Malfunctioning Lights on a 2006 Dodge Dakota Wiring Harness

Updated 01/18/2010 | Published 01/17/2010

Question:

I bought a used 2006 Dakota that has a 4 wire flat connector already wired to the left and right side .The wht wire from 4wire flat plug is hooked to the left truck wire/grn/yel, the yellow wire is hooked to the left truck wire grn/wht, the brown wire is hooked to the left truck wire red and the green wire is hooked to the truck wire blue/wht on the right side of truck. when I turn on truck running lights all lights blink and are very dim .I cut the white wire of the 4 wire plug and grounded it to trailer frame and did nothing.Do I need two wire from the right side of truck and what color wires go to what?And do I need two wires from left side of truck and what colors go to what? And finally the white wire from 4 wire plug does it go to a wire on the truck or to the frame of the truck?

asked by: Riick

Expert Reply:

It sounds like someone may have installed the wrong part or tried to do something that should not be done. It sounds like there are one of more incorrect connects that are causing some problems. There are custom fit wiring harnesses that use the connectors on the back of the taillights and do not require splicing. White wires should be grounded to truck and trailer frames with clean, metal to metal contact, trailer side white to trailer frame, vehicle side white to vehicle frame.

You can take a circuit tester like part # PTW2993 and check to see what wires are serving what functions. White is ground, yellow is driver side brake and turn, green is passenger side brake and turn, and brown is running lights. I have linked to a basic wiring help page below.

The best and easiest way to fix this is to remove the harness that is on the truck now and start from scratch. I would suggest using a T-One style harness as they use the factory tail lights and remove the need to check wires and make sure you are tapping into the right one.

expert reply by: Patrick B