2003 Dodge Caravan Right Rear Turn Lamp Housing

Some cars went to a trouble-prone plastic film for the wiring on the back of the housing. Not sure if they did that on the minivans or not, but if there is a film, similar to a ribbon cable, try flexing it while the turn signal is turned on. The film on the Stratus has one circuit that gets very narrow in one spot where it bends around a corner. The circuit burns open in that spot.

Try tapping on the bulb. These bulbs with the plastic bases often develop a cracked filament that intermittently makes connection and works sometimes. Check for corrosion too on the wires on the base of the bulb.

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Thank you for posting a response. If there is ribbon wiring on this lamp housing it is not visible. It must be hidden under a plastic plate that is rivited to the back of the housing.

A wiring harness connects to the back of the housing and then there are three locations where bulbs snap into place. Most cars I have seen have a wiring harness that goes directly to the location where the bulbs snap into place. This one does not. My guess is that there is ribbon wiring under the plastic housing.

After working with it off and on for several years, it is failing more often now than it did.

Are there any fixes for this? or do I need to buy a whole new housing?

Thanks.

Sorry, but I've never had one apart to look at. If it's been acting up the same way for a long time without failing completely, I'd be a little more inclined to look at the bulbs. How about switching them from side to side and see if the problem follows the bulb.

Do you have a trailer harness? These vans use separate bulbs for turn signals and brake lights. Their operation has to be combined in an adapter harness to operate the single trailer light. The adapter harnesses is inserted between the two halves of the vehicle's connector somewhere near the left rear corner and can be unplugged and removed as a test. The harness I looked at once had relays in it that could develop intermittent contacts.

Another potential problem is the signal switch. It has a lot of separate contacts.

If you are near a large city in Indiana, Alabama, or Georgia, there is a junkyard chain that has very clean, organized yards where you pull your own parts, and they're very inexpensive. You might be able to find a used signal switch and tail light to install as a test.

I'm trying to find a diagram because I think the signal circuitry goes through the body computer too because the electronic signal flasher is in there. Oh, that reminds me; look up behind the brake pedal to see if you can find the flasher plugged into the assembly. It is so heavy that in some cars it droops down and breaks the contacts. These units have two relays, one for each side, but it has four output terminals, one for each corner of the vehicle.

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