Austin Boat Forums - for dodge ram owners

nathan

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for dodge ram owners
Jun 17^th, 2010 at 9:19pm

Is I have now found out on my 2004 dodge ram 1500 the trailer light circuit on this truck is kind of stupid. here is what I have found
Quote:

There are no fuses on a 2006 (and forward) Dodge Ram to protect left/right trailer turn signal fault.

PLEASE READ MY ENTIRE POST (import details further down) and let me preface by asking Dodge experts, is there an after market modification that can be made to protect the TIPM from a trailer wiring fault?

Dodge Ram trucks from 2006 forward, have eliminated circuits with regular ol' fuses for the trailer circuits; left trailer turn signal and right trailer turn signal. If there is a fault, then the software in the truck's TIPM (Totally Integrated Power Module) shuts down that circuit. There is a counter within the software that allows only so many resets after a certain number of faults, then the module must be replaced (dealer item only). Note that the trucks turn signals work fine when the TIPM cuts off the trailer effected circuit(s).

There are NO fuses for the trailer turn signal circuits but there are fuses for the power seats, computers, stereo, etc ....WHAT THE HECK!?!? Dodge Trucks are designed to pull trailers and have trailer lights connected, but this is only controlled by the TIPM; it's insane. It's worse, read on....

Are you ready for this? A failed TIPM for a late model (2006 forward) Dodge Ram is $711 plus $200 labor. Extremely frustrating considering a simple fuse on the trailer circuit is inexpensive and effective.

Now to add insult to injury. In my particular instance on my 2006 Dodge Ram Diesel 2500, the TIPM faulted not because of a short to ground, but a short between the trailers left turn signal and the marker / running lights; no short to ground whatsoever. This type of fault will not make a fuse blow because there is not a short to ground.

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nathan

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Re: for dodge ram owners
Reply #1 - Jun 17^th, 2010 at 9:26pm

here is a product (modulite protector) to help protect against it http://www.hitches-forless.com/electrical/modulite.htm

I plan to call dodge tomorrow to see how much it cost to reflash the tipm which is the only other way to fix it using the original connections without replacing the 700 dollar tipm which is not going to happen. just passing along 32 dollars seems to be a cheap insurance.

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Owtlaw Veteran Austin Boater Offline Posts: 151 Round Rock, TX	Re: for dodge ram owners Reply #2 - Jun 17^th, 2010 at 10:06pm Since all of the truck lights work when the TIPM goes tits up, seems like splicing in an aftermarket trailer wiring harness would be a cheap fix.
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nathan Senior Member Offline Boating Nut Posts: 321 leander/ cedar park Gender:	Re: for dodge ram owners Reply #3 - Jun 17^th, 2010 at 10:18pm thats what i plan to do if it cost more than its worth to have dodge look at it. my fault in the end I tried to use the original wireing on old timers trailer instead of the wire i brought with me.
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Captain YARRR Admin Offline About a six pack deep Posts: 646 Round Rock, TX Gender:	Re: for dodge ram owners Reply #4 - Jun 18^th, 2010 at 8:16am Oh hell, that's not good. Thanks for the heads up. Last summer I probably blew 5 fuses on the Porsche before finding what was wrong with the trailer. So I could see this becoming a problem fast. Let me know what fix you decide.
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nathan

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Re: for dodge ram owners
Reply #5 - Jun 18^th, 2010 at 9:23am

ok I called two dodge dealers and the price to reflash is around $100. and it may not fix the problem so for me i am going to walmart and getting a converter to use the turn signals on the truck. if I knew this head of time I would have built a connector with inline fuses to connect to the trailer. or purchased a protector circuit.

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Wake man Senior Member Offline Austin Boater Posts: 308 Gender:	Re: for dodge ram owners Reply #6 - Jun 18^th, 2010 at 5:39pm That's the most expensive 'fuse' ever
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nathan Senior Member Offline Boating Nut Posts: 321 leander/ cedar park Gender:	Re: for dodge ram owners Reply #7 - Jun 18^th, 2010 at 9:29pm ok here is my fix for now http://www.hopkinstowingsolutions.com/products/basic_wiring/taillight_converters... and it only cost 16 dollars at auto zone. I may in time install a powered one but for now this should work. I will find out when i install it either tonight for tomorrow.
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nathan Senior Member Offline Boating Nut Posts: 321 leander/ cedar park Gender:	Re: for dodge ram owners Reply #8 - Jun 18^th, 2010 at 11:44pm ok i have a right turn signal for the trailer again. right now I am only running the trailer right turn/stop through the adapter. everything else is ran normally (for now). just happy to have trailer lights all working again.
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Captain YARRR

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Re: for dodge ram owners
Reply #9 - Jun 21^st, 2010 at 8:19am

nathan wrote on Jun 18^th, 2010 at 9:29pm:

ok here is my fix for now http://www.hopkinstowingsolutions.com/products/basic_wiring/taillight_converters... and it only cost 16 dollars at auto zone. I may in time install a powered one but for now this should work. I will find out when i install it either tonight for tomorrow.

Does that just splice in or is the install more involved?

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-Evan

2002 Monterey 218 LS - 5.7L Mercruiser, Alpha One outdrive
2004 Dodge Viper SRT-10: 460 RWHP, 503 RWTQ
2010 Dodge Ram 1500

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nathan

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Re: for dodge ram owners
Reply #10 - Jun 21^st, 2010 at 10:07pm

I just spliced it into the turn signal of the truck. but if you purchased an isolator you can just used the wiring for the trailer. If you have a 7 blade plug you already have 12 volts at the rear of the truck. if not you will need to run a wire from the battery. the one I installed doesn't need power it is a adapter not an isolator.

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