NHTSA Complaint #11176318 — 1998 DODGE RAM 2500

HAZZARD: INTERMITTENT HEAD LAMP OPERATION (LOW AND/OR HIGH BEAM CUT-OFF) CAUSE: UNKNOWN. SAFETY ISSUE: KEEPING THE HEADLAMPS ON WHILE DRIVING (DODGE RAM 1998.5 2500 4X4 QUAD CAB SLT; 5.9L 24V CUMMINS DIESEL; 47RE; STOCK (NO FOG LIGHTS); 170,000 MILES). PROBLEM: HEADLAMPS (LOW AND/OR HIGH BEAM), AND OCCASIONALLY, BUT NOT CONSISTENTLY THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS, CUT-OFF INTERMITTENTLY -- ACTUATING THE DASHBOARD MOUNTED HEADLAMP SWITCH (PUSH-PULL) RESTORES THE LIGHTS. TROUBLE SHOOTING/REPAIRS (EXECUTED BY A CERTIFIED AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR FACILITY): (1) CHECKED MULTIPLE GROUNDS (CLEAN AND TIGHT); (2) CHECKED FUSES; (3) CHECKED OUTPUT FROM GENERATOR (STEADY - APPROX. 14.5 WITH "NO LOAD"; BATTERIES - NEW 6/18); (4) CHECKED CIRCUITS (VERIFIED CONTINUITY AND RESISTANCE); (5) REPLACED STEERING COLUMN MOUNTED MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH; (6) REPLACED "HEADLAMP/SECURITY" RELAY; (7) REPLACED HEADLAMP/DASHBOARD LIGHTING COMBINATION SWITCH (REPLACED 22 MONTHS AGO (167,000) - ORIGINAL FAILED. NOTE: DASHBOARD ABOVE SWITCH - WARM TO TOUCH. (8) REPLACED HEADLAMP BULBS (BOTH). NOTE: NO DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES SET. NEXT ACTION: REPLACING THE HEADLAMP/DASHBOARD COMBINATION SWITCH AGAIN. OEM REPLACEMENT SWITCH INSTALLED AT APPROXIMATELY 167,000 MILES MAY BE MALFUNCTIONING. A VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE SWITCH DID NOT INDICATE SIGNS OF OVERHEATING. ACTUATING THE SWITCH INDICATES NORMAL OPERATION. SPECULATION: A "CCD BUS COMMUNICATION ERROR" IS OCCURRING; PULSE FROM PCM (?) TO HEADLAMP CIRCUIT MAY NOT YIELD THE LEVEL OF RESISTANCE REQUIRED RESULTING IN THE INTERMITTENT "CUT-OFF". TECHNICAL ADVICE/GUIDANCE/ASSISTANCE EITHER DIRECTLY FROM THE MANUFACTURER (FIAT CHRYSLER AUTOMOTIVE), OR THROUGH THE DODGE RAM DEALERSHIP NETWORK IS REQUIRED TO CORRECT THIS HAZARDOUS CONDITION.