2004 Chrysler 300 Chrysler 300M electrical issues

BCURTIS187

MEMBER
2004 CHRYSLER 300
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
104,000 MILES

Lately it seems my 300m has been riddled with electrical issues. I can no longer use the key to unlock all doors from the drivers side. The driver's side door interior light, does not come on, bulb checked and is in working condition. The auto down on the drivers window, no longer works, even after resetting it. Power to the analog clock works fine, but the light does not come on. Bulb also checked. Power moonroof vents, but to close I have to attempt to open the moonroof and stop it as it closes. Driver side door switch works to unlock and lock doors occasionally. I replaced the door actuator and the switch and this problem still exists. I no longer have my powertrain warranty. I'm hoping for some help on diagnosing these problems and or solution and where to start. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in Advance.

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,916 POSTS

Not sure about the clock and sun roof but the other issues all have one thing in common. They have wires running between the door hinges that can become frayed. I could describe the repair procedure I used to do on older Caravans, but I saw that Jeeps are now using a harness that can be unplugged from the door and body, then be repaired on the work bench. Your car might have the same design. If any of the things you mentioned work intermittently as you slowly open or close the door, suspect broken wires. I seem to recall that there are no switches in the body anymore for the interior lights. I think they are built into the latch mechanism in the door so that would mean more wires running between the hinges.

If you have courtesy lights in the doors they could be getting power from the same circuit that feeds the clock light but that's just a guess. The light wire in the door could be touching a frayed ground wire causing that circuit to be dead. The lights are run now by an expensive, unreliable body computer. If the lights work when you open the passenger door, the computer is working and just the left door circuit has the problem.

If you feel with a good deal of certainty that all these problems started at the same time, then I would suspect the body computer. They cause a lot of trouble that we didn't have when the circuits were much simpler and more reliable. First try disconnecting the battery for a minute, then reconnect it. That will reset any circuits in the computer that became locked up. If that doesn't help, and the door wires look good, it might be time to try a different body computer.

Caradiodoc