Automotive Forums .com - the leading automotive community online! Automotive Forums .com - the leading automotive community online!
Automotive Forums .com - the leading automotive community online! 
-
Latest | 0 Rplys
Go Back   Automotive Forums .com Car Chat > Dodge > Ram Van
Reply Show Printable Version Show Printable Version | Email this Page Email this Page | Subscription Subscribe to this Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 05-06-2018, 11:55 PM   #1
gksmith
AF Newbie
 
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Hastings, Nebraska
Posts: 2
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Warning lights stay on; no AC nor high speed fan

On my 2002 Dodge Ram Van 3500 I have had periodic problems with the Air Bag light going off and on. On my last trip, the light would go on for a spell, then briefly go off, and then go immediately back on with the chimes sounding. This would repeat constantly, but the light would stay on for irregular amounts of time. However, last night, in addition to this, the check engine and ABS warning lights stay on constantly, plus the AC clutch will not engage, nor will the heater/AC fan run on high speed. Are these all related???

Gauges are OK as well as fluid levels. Is it OK to drive, as I am 170 miles from home base?

Help will be appreciated to solve this problem.
gksmith is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-07-2018, 09:18 AM   #2
alloro
AF Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: 0,0,1
Posts: 720
Thanks: 1
Thanked 25 Times in 24 Posts
Re: Warning lights stay on; no AC nor high speed fan

I suspect the airbag is unrelated to the blower or ABS issue unless a critter happen to chew on some wires coming through the firewall. Getting the ABS and airbag modules scanned for codes is the best way to go forward. Throwing parts at it will end up costing you more than getting it scanned.

For the blower, it could be the high position on the switch, the blower speed resistor under the hood mounted to the blower housing, or again a chewed wiring harness.
alloro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-07-2018, 05:56 PM   #3
Stealthee
Your worst nightmare
 
Stealthee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Smithfield, Pennsylvania
Posts: 6,048
Thanks: 37
Thanked 251 Times in 245 Posts
Re: Warning lights stay on; no AC nor high speed fan

I'm betting its a battery charging issue. If the alternator isn't properly charging it will cause all sorts of lights on the dash.
__________________
Stealthee is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-07-2018, 09:45 PM   #4
gksmith
AF Newbie
Thread starter
 
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Hastings, Nebraska
Posts: 2
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Re: Warning lights stay on; no AC nor high speed fan

Thank you to those that have replied. Now for an update. This problem occurred last night, 170 miles from home, but at the last mile or two when restarting the van after a stop. I happened to have a code scanner with me so today I used it and it returned the code P0500. Upon returning home, I also saw that I had no speedometer, which was to be expected per the code I received.

Now for the interesting part--after a few miles of driving to return home (5 miles or so of the 170 mile trip), the warning lights went off, the AC started working, the air bag light went off and stayed off, the speedometer worked properly--everything is OK except that the Check Engine light is still on. (How do I reset it?)

I seemingly have a loose connection someplace. Hence, my question is--Is there a point in the wiring where this might be apt to occur? I cannot help but think that all is related since the Air Bag warning started to work properly at the same time.

For Further Explanation: The van is actually a Class B Camper Van. We live in Nebraska, but since December 1, we have driven to both coasts. The air bag problem started on the east coast, but only by the light staying consistently on. When we arrived in Nebraska and had the oil changed for the California trip, the light went off (not related I am sure). All was well until about 80 miles from our California destination when the intermittent Air Bag lighting and chimes started--on and off repeatedly. This continued until we reached our destination. However, the next day, all returned to normal. (also no Check engine light) It stayed normal all the way back to Nebraska. But, this weekend for a rather short jaunt, the intermittent Air Bag light and chiming started again and lasted until our destination, about 170 miles later--annoying, but livable. After reaching our destination, we restarted our van to go a few miles to another location and this is when many of the warning lights came on with the symptoms described in the original post.

The alternator is quite new (less than a year old) and all batteries are also quite new, so I do not believe it is a problem there. It is a heavy duty alternator and does a good job of keeping both the engine battery and the coach batteries charged.

This is a detailed explanation, but I think you can understand why I am quite vexed with the situation. To further the complications, whenever I am not on the move, everything seems to work OK, creating the hardest trouble shooting situation possible--trying to fix something that seemingly is working at present!

Again, all suggestions will be appreciated!
gksmith is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-09-2018, 08:50 AM   #5
alloro
AF Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: 0,0,1
Posts: 720
Thanks: 1
Thanked 25 Times in 24 Posts
Re: Warning lights stay on; no AC nor high speed fan

Quote:
Originally Posted by gksmith View Post
everything is OK except that the Check Engine light is still on. (How do I reset it?)

I seemingly have a loose connection someplace. Hence, my question is--Is there a point in the wiring where this might be apt to occur?
Most scanners have the ability to reset the CEL. If yours doesn't a lot of auto parts store will scan it and clear it for you for free, Autozone being one of them. But it's kind of a waste of your time if the CEL is going to keep coming back on.

The only place I can think where those circuits might all come together is where the harness comes through the firewall, or it's also a possible loose connection issue with one of the 3 large connectors going into the PCM. Others have had issues with those connectors.
alloro is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply

POST REPLY TO THIS THREAD


Tags
constant , lights , warning
Go Back   Automotive Forums .com Car Chat > Dodge > Ram Van

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:46 PM.

Community Participation Guidelines | How to use your User Control Panel

Powered by: vBulletin | Copyright Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
 
 
no new posts