I have an 03 quad cab and have had minor electrical issues since I bought it last year. The headlights, interior lights, emergency lights, & brake lights do not turn on/off unless the key is turned in the on position in the ignition. If I take my keys out while my headlights are on, they will not turn off until I put the key back in. Same thing with the other lights mentioned. This was only a minor annoyance and I got used to it.

Now I began to notice a major drop in fuel mileage. I thought it was strange because I was not fueling up any more often than normal so I began keeping up with my mileage on the odometer. Sure enough, sometimes (not all the time) when I uncrank the truck & let it sit for a little while and come back and crank it back up it has lost mileage. Also in the mornings after about 2 minutes of driving the whole dash cluster will blink and it will "ding." It does it multiple times some mornings. Any ideas? Thanks

 

Losing miles as in your odometer shows less miles than before?

 

I think the headlight thing is normal. If you take the key out and then shut them off, it should put them on timer so they shut off in a minute or so.

 

u are a little confusing on the milage issues.....as far as the lights are concerned, u can deprogram the lamp on timer, look in your owners manuel for instructions on that, as far as loss of fuel economy, if the weather is cold in your area, it will drop you mpg's

 

I'm sorry, I will try to clarify. When I am about to turn off the truck I look at the odometer and remember the mileage. When I crank the truck back up, the odometer states less mileage than what it was before I turned it off. I haven't been keeping up with each exact amount but I know the first time I noticed it, it had about 50 miles less than what it was when I turned it off.

So I'm not really losing fuel economy as I originally thought, it's just not recording all the miles I have driven.

 

If you turn off the truck with the lights on they go to a timer. You can just turn the light switch back on then back off and it will cancel the timer.

 

I don't think the light issues are the timer. I can't turn the headlights on or off unless the key is in the ignition. The interior lights don't light up when my doors are open unless the key is in the ignition. If I have my foot on the brake while I turn the truck off, my brake lights will stay on until I put the key back in the ignition. My emergency lights will not stay on unless the key is in the ignition.

 

Wow, I don't know what you've got going on...

Have you talked to the service guys at your dealer?

 

Something is definitely wrong in the electrical. I do not know how these ignition switches are wired but I bet that is where your problem is.

As far as losing miles on the odometer, that is a tough one because the mileage is stored in the prom chip in the computer (IIRC) and cannot be changed.

 

I don't really want to talk to the dealer because everyone I know that has dealt with them call them crooks. I might try replacing the ignition switch one day and see if that does anything for the light situation. But, I think the odometer problem will be a little more complicated than that.

 

it sounds like someone wired up a wire or a relay in the wrong place. I cant even fathom what could be wrong with your truck. other then tracing out your wireing its a guessing game.