GlasairIII

Jag1, everything worked minus the dome light and the lights by the mirror. Tractorman, I rarely if ever use the tilt function. I did have to disconnect them from the clock spring to drop the column and to change the clock spring. I’ll look it over again. Mopar man, Where is the PDC? I’m guessing its the box that is in the dash below the column and to the right? I did have those connectors off. I’ll probe the fuse box as suggested. I’m off on a vacation starting tomorrow. Won’t be around to work on the truck. I’ll keep a check on the thread. And when I have a chance I’ll update status. thanks, Steve

Hello, I’ve got a 2001 3/4 ton 4wd auto quad cab diesel. About a week ago I changed the lower and upper dash, heater core and clock spring. My problems are the following items are not powering up. Cruise control light will not come on, no lights in dash or cluster, (all gauges in instrument cluster work, odometer and trip meter work) ODB connector no power, dome lights not working (though they could’ve been out before the dash change). I’ve checked fuses for continuity in the fuse box in the dash. I haven’t checked to see if they have power. I’ve gone over all of the connections that i disturbed during the dash replacement. The three connections on the back of the fuse box are the question mark in my head. I’ve checked them - and they are all plugged in. I’m wondering what would happen if i had plugged them into the wrong spot? They are very difficult to get at when the dash is in. When you remove the dash and it rotates down, you have better access through the back of the dash. But - as far as i know they are connected in the right order. Does anyone know the order by color? They are brown white and blue if I remember correctly. And that’s listed from the top down. One other related item. Chime does not work when the lights are on and the key is removed. Chime does not work when the door is left open with the key in the ignition. Chime does work for indications on the instrument cluster. My windshield wiper fluid bottle is empty. It let’s me know this every time I start the truck. So that part is working like it’s supposed to:) Horn works, turn signals work, all exterior lights work like there supposed to. Clock spring was changed due to airbag light coming on anytime i turned the wheel. (I temp installed another one to see if it was the culprit for the cruise control - no joy) BTW. No codes when the key is rotated three times. Can’t use the ODB port due to no power. Can someone point me in the right direction please. I’m guessing that all of the items that are not powered are related to one item. Thanks, Steve

WOW. Turned out to be an easy fix...... But first how I got there. Put both positive and negative leads of the jumper cables on the batteries. Measured voltage with the truck off. The passengers was marginally higher than the drivers. (Slowly equalizing both batts) Hooked up the plug to the alternator. (Had it disconnected so i didn’t roast the alternator during my drives to work). Started the truck and...... Both bats where taking a charge and within .5 of a volt of each other. The alternator slowly regulated the charge and stabilized at 14 volts. Gauge in the cab now worked and displayed the same as the drivers batt. Took the positive jumper off of the drivers batt = nice spark show. Battery voltage dropped on the drivers and shot up to 17 on the passenger side. Put the positive jumper back on and everything stabilized again. Disconnected the negative jumper lead from the drivers batt. No spark show and the volts on both batts stayed the same. So what did that show me??? That the positive cable from batt to batt was failing to perform it’s sole function in life. Shut the truck off, disconnected the jumper cables, disconnected the ground cables on both batt’s and disconnected the positive cable between both batteries. And what did I find? A whole lot of corrosion on the cable terminal ends and the post on the bolt for the positive terminal. With all of this connected, unable to see the corrosion. Wire brushed it all down and re-assembled it all. Started the truck and..... All is well! The bad grounds found during the W-T mod and the faulty cable from batt to batt had been masking several issues. From funky shifting from the tranny to dead pedal of the fuel system. I cannot thank those enough who post on this forum and offer sound advise and solid troubleshooting skills. Without this kind of resource, you could get frustrated enough chasing problems to be rid of the vehicle. Now she’s driving better than she ever did. And I think I’m falling in love with my truck again:) Now off to go sort out my wandering steering problem:) Thanks again, Steve

John, thanks. That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking about. Will give a go after work. Guessing it’s my positive lead going from batt to batt. (Additional ground has already been added going from drivers batt to engine during the w-t mod)

Jag and tractor man, Thanks for the advice. I’d insert pics to make it easier to see what I’m saying, but i don’t see how? Anyhow, with the truck off. 1. Measured voltage between negative and positive posts on the passenger battery = 12.79 2. Measured voltage between negative and positive post on the drivers battery = 12.52 3. Truck running and voltage measured the same way. Passenger = 17.38 and drivers measures 12.17 4. Gauge in cabin reads same as drivers battery. I did remove the passenger battery negative lead from the block. A bit of corrosion, Cleaned block and terminal with sandpaper and cleaned up bolt with wire brush. This was done before the items above. I have not added the additional ground wire between batteries. And upon inspection my positive battery cable may be a bit worn. The covering at the terminals has gone from red to brownish over the years.... As far as missing something during the mod. Here’s what i did. 1. Removed ground cable from harness to 4 wire junction. Took the four wires and installed a terminal. New ground wire going from engine case as shown in the pics to the drivers battery. Ground also has the four wires at the same location. 2. Removed the cable from the alternator to the PDC. Installed shortened wire (used a piece of the original wire and installed lugs) from alternator to the passenger battery. What did I miss? For now, I’m driving the truck with the connector disconnected from the alternator. (Short drive to work) Thanks for the help everyone.

New interstate battery’s installed 4 months ago.

Just did the mod. Couple of issues. 1. My battery gauge in the instrument cluster does not show voltage. Shows the battery voltage for about 5 mins and then drops to zero. 2. My passenger battery seems to be at a higher voltage than the drivers side. By about a volt when truck is off. With truck on, the alternator is putting out 17.5 volts. any ideas? BTW. Truck shifts so much smoother now?