i searched all over this site, found lots of talk about this- but no fixes.......have 03 3500 drw 4x4 auto and whenever i have truck running and open door, alarm goes off and i am going to go nuts. here is what i have noticed- the little box does not light up around the "p" like it does for other gears. if i start in neutral and open door....nothing. quiet as can be. i dont know if this is the right forum for this, but at this point i would **** on a sparkplug if i thought it would help. truck runs fine but you cant open door with engine running. is this an adjustment somewhere or a parts replace thing. if i disconnect the cable at the trans and push the lever to go further, like it's not in park. it doesn't do anything and lever will not go any further. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

 

forgot....one other thing- the reverse lights will not shutoff no matter what gear i am in.........had to pull fuse to turn off. thanks again

 

There was a computer update that did this. if you got it, there's no going back. If your hopping in and out alot, I've heard that you can buckle the seat belt and it won't do this. I've also heard of guys adding a switch onto the horn wiring to "turn off" the horn.

 

That is for the Reverse Honk issue. He says just having it running, it will do this.

 

IMO, the root cause of his issue is that the auto trans is not really in park which is why the warning alarm is going off when the door is open.

I would guess that the shifter detent has an issue or is worn out.

 

Mine had the exact same issue last spring when I bought it, scared me half to death first time it happened!
Stealth is correct, the transmission gear select arm is out of alignment , and Its not hitting the "Park" detant correctly
Took the tech at my trans shop about 3 minutes and a pair of needle nose pliers to fix it

 

The key info here is the reverse lights are on as well. There must be a switch or sensor or something that is telling the ECM he's in reverse when he's not, thus the "back-up alarm".

Tapping the wires that go to the driver's seatbelt should fix it, but it's a band-aid. The real problem is somewhere else.

 

sohappy, so were mine....

 

was it under the column or under the truck that he went at it with needle nose pliers?

 

tried the plug in the seatbelt and get out trick.......no work- still went off with the seatbelt plugged in. once I open the door it does off and the little square does not light up around the "p" on the selector......

 

Safire, still sounds exactly like what I was experiencing.

It was under the truck, not under the column