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I lost almost all of my dash lights, instruments, and controls. Any help?

104K views 24 replies 21 participants last post by  Lightsout 
#1 ·
I have a 2003 Town and Country mini-van and I lost power to all my dash instruments yesterday.
This includes my odometer, speedometer, fuel gauge, and all other dash lights. In addition to this my wipers, headlight controls, blinker controls, power door locks, and A/C/heat controls are out as well.

The odd thing is that the power windows work, the power sideview mirrors work, the radio and ceiling lights also work. My head lights and heater come on automatically when the car is turned on, but cannot be controlled or turned off.

I have had two mechanics look through everything and test the fuses and wires, but can't find anything wrong; aside from the fact that those things aren't powering up. The second mechanic suggested it may be the dash computer that has gone bad and that I would need to take it to the dealer.

I've scheduled an appointment, but they can't get it in until Monday, so in the mean time, I'm wondering if anyone here has ever seen anything similar? If so, what was the cause? If it is the dash computer, how much could that cost to fix or replace?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
I'm not too familiar with 03s but, It sounds like either part of the Body Control Module (BCM) or the Forward Control Module (FCM) has gone on strike and it's effecting the data bus. Again, not familiar with the fuse arrangement but, look for a fuse labeled IOD or Memory probably in the Power Distribution Center (PDC - fuse box)) next to the battery. I want to say the PDC is called something else now. Not sure. Pull it out for 30 seconds and reinstall. This will reset the BCM and maybe the FCM. Disconnecting the battery will do the same thing. You could inspect the wiring and connections at the BCM on the fuse panel under the dash and the FCM attached to the PDC (i think). Wiggle the wire harness and see if anything comes to life.

BCMs will cost $400+ at the dealership. Expect $600+ with labor. They can be had for less on the internet. I believe the FCM is a bit cheaper. Sounds like you're not using the dealership. Good move unless you are blessed with a dealership that has a good reputation. Try to find a shop that specialises in electronics. Better chance of having a mechanic who knows how to troubleshoot complex systems.
 
#3 ·
Yeah before anything else reset the bcm via the IOD fuse getting pulled for a few minutes . Once in awhile this thing will get confused and stop sending signals to the equipment, after all it is a computer . Must be programmed by microsoft engineers . Think they should put control,ALT , delete keys in the vehicles. :lol:
 
#5 ·
Yes, I did.

Thanks for the advice up above. The first two mechanices i took it to both reset all the fuses and checked the wiring and found that all the instruments were receiving power, they just weren't operating, which led them to believe it's a problem with the dash computer. So they said to take it to the dealer, which I've done and should find out on Monday if that's the problem or not.
 
#6 ·
I'll bet money you are about to buy a new Body Control Module....That happened on the 02 T&C I had but all I lost were the dash lights and gauges...Mechanics are quick now a days to say the computer is bad (which is rarely the case) when they cannot figure out what the problem REALLY is...
 
#7 ·
I have a similiar problem--just lost all the backlighting on my radio, climate controls, and power heated seat switches...all items WORK but backlights are out--is this just a fuse problem, and if so, is it BCM #1 or #2?
 
#8 ·
WOW--did the ign on fuse trick and all is well...now just gotta fix the power seat motor....see my other post and please help!
 
#9 ·
IOD fuse pull fixes instrument panel lights

I fixed the problem of all of the instrument panel lights being out by pulling the IOD fuse (15A fuse next to battery under the hood), waiting a few minutes, and re-inserting the fuse. Thereafter,all of the instrument panel lights on the dashboard lit up...
 
#14 ·
No Instrument panel lights

I fixed the problem of all of the instrument panel lights being out by pulling the IOD fuse (15A fuse next to battery under the hood), waiting a few minutes, and re-inserting the fuse. Thereafter,all of the instrument panel lights on the dashboard lit up...
We had no panel lights for a while, tried some advice offered here and it worked. We disconnected the battery for a few minutes and when reconnected, the instrument lights worked. Forget where I saw this advice but thanks, it worked, and we don't need to replace the BCM now.
 
#10 ·
Thanks!!!

I just bought a 2003 Chrysler Town & Country and the dash lights, radio control lights and temperature control lights were nonexistent, leaving me blind to my controls and speed at night. I looked for a fuse to no avail, and in the owner's manual it makes almost no mention of these lights at all. Finally I came across this forum and after pulling my IOD fuse for 60 seconds all is well.

Awesome--thanks for saving me a ton of time, hassle and money!
 
#11 ·
dash

This has been issue since the 96 model year where the bcm gets confused and you lose functions and pulling the IOD fuse fixes it. This will also fix other issues like the washer pump going inop and not spraying because the bcm controls that too .
 
#12 ·
Thanks for a simple fix

I want to thank your site for the advice i got on how to fix all my gauges going off and out of order. i'd checked all my fuses and even got advice from another site as to cables coming loose and that 1992 Grand Caravans were notorious for this., Well before I:biggrin: went and pulled my dash out i searched and got the advice to disconnect the battery for a while which I did for 3 hrs, went back connected and everything is working great again. Thanks so much
 
#16 ·
Recently had the rear wiper and washer quit working on me after a new wiper arm installation. After reading this thread, went out and disconnected the battery and also pulled the relay for the BCM and then reconnected and all is working again. Now I just gotta figure out my dash cluster lights. Replaced all 8 with LED's and still have about 3 that are out. I even used dielectric grease on the contacts but dont know where the problem lies.
 
#17 ·
I installed LEDs in mine also. Leds are polorized, so make sure you try turning the ones that don't work around (180 degrees) as they only work one way.
 
#19 ·
solves crank no start w/ no dash lights

I jump started my 2002 dodge grand caravan last night and drove home just fine. This morning it cranked/no start ... the dash lights were out as well as cabin lights, radio, and climate controls. Radio would sound and the blower motor was functional. I did a google search and found this thread. I reset the computer by pulling the iod fuse for about a minute and it fired right up! No codes before or after btw. I signed up to this forum only to post this reply with the crank/ no start issue hoping in the future it will help someone else.
 
#22 ·
No dashboard lights or gauges working

I have a 2002 Town & Country limited edition. My dashboard lights went out last weekend. The Hazard lights and blinkers wouldn't work either. No odometer, gas gauge, speedometer, tachometer, or heat gauge would work. After reading this forum and doing the suggestions, none of them helped. So I pulled every single fuse and it was the HZD LP. It's a 20 Amp fuse that was blown. I replaced this and all is working again just fine!
 
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