I received from Chrysler a recall notice on my RAM 2500 4x4 Cummins
related to a safety notification about the truck not being in park.
It turned out that if the truck is not in park and the drivers side door is open,
the horn sounds off as if in alarm mode. Had I known this I never would have
taken this in. Chrysler not states there is nothing that can be done to circumvent this anoying alarm. Had I not been and RVer, it wouldn't matter,
but as it is, for mainly my hitching purposes, this has become the stupidest thing I ever heard of. Any suggestions regarding this?

Thanks

 

I had the same thing done. They said it can't be taken off either. They even said they tried to put in a new computer & the new one had already been reprogrammed. Do a search for horn honk & you will get a few things to try. I think some people are able to put a jumper wire on their seatbelt that solves the issue. I tried hooking my seatblet up while backing up & it didn't work so I didn't even try the jumper.

 

My 06,3500 does it too,what were they thinking when they wired up this one,you'd think after building trucks for years they could get things right, but they are always trying to do something or everything new again and just end up ****ing things up.If you know how to do a little electrical work you culd judt put a toggle switch in series with the horns,or the horn relay coil to diable it.Mount the sw. in the cab.Or hook up another relay that is energized any time the interior lights come on,ie;door is open,use the normally closed contacts to supply the power to the horn relay.These cotacts will be open any time your interior lights are on,which is also when your door is open.

 

I like to leave my door open and listen to the radio now and again. To get around the annoying ding ding sound I found that moving the door latch to the lock position it stops. This fools the computer into thinking the door is closed. I have not taken the time to take the door pannel off and jumping the wires at the latch yet. Until I do this I just have to make sure to pull on the door handle to unlatch the lock or the door will not close. This just may fool the alarm for you.

 

We had a truck that would sound the alarm only if the truck was in reverse and the door open...annoying to say the least if you have the door open to help see while backing....

 

Drove "big trucks" as a company driver and backing with door open would get you fired. Mirrors, if properly adjusted, show you everything you see plus some when hanging out the door.


Temporary thread hijack

I see in your sig that you are dumping the Superchips. Why? Is it Flashpaq?

 

I agree that with the trailer tow mirrors, I SHOULD be able to see everything when I back up, but some campgrounds have trees and tree stumps that
require navigation, etc, plus there is the getting directions from my wife when backing up.

I am considering taking the path of legal action on this item. Any thoughts by anyone regarding this. My point being, if the horn is mandated, why not manditory headlights on (as in Canada). Why can't this be a consumer programmable feature, similar to when the passanger air bag could be turned off by a switch. I am not a giraffe with a long enough neck to stick out the window to comfortably back up my RV.

 

The only time the recall bothers me is when I am hooking up a trailer. That is the only time I back up with the door open.
I usually hook up to a trailer 3 to 5 times a week so it is a bother

 

Im glad I didnt let the dealer do the recall when I was there a couple of weeks ago. You could thank the few peole who dont know how to put there truck in park properly.

 

The trucks were in park, according to the dash indicator. Just not at the VB, this is why most trucks didn't move on their own right away. They conveniently let you walk away before they went on their solo voyage.

Now not that I'm defending the fact that they didn't use the parking brake which MOST people don't with an auto (don't give me this "I ALWAYS do" BS because I'd bet you don't ) the stupid "fix" that Dodge came up with is ignorant to say the least. Wouldn't want to actually fix the problem, let's just patch it up.

If you do a search you'll see that people have come up with a lot of ways to defeat this annoying recall. Such as unhooking the horn, on installing a switch on it. You could always eliminate it all together and get a 6speed.

 

I checked some other forums regarding this issue, and it seems at this point other than installing an override switch, there isn't a work around. One person suggested to just attach the seat belt, well, that didn't do the job.
My guess is DC has a wire to indicate the door latch is enaged, otherwise it sounds the alarm.

A compromise fix that I would like to see DC and the National Highway Safety and Traffic Association do is disable the alarm when the TOW/HAUL mode button is pushed. At least it provides a means to override the alarm for short periods of time.

I filed a complaint with the NhSTA regarding this feature. (I think I have the right acronyms). With luck I may catch an ear.

 

I filed a complaint and sent Chrysler a letter also. I still have the horns unhooked on my truck. Some of these people on the forum here thinks I am an idiot for doing that, but so be it. I don't see them everyday, while I do see my neighbors on a daily basis! They like it much better without the horn blowing all times of the day or night. I honestly thought I would have traded the truck off on account of this and the shobby warantee service I have had from DC by now. I have one more trip to make a tow with this year and I prefer to keep the diesel until after that anyway.

ENough ranting from me,
Roy

 

I considered the same, disconnecting the horn for the same reason, neighbors and fellow RVers who don't want a horn sounding late at night or early in the morning. As my RVing is over until January, maybe something will happen between now and then.

 

I remove the HORN FUSE from the engine fuse box (slot 45) when hitching up and so forth. Easy, quick fix, takes about 1 minutes to open the hood, yank the fuse out, and complete my hitching process.