Wiring Problems of Dodge Dakota - part 1

Wiring harness connected to a/c and hater blower motor melts and causes the blower motor to fail. It has happened twice in 2 years. The first time the dealer put in a new harness at my expense, around 400 dollars. Both times the blower motor stopped while driving under normal city driving conditions. There are other complaints about this problem on this ntsb website, and they describe the exact same symptoms and conditions both before and after harness failure. My fear is the harness melting and could cause a fire under the dash leading to a crash or vehicle fire.

See all problems of the 2003 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Dakota. The contact stated that the wiring inside the driver's seat cushion burned holes in the fabric. The vehicle was taken to rairdons Chrysler Dodge of kirkland (12828 ne 124 th st kirkland, wa 98034), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and sent a special investigator, but did not offer any assistance. The failure mileage was 81,000.

See all problems of the 2005 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

The heater blower resistor keeps burning up. I have replaced the resistor various times and it keeps burning up. I replaced the blower motor and the resistor keeps burning up. I had the vehicle checked for an electrical short circuit and it has none. The wiring to the resistor also burns up. I checked the internet and there are numerous reports and complaints of the same problem with many owners of the same type of vehicle. In one of the cases the resistor cause a fire inside the vehicle and the vehicle burned down. This problem has been occurring on these vehicles for a long time and it hadn't been reported to the manufacturer. I am afraid that someday the vehicle will catch on fire because of this issue. I keep on replacing the resistor and the harness every time it burns and I've also replaced the blower motor. I can't seem to get answer from anyone from Dodge or Chrysler on this problem. At the time that the resistor burned down the vehicle was running on the city streets at 30 mph. It has happened various times on the same running senario.

See all problems of the 2004 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

Vehicle while on highway would flash 4lo on dash or illuminate svc 4wd. Vehicle at highway speeds would attempt to engage 4lo as well. While engaging, vehicle would lose acceleration and rpms would immediately increase. This would cause loss of control of the vehicle. With vehicle off and key removed, transfer case motor would try to change transfer case position. None of these symptoms occurred while 4wd was engaged using selector switch. Vehicle was taken to dealer for service. Codes recorded in computer were for transfer case position sensor being out of range. (both high and low values were recorded simultaneously) dealer originally found leads on fcm connector between wiring harness and pcb had corroded due to faulty sealant and were possibly shorting out. Manufacturer was made aware of fault. Manufacturer replaced fcm at no cost. After fcm was replaced vehicle would still exhibit symptoms. Vehicle was taken back to same dealer. After several days of testing, tech was able to get vehicle to exhibit symptoms in shop. Tech found that the range position sensor was failing. It was found that vibration would cause the sensor to short out or go open. Manufacturer was made aware but would not cover repair. Transfer case motor assembly was replaced at cost to customer. Vehicle has since been driven over 2000 miles without further issues.

The blower motor resistor connector on the 2001 Dodge Dakota's are overheating and melting the connectors, this is causing a potential fire hazard. If you do a search online you will see hundreds of people talking about this problem. All the auto parts stores have these in stock because it is a known problem. I have had to replace my blower motor resistor 4 times in the last 3 years and wiring 2 times because of this problem. Dodge even seems to know about this problem with the blower motor maybe drawing to many amps, but when you contact them they just say the vehicle is out of warranty.

See all problems of the 2011 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

Wiring harness going to blower fan resistor shorted out due to corrosion inside the connector and melted the wire insulation from the wiring close to the harness. I believe this could under certain situations cause a vehicle fire.

While parked my blower motor wiring to the resistor just went. This is the 4th time it has done this. Now I am with out a truck and its snowing and cold so it us inoperable! I have seen plenty of other people with the same problem I am having! thank god I was not driving with my kids in the truck when it went. The wiring melted so there is nothing I can do to replace the resistor so I have to replace the whole wire harness. This in not the first time this has happened in these trucks! something needs done before someone gets killed over this.

Rear door wiring failure causing the wires to short out the instrument cluster, speedometer, door locks, power windows, doom lighting. The wiring failure is due to a poor design and poor quality of materials used on both sides of the read doors wiring system between the b pillar connector and the door. This can be identified by removing the black rubber booth.

See all problems of the 2002 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Dakota. While driving approximately 30 mph, the contact noticed that the air conditioner and heat blower fan failed to function. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics where the contact was advised that the resistor needed to be replaced because the wiring was melted. The vehicle was repaired. The failure recurred after repairs. The vehicle was not further repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.

Recall id # 03v389000: on 2001 Dodge Dakota wiring harness rerouting/repair recall id#09eo12000 exterior lighting recall id#09eo25000 exterior lighting headlights the 2001 Dodge Dakota with automatic transmission has the same problem with turn signals ,tail light, dash lighting, & radio failure I have talked to 20 or 30 Dakota owners with automatic transmission &same problems.

See all problems of the 2001 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

2009 the rear door wiring shorted due to faulty design, and shorted the instrument cluster leaving the vehicle without any instruments readings, instruments lights or a way to drive at night. Currently the back doors accessories power doors locks and windows don't work as the problem has been found to be the wiring of the back doors with this feature. The wiring began to rub against each other exposing wires thus creating a short to the instrument cluster and lighting system.

My wife drove my 2001 Dodge Dakota sport during the snow days and complained that the headlights would flicker. Over a few weeks, I started to notice that they would flicker, along with the dash lights, taillights, dome light, and brake lights. Then, as I had not been driving at night much, I had my 4 year old daughter with me coming from richmond to connersville, in, and this became severe while it was raining with fog. All lights would go off and come back on, they would also go off everything the delayed wipers would go work. Then the delayed wipers would go everytime the lights would flicker. As the Dodge dealer could not narrow the problem down without spending much money, I tried to troubleshoot myself since I did not believe the problem was what they instructed it may be. To make a long story short, it ended up being what I thought it was, the body control module (bcm) or central timing module (ctm) or time and alarm module which are all the same thing but the name has changed at times. This module controls the lights, wipers, keyless entry, etc. This was a very dangerous situation for me and my daughter due to this module that almost caused accidents by people pulling out in front of me because of headlights or not seeing my taillights at times. I have seen many complaints about this in Dodge forums and have seen where Dodge knows this is a major problem (maybe that's why they keep renaming the device). I just today had the module that I ordered programmed in my truck which was over $300. A used module will not work due to the VIN being "burned in memory" in rom. I know this because I spent money on labor for the dealer to find that out. This should be a recall because it is a potentially dangerous situation! I could not drive at night until they could program it due to the risks!.

The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Dakota. While driving approximately 30 mph, the heater stopped working in the vehicle. The dealer stated that the heater fan resistors melted and the wiring harness connected to the heater needed to be replaced. The dealer further stated that this was a common failure for this year, make, and model. A year prior to the failure, the heat resistors were replaced. The failure mileage was 100,000 and current mileage was 120,000.

25jan06 tell Dodge dealer that pass window inop from pass side switch works from drivers side switch. Dodge replace switch. 20apr06 tell Dodge dealer pass window inop from pass side but works from drivers side. Dodge couldn't find anything wrong. Persists up to 7dec07, hopefully my mechanic found the trouble. 1dec07 "service 4wd" light came on 3dec07 called to get apptmt for truck 4dec07 remote door entry wouldn't work or door lock for all doors on driver arm rest, windshield washer and wiper pulse wouldn't work 5dec07 headlights did not come on during evening traffic commute, turn signals worked 7dec07 take truck to shop finds short to ground in circuit to into lights (fuse#1) pnk wire near parking brake petal, replace central timer module (p/n 56049072al).

Temp gauge will peg followed by check engine light. P# is 0118--excess voltage from sensor. 4 different dealerships have attempted to fix this problem. Calls Chrysler and they were no help at all.

I have a 2001 durango that has a recall for a wiring connector under the front seat. I want to fix it myself do to my last exprience at a dealer. I called them and they said it had to go to the dealer and no repair kit could be provided to me. This is wrong! maybe the dealer could let me have his car for a day. I could do a lot that they would never know. Please help!.

On 3/25, my trucks instrument panel started to malfunction. All of my warning lights came on and my odometer quit working. It said "no bus". I contacted savannah Dodge about the issue on 3/26, 7:45 am. An appointment for 2:00 was scheduled. Upon dropping the truck off, I was told that my truck would be diagnosed and ready for me the next morning. My receipt also states that the promised completion date would be 3/27. On 3/27, I called savannah Dodge at 2:00 pm to check on the status of my truck. I was told by a service member that ** was out on lunch and that my call would be returned. My call was never returned so I called back at 3:00 p. M. ** told me that they were having a major problem with the wiring of my stereo system. She asked when it was installed. I told her that it was installed 1. 5 years ago, and she told me that the problem was aftermarket speaker wires were spliced into a factory wiring harness and this was a common problem that occurred over time. She also said that the only fix was to replace it with the original factory harness. I then told them to go ahead and finish the job and I would be up to pick it up that evening. They informed me that this was not an option. They had to wait on parts (new factory harness) to arrive and it would be available 3/28 (one day after the promised date). After receiving the truck and looking at the bill, it states no new wiring harness was used and they rewired the aftermarket wires. I called and questioned ** about the issue and he became furious. He told me that savannah Dodge would never service my vehicle again and I would never be allowed to step on their property again. After driving in my vehicle, the warning lights are off, however there are three new problems. The radio doesn't function properly. Also, my windshield wipers do not work and was told they wouldn't be fixed. Also, all of my spare fuses are missing. This is a theft issue, and ** did in fact tell me over the phone that they took my fuses.

Electrical fire inside dash or under hood. Brake and abs light kept flashing and a/c fan only worked on high gauges began to act defective and fire abrupted from the dash.

The tilt feature on the steering wheel of the consumer's 2000 Dodge Dakota shorted out a wire which caused the headlights to go out. The problem occurred when the vehicle was 16 months old and recurred 12 months later.

See all problems of the 2000 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

When applying left turn signal the four way flashers come on.

I am looking for all people that are willing to speak to my attorney about problems they are having with their 04 Dakota's. I have had clunking noise coming from front end, whirling noise at idling gets louder when blinker on, windows make clunking noise while rolling up or down, sever e shaking while braking ( warped rotors), transmission leaking, and the list goes on. I am in the middle of lemon law and it took me a long time to be able to find an attorney. This one is excellent.

The lights on my 2002 Dodge Dakota started flashing and a few days later my lights, dash lights and power door locks stopped working. I have had 3 different auto mechanics look at it and no one can figure out what the problem is. My truck has 40,900 miles on it and no wrecks of any kind. I read about a recall with this problem on Dakota's and the factory states that they are recalling Dakotas with manual transmissions only for this problem. My truck is an automatic.

In August 2004. A 2001 Dodge dakaota pickup ran a stop sign and I hit him. The truck rolled and continued to run and caught the vehical on fire and burned the driver critically, and he ultimately died. Why didn't the vehicle inertia switch cut the vehical off. I have a file claimed against the insurance company and an investigation may be launch on the truck.

I own a 2001 Dodge Dakota quad cab 4x4 sle that we purchased new. In the last 6 months, and with only 49000 miles on the truck currently, the following failures have occurred: (1) (from February 2004 to present) the factory-installed external wiring harness (for towing a trailer) melted from the inside out, shorting out the electrical system. (2) brakes would pulsate anytime brakes were applied. Dealer attributed this to warping of rotors and replaced pads and turned the rotors. Dealer noted a spring on driver-side caliper was missing and replaced it as well. (3) the heater/ac controls failed. (4) went for state inspection and inspector failed truck due to failure of upper ball joints and brakes. The same brakes I just had fixed in February. Premature failure of ball joints attributed to "typical problem for Dakotas/durangos". Well if it's typical, why isn't there a recall?? the dealer had no answers. Failure was a result of calipers not releasing properly causing the rotors and brake pads to "glaze". Dealer opted to pick up the tab for the new rotors and the new pads, only at my request. The new calipers and brake lines still cost me $800. Again I'm wondering why I'm paying for so much on a truck that is only 3 years old with only 49000 miles. (5) unknown problem at startup when engine is cold. Pressing the accelerator causes the engine to sputter. Problem exists until engine is warm then goes away. Two Dodge dealerships and neither can figure out the problem as there is no computer error code coming up. All items mentioned were paid for by me unless otherwise specified. Had any of these issues been a result of negligence, or lots of mileage, or had the Dodge dealership(s) opted to pay for items that were the obvious result of poor craftsmanship, I wouldn't complain. But, the failures relating to the brakes could quite possibly have resulted in an accident which risks my life and that of my wife, and Dodge doesn't seem to care.

Problems with windshield wipers and headlights would not shut off. Each time the engine was on, the wipers would come on and the lights would come on but not go off. The consumer had to disconnect the battery. The consumer requested that Chrysler corporation should provide a fix for the electrical problem. The consumer received a recall, regarding the electrical problem, however the dealer told the consumer that his problem was not apart of the recall. The consumer told the dealer he purchased a warranty, but the dealer told him the warranty did not cover electrical problems only power train issues.

Headlight switch an wiring harness shorted out. Took to dealer an had repaired, mechanic said all 1995 an 1996 dakatas an rams had a problem with the wiring, do to to towing it put to much of an over load on the wiring which shorted it out the wires an switch no wouldn't this be a safety hazard an Dodge should remedy this.

See all problems of the 1996 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

When coming to a stop at red light vehicle would die. Took pick up to dealer, an was told they counldn't get pickup to repeat problem. Picked up pickup from dealer an within thirty minutes pickup died at red light. Took pickup to dealer on 3/29 an 3/30 dealer still couldn't find problem. On 3/31 took pickup for drive with dealer mech. An drove pickup for fortyfive mintues, when pickup died at redlight. Was called by dealer an said they could find any codes. Would keep pickup for two more days.

Consumer complained about steering column/headlights. When the steering column was in the tilt upright position, the low beam lights operated. When the tilt steering wheel was in the straight position the low beam lights went out automatically. The consumer found out the low beam wire at the multi-function switch had broken at the connection and shorted out.

I have had my Dodge ram quad cab in for service over 15 times for rust, wiring, two recalls, engine lights, bad gas cap, bad steering wheel, and list continues. . . .

This has been a recurring problem since approximately 8,000 miles on the new vehicle. Single owner/reporting complaint. Heater blower fan has stopped working numerous times. The first time the dealer replaced the blower fan itself. The next time the blower motor resistor failed and consumer replaced paying out of pocket. A third time the blower motor resistor failed and again the consumer replaced it paying out of pocket. The fan now operate intermittently and if you wiggle the wiring harness connecting to the blower motor resistor the fan will come on and operate on 3 of the 4 speeds. Close examination of the harness connector reveals that the harness connector is melted as is the wiring at the connector. Contact with two different dealers reveals that this is a known concern and the manufacturer has a repair kit available part# 5017124ab. This is a manufacturer defect and should be a safety concern given that the harness failure can prevent the heater fan from functioning properly and cause immediate visibility concerns as well as potential overheating of the electrical circuit resulting in a fire. Dealers advise this is a frequently seen concern yet no assistance from manufacturer is available.

Several incidents of electrical failure (date below first incident) speedometer does not work; abs light stays on; computer shorted out; dealer found computer bolted on top of wires; fan stayed on; dates vary over last 1 1/2 years number of failures is a best guess.

Was driving vehicle and came upon a stop light. Started to smell burning wires. Then, vehicle caught on fire. Insurance totaled vehicle.

Power windows failed to operate intermittently. Dealer notified, and unwilling to assist because vehicle was out of its warranty and not covered under a recall. Consumer states wire in colum ignition switch was broken, this wire was hot to the fuse block and powered, airbag,blower fan, windows and door locks.

Broken wires in the steering column, causing the lights to become inoperable. Dealer has been notified. Owner has had the wiring fixed by a private mechanic.

See all problems of the 1997 Dodge Dakota 🔎.

Vehicle caught on fire in driveway. Fire department indicated fire started in engine compartment, near an electrical junction or fuse recepticle.