. not even a spark even though i did put a meter at the opposite terminal and grounded it to see if i got voltage when i turned to the key to the start position. i did try jumping the terminals at the starter this morning but got nothing because the batter was dead. i still need to try to jump at the starter again. so i am wondering bad battery or bad starter .

From : bob mbob m

tried the om tip for initializing additonal fobs ... no luck. fred noticing a chime code now when i turn on the ignition getting 6 chimes a pause then 2 chimes ... anyone able to decipher this code tia fred hi all! have a problem with my 99 ctd quad cab. had it in storage over the winter and pulled the iod fuse. truck started up fine but now the keyless entry doesnt work. is there a tweek/trick/program reflash or something to get this back on line tia best to all! fred . 222 343712 z9qkj.162422$pm4.52953@pd7urf1no tried the om tip for initializing additonal fobs ... no luck. fred noticing a chime code now when i turn on the ignition getting 6 chimes a pause then 2 chimes ... anyone able to decipher this code tia fred hi all! have a problem with my 99 ctd quad cab. had it in storage over the winter and pulled the iod fuse. truck started up fine but now the keyless entry doesnt work. is there a tweek/trick/program reflash or something to get this back on line tia best to all! fred .

From : bob m

tried the om tip for initializing additonal fobs ... no luck. fred noticing a chime code now when i turn on the ignition getting 6 chimes a pause then 2 chimes ... anyone able to decipher this code tia fred hi all! have a problem with my 99 ctd quad cab. had it in storage over the winter and pulled the iod fuse. truck started up fine but now the keyless entry doesnt work. is there a tweek/trick/program reflash or something to get this back on line tia best to all! fred . 222 343711 z9qkj.33258$cj7.28354@pd7urf2no hey roy! is this the programming addtional transmitters procedure in the om that you are referring to thanks fred hi all! have a problem with my 99 ctd quad cab. had it in storage over the winter and pulled the iod fuse. truck started up fine but now the keyless entry doesnt work. is there a tweek/trick/program reflash or something to get this back on line tia best to all! fred in the om there is a procedure to initialize the fob. you may have to re do it. . 222 343711 z9qkj.33258$cj7.28354@pd7urf2no hey roy! is this the programming addtional transmitters procedure in the om that you are referring to thanks fred hi all! have a problem with my 99 ctd quad cab. had it in storage over the winter and pulled the iod fuse. truck started up fine but now the keyless entry doesnt work. is there a tweek/trick/program reflash or something to get this back on line tia best to all! fred in the om there is a procedure to initialize the fob. you may have to re do it. .

From : bob m

hey roy! is this the programming addtional transmitters procedure in the om that you are referring to thanks fred hi all! have a problem with my 99 ctd quad cab. had it in storage over the winter and pulled the iod fuse. truck started up fine but now the keyless entry doesnt work. is there a tweek/trick/program reflash or something to get this back on line tia best to all! fred in the om there is a procedure to initialize the fob. you may have to re do it. .

From : bob m

hey roy! is this the programming addtional transmitters procedure in the om that you are referring to thanks fred hi all! have a problem with my 99 ctd quad cab. had it in storage over the winter and pulled the iod fuse. truck started up fine but now the keyless entry doesnt work. is there a tweek/trick/program reflash or something to get this back on line tia best to all! fred in the om there is a procedure to initialize the fob. you may have to re do it. .