Archived Headlights turn on themselves, flashing while parked!

[nauidvr1]

Help! I am parking truck at an out of town airport for the weekend while flying home and don't want the batteries dead upon my return.



Today while working in a building, security came to get me and let me know that I had left my lights on. Thing is, I had not even used my headlights on the way to work.



So I went outside and sure enough, the headlights were on (no parking lights though). I open the door and looked at the switch - it was OFF. I turned switch on, then back off and lights went out. Locked truck with key FOB, but parking lights did not flash when I locked it, and went back to work.



Four hours later I walked out to the truck to leave, and find the headlights flashing on and off very fast, and can hear a relay clicking under the hood. So I drive to the hotel and park truck for 30 minutes, again locking truck with key FOB, but parking lights do not flash. After 30 minutes I go out and check the truck, Parking lights and Headlights were on (not flashing).



Anyone have an idea on this? Should I just disconnect the batteries for the weekend?



NAUIdvr1

 

[nauidvr1]

Where is the FCM located?



I think I have got it troubleshot to the FCM (Front Control Module). The FCM seems to be getting power thru Fuse 11 & Fuse 50 when it is not supposed to.



Anyone had any problems with this before. Will replacing the Front Control Module fix it? I might just have to remove the FCM from my other truck and fly back down here (Raleigh/Durham, NC) Monday with it to test. I sure would hate to by one and it not be the problem.



NAUIdvr1



Thanks for any help anyone has to offer. My Cell phone # is 410-808-1017 if anyone in local area (Raleigh/Durham - RTP) can help or tell me where to buy parts.

 

[AllianceDiesel]

hate to tell you but you can't mess with the fcm, and its hard to find out whats wrong without a scan tool, switching fcms will screw stuff up, trust me we tried it in college. the fcm is hooked onto the fuse box. Sounds like the computer just needs to reset itself, try unplugging the batts and letting them sit for a couple of hours and see what happens. don't know much to tell you.

 

[sag2]

As mopartech said, the FCM is most likely bad, but first you should reset it. There is not much you can do without a scan tool, so you may need a trip to the dealer to see if it has any codes.

But first has it been wet? Any water getting into the FCM or any wiring connectors can cause problems. Durango's had water leaks in the driver A pillar that got several connectors there wet, and caused similar problems, but I don't recall anything on the DR's but it is still possible. The headlamp switch is a MUX circuit that works on 5v so if there is corrosion or tracking in connectors from there to the cluster or FCM that is also trouble. Now since the parking lamps don't flash with the locks, it is looking more like a bad FCM. For now unhook the batteries if you have not already and see if it resets itself when you return. If not you can have the dealer reset it with the scan tool before replacing it.

Also, could the truck have been hit by lightening?

 

[AllianceDiesel]

does the truck have clearance lights i know they had problems with them cracking and leaking.

 

[nauidvr1]

Sag2 & mopartech,

Thanks for the quick replies - sorry I had to e-mail & PM you but wanted you guys to see the post.



We unhooked the battery cables from both batteries for 30 minutes on Friday evening while we were eating in a restaurant and as soon as we hooked them back up the lights came on within 1 minute. We drove it to the airport and unhooked the battery cables again and it will sit that way untill Monday morning.



To answer your questions:

No, the truck could not have been hit by lightening (99% sure of that) - no storms where we have been. We used a Smarty S-04 to see if there were any codes and there were none.



Wet? 10 days ago it went thru a high pressure automatic wash, but had no problems until Friday. The weather in Raleigh, NC has been hot enough to have dried it out by now - but again no problems since wash untill 10 days later. Where is the FCM located, maybe I can pull all the connectors and spray electrical contact cleaner in them for good measure.



Clearance lights - yes, was not an option in MY 2005 - all 3500's had them. Checked them and they were not wet or condensated - even pulled a few of them to inspect properly.



A-Pillar leaks - I was aware of this problem on the Durango's and some of the DR's, Have checked both truck several times after washing, hard rains, all day rain - no problem there.



Looks like I am going to have to take to a dealer to get it reset. Any suggestions on a dealer near zip code 27713 ?

 

[nauidvr1]

Sag2 & Mopartech,

Can the truck be operated this way for the next 2 weeks as long as we disconnect the batteries when we park it? We have a 6+ hour drive home at the end of this job (about June 20th) and want to know if it could leave us stranded on the highway?

 

[AllianceDiesel]

ya, all really the fcm does is control lights and stuff like that, so you should be fine drivin it.



The fcm is connected to the fuse box, if I remember right, its on one of the ends of the box.

 

[nauidvr1]

ya, all really the fcm does is control lights and stuff like that, so you should be fine drivin it.



The fcm is connected to the fuse box, if I remember right, its on one of the ends of the box.

Then, it would be quite hard for it to have gotten wet (hopefully), but I will pull the connectors and see.

 

[p-Bar]

may be easier to pull the fuse for the headlights than the batt cables. I have clearance lights that leak ,they have caused no problems with the FCM. Hope you get to the bottom of it.

 

[nauidvr1]

p-Bar,

Actually you have to pull the fuses for the FCM (Fuse 11, does the trick), however, since we are trying to reset the computer, for this weekend we pulled the battery cables. During the work week we'll probably just pull the fuse.



I hope we get to the bottom of it too, as the 3/36 warranty just expired in April and the truck only has 34,000 miles on it - a catch 22.



We did report an electrical problem earlier (during the warranty), which the dealer was able to "see" and verify, but were not able to track it down (dash backlights dimly flashing on and off with key on and motor not running). Was hoping that the FCM controled this also, and hoping that because it was documented, it might be under warranty.

 

[nauidvr1]

Update:

It turned out to be the darn Edge Juice that was making this happen. Removed Edge Juice to get ready to take truck in for repair and all the problems went away.



Have the Edge Juice on the way to Edge for repair.



Thanks to all!