98 Dodge Caravan No Turn Signal Diag

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Tomioka

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Got this hunk of junk in for inop turn signal and ABS light on so first thing I checked was turn signal stalk, flasher relay, and hazard fuse. Unfortunately I jumped the gun and threw in a new turn signal stalk and that did not fix the problem. Checked relay (videos showing bad solder) and looked a-okay.

Poked around the underdash fusebox and found the ABS and reverse light fuse blown, replaced the fuse and the turn signals work but the reverse lights came on while it was still in park. A few moments later the reverse lights went off as the fuse blew again (as I was shifting the lever.)

Looked through wiring diagrams and this particular fuse (RUN A22 - FUSE 12 10A) feeds the reverse light, ABS, and turn signal relay.

The turn signal works and the ABS light went off with key on and new fuse so that's ruled out.

My attention is now the reverse lamp circuit. It's a 10amp POS feed to the trans range sensor/reverse switch (not sure) then to the rear lamps.

Another odd thing I've discovered is the gear selector display shows all gears selected when in park.

Trying to narrow down this issue because changing the range switch involves dropping the valve body in these trans so I need to make the right call before tearing into the trans.

 
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suggest you find a low voltage/high voltage technician that deals in troubleshooting circuits and is experienced in voltage drop calculations and circuit analysis techniques. If you can find such a person...good luck.
 
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Any way to jump across 1 & 3 on the position switch and see if the fuse holds? That would tell you if it's the switch, or the wiring going back to the backup lamps.
 
This sounds familiar to a problem I had with a 96 caravan. In my case there was an aftermarket trailer wiring harness and it got damaged and shorted out. I was blowing fuses for the lights. The turn signal wouldn't work. Sometimes the turn light came on but didn't blink and wouldn't shut off. I removed the harness and returned it to stock. Problem solved in that case.
 
Originally Posted By: Run
This sounds familiar to a problem I had with a 96 caravan. In my case there was an aftermarket trailer wiring harness and it got damaged and shorted out. I was blowing fuses for the lights. The turn signal wouldn't work. Sometimes the turn light came on but didn't blink and wouldn't shut off. I removed the harness and returned it to stock. Problem solved in that case.
That's the sort of thing I thought he might have going on-a pinched wire somewhere that is grounding out & blowing the fuse, or the position switch in the transmission is grounding out. May or may not be detectable with a VOM to ground, and I wouldn't use a megger (megohm meter) on a car, too easy to blow up electronic parts.
 
This is randomly stupid but there's a giant wiring distribution blob behind the blower motor speed selector that overheats and goes south on these vans, negatively affecting the BCM and who knows what else.

Also tug on the harnesses while it runs, I had one with wires broken inside the insulation, no fun at all.
 
Disconnect the Range Switch & look closely at the wires going into the connector.

The 41TE transaxle is notorious for leaky cooler hoses & TCM to Case gasket, The ATF gets on the the range switch wiring & eats through the insulation causing shorts.

Also check that the Manual Shift Lever isn't rubbing a harness.
 
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