What do you think is up with my truck?

[Anonymous]

It's a 2004 dodge dakota. A couple of days ago my dashboard lights started not working. All it showed was my miles and gear im in. Tonight I noticed that when I flip my left signal, the arrow just illuminates. It doesn't blink, or anything, and my blinkers aren't working. What do you think is wrong?

[TommyMountainFigure]

It sounds like a dodgy fuse or electrical wiring fault causing a short!

I would check the fuses to make sure they are seated correctly.. Do you have a circuit tester? If the fuses are ok, then you have to trail the wiring back, or get a wiring specialist in if you can't.

[dustybiker2]

He'd be really lucky if it's just a fuse.

[TommyMountainFigure]

@dustybiker2 Inside the vehicle there is always a fusebox containing several fuses that control AC/Headlights/Indicators/Heater/Wipers/ and loads of other stuff. Some vehicles though have fuses which control two or even three of those things each. So it is possible just one of those fuses could have a bad connection or the wire inside the fuse is shorting in and out.. It can be caused by something simple as driving over a bump which has worked one of more fuses loose too.. I would certainly check those.. Then of course there are relays which are massive looking things housed under the bonnet.. One of those goes and half the electrics go with it. After checking all of that then I would trail the wires back to look for a short.

[dustybiker2]

Yes. Fuses are easiest to check first.

[Staximus]

Unfortunately the late 90's and early 2000's cars are electrical nightmares. It's when they were modernizing all the electronics and still figuring shit out. Now they are even dumber. Join a Dodge Dakota forum or group on Facebook and start asking questions. Maybe some of the members can point you in the right direction. It could be a short but don't quote me on that.

[dustybiker2]

Maybe an animal ate some wiring. Loose, faulty or damaged harness. Could be a lot of things. You'd have to check every connection. This is the problem with modern vehicles, so much electrics. When something goes wrong it's usually expensive to diagnose and fix.

[Likes2drive]

You should definitely check the harness behind it to see if anything has popped off or chewed through it, maybe water damage if the widow was left open when raining badly

[Oliverlogan263]

Hmm, that's weird dude. A few things it could be:

- Flasher relay - This is the thing that makes the blinkers blink. If it goes bad, the lights will just stay on solid. Pretty common part to fail on older trucks.

- Bulb issues - Could be a bad bulb in the turn signal/dashboard making the circuit act funny. Swap bulbs around and see if the problem follows the bulb.

- Fuse - Check under the hood/dash for any blown turn signal/hazard fuses. They're usually yellow and not that expensive to replace.

- Wiring - Over time, wires can short or get damaged, interrupting the current. Follow the turn signal wiring and check for cracks/corrosion.

I'd start with the easy stuff - fuses, flasher relay, bulbs. Those are cheap fixes. If still no luck, maybe have a auto parts store pull the codes for you in case it's pointing to a short somewhere.

Hope you get it sorted man! Lemme know if any of those things work or if you need any other help. Trucks are usually pretty DIY friendly to fix.