Re: Strange electrical problem

From: David Gersic (info@zaccaria-pinball.com)
Date: Sun May 17 2009 - 12:38:49 EDT


On Sunday 22 March 2009 20:24:13 David Gersic wrote:
> So, refining my symptoms a bit, here's what I have:
>
> When turning the key to "run", I get several "bing" noises from the dash.
> Some of them may be the usual length, others are truncated.
>
> If I have the headlights on, and I turn the key to "run", I not only get
> the weird and inconsistant "bing" noises, I also get a click from the lamp
> relay, the odometer brightness goes back to normal (like when the
> headlights aren't on), and the hi-beams flash briefly. This may happen one
> or more times.
>
> It doesn't matter if I start the truck or not, the same things happen.

Following up on this, I replaced the Central Timing Module (CTM) yesterday
with the one I picked up from the junkyard. That seems to have fixed the
problems, as I no longer get the truncated "bing" noises at startup, and the
headlamps no longer flash on and off.

The CTM is all surface mount parts, but since I now have a known working one,
I'm going to see if I can fix the failed one. I suspect that it's a cracked
solder joint, since the CTM still basically works. Reflowing all of the joints
shouldn't take very long, and if it works afterward, I'll have a spare in case
I need it. If it doesn't work afterward, I'm not really any worse off.

> Can somebody with an '01 Dakota tell me how many "bing" noises from the
> dash are normal? Just turn the key to "run" and count them. I seem to
> recall it being two, but would appreciate confirmation.

This doesn't seem to be a constant. I've counted 6 and 4, seeming to depend on
whether I'm starting the truck cold (6 bings) or hot (4 bings). It would be
interesting to know what these mean, but that doesn't seem to be documented
anywhere.



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