Dash lights and backlight for instrument LED screen wont go out

I have the same problem and after 2 months of plugging and unplugging wires I have found my issue. It is with my climate controls. When you pull the radio dash off the top center plug has 3 wires in it. It is right behind the emergency flasher switch on my '13 with 8.4a radio.

I waited until the lights would not turn out and instead of unhooking my battery to reset I went through a lot of fuses. Fuses did not seem to reset it, but I did not pull every fuse. After finding a lot of forums with this issue and reading what they have done that did not work I got curious about the climate module since I could hear my trucks flapper doors opening and closing several minutes after I turned it off.

I cut each of the 3 wires until the red wire (hot wire) turned off the evic lights. Afterwards I wired a switch into it and now use the switch to reset it so I don't have to pull the dash apart. My truck is no longer under warranty so I have been living with that until I missed it the other day and came out to another dead battery.

So as a last ditch effort I bought a new climate control module from the dealership and will install it in a few days when it delivers.

Follow Up

Just curious jlchristopher if replacing the climate control module resolved this issue for you.

The module was taking too long to ship and I cancelled the order. I put my factory 8.4" radio back in and added the JL Audio fix 82 to sum my channels. I have t had the problem since!!!!

Tried telling Maestro they had a bug in their firmware. But they swore it was the truck and not their equipment. Yet after removing their equipment I'm back to normal.

Instrument display lights go on and off

Brand new Ram 2016 Sport. I had just picked it up and it was the first night with it. The wife noticed lights on in the truck at night. I went out to make sure everything was off and for some reason only the instrument display lights were on. They would shut off and then go back on after about 10-20 seconds. Similar to touching the inside of the door handle (keyless entry). I read through this post for ideas. During the night, I noticed lights on and off. By morning, all seemed fine. I called the dealer. They knew nothing about any issue like this. I talked to them about disconnecting the battery to recycle everything and they thought it might help. But the service guy suggested that since these cars sit on the lot for days at a time, the battery may be low and low batteries can play havoc with the electronic s in cars now a days. I put a trickle charge on it and I also drove it around a little bit during the day. The problem did not return the next night.

Thanks!

Just bought a 2016 Ram last week. Took it in to the dealer to have a liner installed. While they were at it they updated my software. Sure enough this morning I go out before sunup and the instrument panel lights are on. Took it into the dealership this morning. Luckily I have had experience on car forums before (LS1GTO) and searched the web to see what forums there were for these trucks. I found this forum and this thread. After looking at the truck for an hour the service folks said they would need to order a whole new main module. I brought this thread up on my iphone and showed it to them. Fifteen minutes later they bring me my keys and said it was all fixed!
Forums like this are priceless for the information and help they give not only owners but other service folks. Thank you so much for the great information that saved the day!
BLYGOAT

BLYGOAT said:

Just bought a 2016 Ram last week. Took it in to the dealer to have a liner installed. While they were at it they updated my software. Sure enough this morning I go out before sunup and the instrument panel lights are on. Took it into the dealership this morning. Luckily I have had experience on car forums before (LS1GTO) and searched the web to see what forums there were for these trucks. I found this forum and this thread. After looking at the truck for an hour the service folks said they would need to order a whole new main module. I brought this thread up on my iphone and showed it to them. Fifteen minutes later they bring me my keys and said it was all fixed!
Forums like this are priceless for the information and help they give not only owners but other service folks. Thank you so much for the great information that saved the day!
BLYGOAT

Click to expand...

So, what exactly did they do to fix the issue? I have 4500 miles on my first ever RAM and am having the issue of the dash cluster lights staying on for 45 minutes before they time out and turn off. Just went to the dealer this week for a software update they said should fix it, but no luck. Love the truck, but I need to get this one issue resolved. Thanks for any help you can give.

It's a bug.. I've experienced it on both of my late model Ram's so far. I want to say that pulling underhood fuse F84 for a few seconds will reset it as it's a PITA for me to remove both battery cables on my 2500, especially since I have a lot of custom batt cables and term blocks installed. In most cases taking it to the dealer will be a waste of time (especially from reading some of the fixes). It's also one of those difficult things to diagnose, since once it's been reset, it doesn't just come right back. Mine has done it twice in a 2 year period and once on my last truck. I believe it's CAN bus related or initiated and something to do with the dash cluster module or it's assoc firmware getting into a locking up state.

One interesting thing I did note was that I was playing around with updating my Kenwood firmware and changing some vehicle settings through the Maestro the last time it happened. I've since turned off the extra OBD features of the radio to see if it is bus related. It's been a few weeks and no issues so far, but I also know that the problem is very intermittent.

If it happens again, I'll report back with the exact fuse number. I'm fairly sure that it was F84 on my 2500.

HeavyOne said:

It's a bug.. I've experienced it on both of my late model Ram's so far. I want to say that pulling underhood fuse F84 for a few seconds will reset it as it's a PITA for me to remove both battery cables on my 2500, especially since I have a lot of custom batt cables and term blocks installed. In most cases taking it to the dealer will be a waste of time (especially from reading some of the fixes). It's also one of those difficult things to diagnose, since once it's been reset, it doesn't just come right back. Mine has done it twice in a 2 year period and once on my last truck. I believe it's CAN bus related or initiated and something to do with the dash cluster module or it's assoc firmware getting into a locking up state.

One interesting thing I did note was that I was playing around with updating my Kenwood firmware and changing some vehicle settings through the Maestro the last time it happened. I've since turned off the extra OBD features of the radio to see if it is bus related. It's been a few weeks and no issues so far, but I also know that the problem is very intermittent.

If it happens again, I'll report back with the exact fuse number. I'm fairly sure that it was F84 on my 2500.

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Thank you, I will give that a try.

OK, found fuse F84 (Switch/Instrument Cluster), pulled it, waited a bit, and replaced it. Opened and shut the doors 4 times and everything cycled through and shut down just like it's supposed to do. We'll see what happens over the course of the next few days. If all it takes is pulling the fuse once in awhile to reset it I can live with that. I'll let you know.

Back to the drawing board...didn't work. Issue seems to be more prevalent at night.

Having Same Problem

2016 Ram Longhorn less than 1 month old and less than 300 miles. My instrument cluster lights, DID backlight and gear selector light above the dial stays/comes on after shutting off truck and closing all doors. It has completely discharged my battery twice now in the last 4 days.

I have disconnected both batteries, reset the radio, opened and closed all monitored doors, turned off "Passive Entry", locked the drivers door manually, disconnected the "uConnect" app from my smart phone to the truck without solving the issue. This happens both day and night. I can get the lights to go out for a short period of time after disconnecting the battery terminal, but it comes back within an hour of re-connecting it. It is regularly occurring so I hope service can see it. Have a photo of this for them if not.

I now have the CEL light on and its code is "P1DCA - Unknown Network DTC (Manufacturer Controlled)". The only thing I know DTC stands for is "Distributed Transaction Controller" from the computer world.

I am furious with this right now! I have a 7:30 am appointment at the dealer tomorrow morning. Will report what they say here.

0bnxshs said:

2016 Ram Longhorn less than 1 month old and less than 300 miles. My instrument cluster lights, DID backlight and gear selector light above the dial stays/comes on after shutting off truck and closing all doors. It has completely discharged my battery twice now in the last 4 days.

I have disconnected both batteries, reset the radio, opened and closed all monitored doors, turned off "Passive Entry", locked the drivers door manually, disconnected the "uConnect" app from my smart phone to the truck without solving the issue. This happens both day and night. I can get the lights to go out for a short period of time after disconnecting the battery terminal, but it comes back within an hour of re-connecting it. It is regularly occurring so I hope service can see it. Have a photo of this for them if not.

I now have the CEL light on and its code is "P1DCA - Unknown Network DTC (Manufacturer Controlled)". The only thing I know DTC stands for is "Distributed Transaction Controller" from the computer world.

I am furious with this right now! I have a 7:30 am appointment at the dealer tomorrow morning. Will report what they say here.

Click to expand...

Please feel free to reach out in a PM if I can follow up with your dealership tomorrow, or if you feel you need further assistance during the diagnostic process with them.

Kori
Ram Social Care Specialist

Sorry for the delay in responding to your question. I simply showed the service folks this thread and in particular the post from 2015Ram2500. That helped a lot apparently. They also said they disconnected and reconnected the battery...a reboot if you would. That was almost a week ago and no re-occurrence of the problem. It is definitely a software problem, at least in my case.
BLYGOAT

ramcares said:

Please feel free to reach out in a PM if I can follow up with your dealership tomorrow, or if you feel you need further assistance during the diagnostic process with them.

Kori
Ram Social Care Specialist

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Thanks, ramcares. I appreciate your offer of help. Like BLYGOAT, I will refer them to this thread if it comes to that. I will let you know if I need your assistance. Have photos to show them in daylight and night if the darn thing won't do it tomorrow at the dealer. Do like my dealer and they've always treated me right so actually do expect some results or at least a plan from them.

BTW, I've got a 2014 Jeep GC Summit with the same HU and never once have seen this problem. Also have owned a 2010 Ram Laramie with same HU, a 2006 Dodge Durango Limited with same HU (at least equivalent) and a 2002 Ram 2500 and never encountered this before. Just don't understand how so many people can be having this problem across the FCA brands and nothing seems to be identified as the culprit.

Furious as I have been, I am now just about to explode! Last night I disconnected the battery after charging it most of the afternoon and into the evening yesterday, all in preparation to be able to get to the dealership this morning.

Lo and behold, a battery unable to start the truck has greeted me this morning. So apparently it's not able to hold a charge now. I use a "Battery Xtender" 3 amp charger and maintainer and it was in "maintain" mode when I disconnected it. I can't leave it on overnight though as the area is notorious for roving bands of miscreants looking for open cars and other goodies. All seemed well when I re-connected the battery but there apparently isn't enough juice available to start the engine. All lights seem to come on at full brightness but the engine will not even turn over. At least I get to see how well the UConnect Assist bit works.

Now I can call the dealership and tell them I'll be late to my appointment as I have a dead battery. GRRRRR!!!!!!

Ok, sorry I didn't get back yesterday to report the results but I had a fistful of chores to get done afterwards.

I have to give 5 stars to the UConnect Assist roadside service feature. It took all of 25 minutes to get going again thanks to the jump from a nationally known company. The process was completely automated except for the first contact. I was asked if I was in a safe place and if I was unhurt. Then asked what my concern was. My location was transmitted to someplace and I was asked for the last 8 of my VIN for verification of eligibility for service. I received an SMS with a link to the responder's location, my location, time to arrive and his name and photo. Once he arrived I was going in under 2 minutes. Great service!

I called the dealership enroute to tell them I would be late. I have my salesman's number stored with the dealer's number and mistakenly called him. He was pleasant but I obviously awakened him. Guess it didn't hurt that he knew I was having trouble. Service department was understanding of my lateness and was waiting for me when I arrived. After showing the photos and describing the last 4 days of trouble to them, in it went. SW did say he'd never heard of the problem before. But the OBD II codes were prolific and plentiful and mostly regarding low voltages to several systems. It did mention the ParkSense system several times; something I hadn't thought about turning off. After 3 hours, out she came and into the service drive. The tech (whose name is "Ram" BTW) could not reproduce (of course!) the problem but did find several flashes that needed to be performed. Here's the list:

1. Software flash for BCM, SOFTWARE UPDATE, RE PROGRAM BCM, 18-19-02-BU .2 REF. 615052
2. Software Flash for TCM, SOFTWARE UPDATE, RE PROGRAM TCM, 18-19-05-DN .2 111750
3. Software Flash for PCM, SOFTWARE UPDATE, RE PROGRAM PCM, 18-19-06-LJ .2 REF. 201898
4. Software Flash for IPC, SOFTWARE UPDATE, RE PROGRAM IPC, 18-19-47-AE .5 REF. 223197

He also said he "reprogramed" the entire system but not sure if he's referring to the above.

They also load tested the battery and found it could hold a charge, so not sure why it wouldn't start for me yesterday morning. Anyhow, all has been well since. I have snuck up on the truck several times to check the status of the instrument cluster and all lights have been out. We'll see this am what awaits me!

Will keep updating if and as necessary.

The saga continues. The IC lights and the gear selector indicator lights are on this morning. Back to the dealership.

0bnxshs said:

The saga continues. The IC lights and the gear selector indicator lights are on this morning. Back to the dealership.

Click to expand...

The dealer is inquiring with FCA now. Threw a CAN BUS error message at some point as it was stored along with something about HEATED STEERING WHEEL error. Can't reproduce though.

FCA suggested pulling center console and checking ground underneath after checking ground for transmission selector.

Finally sent home with truck after they checked the grounds for the tranmission selector and such in the center stack. I was told to "monitor for the problem".