Erratic Gauges

From : msyjsy

Q: took the 93 dakota i just bought out of town today. 200 miles round trip. this is the scenario all was well until after a long period of using cruise control. turned it off and the tach bounced around for a few seconds. did not think much of it till i started heading home. turned on the flashers when i pulled from the off ramp to help push a stalled car out of traffic. all of the gauges went into a fit bouncing around in time with the flashers. turned the flashers off and all the gauges were in a position other than what they should have been. on occasion using the right turn signal will correct everything but not always. dash indicators work for the turn signals when this all happens but when the flashers are used the only thing on the dash that lights is the bright indicator and does so in time with the flashing. all of the exterior lights are doing their job. things that cause these symptoms are using flashers using turn signals pulling the stick back to flash and once in awhile the gauges just creep into a position that is not right. i am going to assume that there is a problem in the steering column probably the signal switch but wanted to check here before i rip into it. the last electrical problem i had was on my olds and threw me and several technicians for a loop before it corrected itself just to come back two years later right after i sold the car to a friend big mistake. somebody please confirm my suspicions so i can make my plan of attack. thanks. -- from the desk of jesse a. harrington .

Replies:

From : yonzie

did he say errotic guages .

From : msyjsy

i dont have it apart yet but i am suspecting something deeper than the multifunction switch. i am thinking maybe a harness that goes down the column i have seen them wear through at a point where the wheel tilts. i cant picture the problem effecting the gauges from the multifunction alone. -- from the desk of jesse a. harrington took the 93 dakota i just bought out of town today. 200 miles round trip. this is the scenario all was well until after a long period of using cruise control. turned it off and the tach bounced around for a few seconds. did not think much of it till i started heading home. turned on the flashers when i pulled from the off ramp to help push a stalled car out of traffic. all of the gauges went into a fit bouncing around in time with the flashers. turned the flashers off and all the gauges were in a position other than what they should have been. on occasion using the right turn signal will correct everything but not always. dash indicators work for the turn signals when this all happens but when the flashers are used the only thing on the dash that lights is the bright indicator and does so in time with the flashing. all of the exterior lights are doing their job. things that cause these symptoms are using flashers using turn signals pulling the stick back to flash and once in awhile the gauges just creep into a position that is not right. i am going to assume that there is a problem in the steering column probably the signal switch but wanted to check here before i rip into it. the last electrical problem i had was on my olds and threw me and several technicians for a loop before it corrected itself just to come back two years later right after i sold the car to a friend big mistake. somebody please confirm my suspicions so i can make my plan of attack. thanks. -- from the desk of jesse a. harrington .

From : maccheeta

i had a similar experience that included a check engine light and then a total shutdown of the engine while on a freeway in a 95 dakota. the computer had to be replaced. the mechanic tried to get better grounding and electrical connections before replacing the computer. msyjsy wrote took the 93 dakota i just bought out of town today. 200 miles round trip. this is the scenario all was well until after a long period of using cruise control. turned it off and the tach bounced around for a few seconds. did not think much of it till i started heading home. turned on the flashers when i pulled from the off ramp to help push a stalled car out of traffic. all of the gauges went into a fit bouncing around in time with the flashers. turned the flashers off and all the gauges were in a position other than what they should have been. on occasion using the right turn signal will correct everything but not always. dash indicators work for the turn signals when this all happens but when the flashers are used the only thing on the dash that lights is the bright indicator and does so in time with the flashing. all of the exterior lights are doing their job. things that cause these symptoms are using flashers using turn signals pulling the stick back to flash and once in awhile the gauges just creep into a position that is not right. i am going to assume that there is a problem in the steering column probably the signal switch but wanted to check here before i rip into it. the last electrical problem i had was on my olds and threw me and several technicians for a loop before it corrected itself just to come back two years later right after i sold the car to a friend big mistake. somebody please confirm my suspicions so i can make my plan of attack. thanks. .

From : dale yonz

yonzie@mac.com wrote did he say errotic guages or that should be erotic .

From : msyjsy

i have the switch out of the column. need to get a self powered check light the chilt has a procedure for checking it. looks like an expensive switch going to guess $200. will get a price today. and looks like a dinosaur. -- from the desk of jesse a. harrington took the 93 dakota i just bought out of town today. 200 miles round trip. this is the scenario all was well until after a long period of using cruise control. turned it off and the tach bounced around for a few seconds. did not think much of it till i started heading home. turned on the flashers when i pulled from the off ramp to help push a stalled car out of traffic. all of the gauges went into a fit bouncing around in time with the flashers. turned the flashers off and all the gauges were in a position other than what they should have been. on occasion using the right turn signal will correct everything but not always. dash indicators work for the turn signals when this all happens but when the flashers are used the only thing on the dash that lights is the bright indicator and does so in time with the flashing. all of the exterior lights are doing their job. things that cause these symptoms are using flashers using turn signals pulling the stick back to flash and once in awhile the gauges just creep into a position that is not right. i am going to assume that there is a problem in the steering column probably the signal switch but wanted to check here before i rip into it. the last electrical problem i had was on my olds and threw me and several technicians for a loop before it corrected itself just to come back two years later right after i sold the car to a friend big mistake. somebody please confirm my suspicions so i can make my plan of attack. thanks. -- from the desk of jesse a. harrington .

From : msyjsy

the multi-function switch was the culprit. and only cost $68.00 was much lower than i thought it might be. -- from the desk of jesse a. harrington took the 93 dakota i just bought out of town today. 200 miles round trip. this is the scenario all was well until after a long period of using cruise control. turned it off and the tach bounced around for a few seconds. did not think much of it till i started heading home. turned on the flashers when i pulled from the off ramp to help push a stalled car out of traffic. all of the gauges went into a fit bouncing around in time with the flashers. turned the flashers off and all the gauges were in a position other than what they should have been. on occasion using the right turn signal will correct everything but not always. dash indicators work for the turn signals when this all happens but when the flashers are used the only thing on the dash that lights is the bright indicator and does so in time with the flashing. all of the exterior lights are doing their job. things that cause these symptoms are using flashers using turn signals pulling the stick back to flash and once in awhile the gauges just creep into a position that is not right. i am going to assume that there is a problem in the steering column probably the signal switch but wanted to check here before i rip into it. the last electrical problem i had was on my olds and threw me and several technicians for a loop before it corrected itself just to come back two years later right after i sold the car to a friend big mistake. somebody please confirm my suspicions so i can make my plan of attack. thanks. -- from the desk of jesse a. harrington .