2000 Dodge Durango...

Yesterday afternoon on my way home from work I noticed that my dashboard gauges were behaving weirdly. It apparently started when I turned the engine on. The symptoms:

Speedometer does not work.
Odometer is frozen
ABS light is on (never seen it on before)
Parking Brake indicator is on (brake is NOT on. triple checked that... never even use the parking brake).

What does all that add up to? I pulled over and cycled the ignition a couple times. No change. Just rant to store, and again, no change overnight.

The Durango has the ability to display diagnostic codes via the odometer, but it is showing nothing.

Anybody have any clues for me?

Kinda tough to make a definitive diagnosis at this range, but in our shop a Durango with those symptoms frequently gets a new instrument cluster. I hate to be so non-committal; hope you understand...

Dave

Understandable, and that was the way I was leaning.

Is there anyway of confirming that?

instrument cluster followed by the PCM, if I recall correctly from my 99 Durango.

Rear speed sensor???

We had a 1999 Durango and if I recall corectly, Im sure that what it was.

Check this out:
http://www.dodgedakotas.com/boards/dea/452.html

Good Luck.

Check the simple stuff first, you might have a lose or corroded ground somewhere. I've had lose grounds cause all kinds of weird shit like that.

Course if it's limited to stuff on the instrument cluster, well then....

My 2003 Dakota did the exact same thing this past February. Same dash indication as yours.
I replaced the speed sensor in the rear differential and it took care of the problem. There are 2 by the way. One is the transmission, other in the differential.
It's a $50.00 dollar part. Takes about a hour to replace. That's going slow. Do check it with a OBDII first just to make sure.
Good luck to you.

Sounds like a problem in your ABS computer system. An OBDII may or probably will not diagnose that. There is an ABS diagnostic tool though...that will. It will tell you which sensor in the ABS system has failed.

I got one on amazon for about $99. It diagnosed a speed sensor issue with my ABS on my truck, and saved me hundreds...as people were telling me to replace the ABS computer, and it was a $20 sensor.

You might replace that speed sensor....then if that doesn't do it, get the computer checked out.

Interesting! Very good info.

I happened to replace the speed sensor in the transmission a few months back. Maybe half a year.

Sounds like a decent first step to try. That link was useful. Now to see if Autozone has one.

My rear speed sensor in my 99 Durango went out too...

Did you have similar symptoms?

quote:

Originally posted by Stewie Griffin:
Check the simple stuff first, you might have a lose or corroded ground somewhere. I've had lose grounds cause all kinds of weird shit like that.

Yep, me too. I had a Dodge with corroded battery cable that caused all kinds of weird stuff. Intermittent power messed up turn signals and lots more. Dealer couldn't figure it out. Turns out when the car moved in any manner so as to cause even minor force on the cable and battery, power would fluctuate, causing the problems. Problems didn't manifest if the car remained stationary, like in the dealer's shop. It finally got so bad that a quick start from a stop light, or a sharp left turn would stall the vehicle. Try doing that and having the power steering and power brakes go out suddenly. Not good. Dealer once gave it back to me, charging for some part and telling me it was fixed. Car stalled within 100 yards of the shop. Morons. I drove it back immediately and poked and prodded under the hood with the alleged tech watching. Within a few minutes, *I* located the problem: the battery terminal connector was corroded paper thin in one place. Couldn't be tightened and barely making contact with the battery post. Small amount of force or movement would break contact. Nasty to replace because of the complexity of the cable. Had to wait over a week for a new cable as well.

Sorry for not checking back! We do a preliminary check of the electrical/charging system on all vehicles first, then check for codes. We would then monitor the PCM's data stream with a scan tool. If the data stream is inconsistent with the cluster display, we begin to suspect the cluster, and test further. If the data stream is consistent with the cluster display, that points our testing in another direction.

Dave

Had a similar problem in a Dakota - it was a bad ground wire.