Weird electrical issue; 96 RT-10, need help

[NVMYVPR]

I did a search prior to posting but did not find the answer. Ok, yesterday I pulled the Viper out and started her up and let it idle. I am checking to see when my fans come on etc, etc. I have not had a cooling issue per se but it does seem to run hot. Car heated up, fan came on, cooled back down. I let it cycle through this a couple of times and everything seemed fine. It was getting towards dusk so I now want to take it out for a little run around the neighborhood to again let it cycle through heating up and cooling down per se. I turn on the headlights before I back out of the driveway, no problem, I turn on my fog lights, I got out to check they are both working, no problem. I get back in the car and bam, headlights and fog lights go out, the blinker indicators go solid green and the highbeam indicator stays on as well. Car is still running mind you. I turn the headlights on and off to no effect. Blinkers do not work either. Not knowing what is going on I decide to just drive around the little cirle I live on to see what happens. Car starts heating up past where I have seen it before, past the last tick before 250. I try turning the car off and restarting. Car will not restart. Nothing happens; does not even turn over. I play with the light switch, turn signals, etc, etc, nothing. Mind you I am about 10 houses down from my house so I am thinking I will have to push it home. So I get out and my side drive marker lights are still on. The headlights are in the off position. The bright lights indicator is still lit as are the blinkers. I click the highbeams again and all lights go out. I jump in the car and it starts right up but the lights are all back on again. As I sit there I notice the car is still hot and the fan is not coming on. So I limp home quickly and park it. The electrical system, other than starting the car, does not seem to be working per se. The gauges still backlight but my fan is definitely not coming on to cool the car. I am thinking fuse or fuses as is logical but has anybody else ran into a similar issue or issues? Sorry for the long post but I wanted to get all the details out there for the most accurate diagnosis possible. 1996, RT-10, 56,000miles, all stock save for JVC headunit and speakers.

Craig,

 

[Steve-Indy]

First, open the hood to be sure that your serpentine belt is still in place...if yes...then dying battery or corroded connections at the battery cables are on the top of my list. If all of these things are OK...then you may need to start checking the electricals...especially the sockets for the relays and fuses.

 

[NVMYVPR]

Battery is good, on the tender, no corroded terminals or cables, serpentine is in place and working well; I am thinking fuse/headlight or fog light out. Going to go through the fuses today. I thought it was weird that the bright light indicator is stuck on. Could this be indicative of a turn signal or headlight out?

 

[Steve-Indy]

Thanks...not to beat a dead horse...but "Battery is good, on the tender" is only a comfort to ME if you have specifically tested the battery. I say this because of a lesson that I learned the hard way in 1998 with our then 2 year old 1996 R/T 10...battery date code said it was 3 years old, riding tender at home...nice October day, drove to a meet 30 miles away. NO START once there as the battery was bad with an internal short...and, at that point, it took AAA nearly one hour of charging it from their truck AND a booster pack to light the engine. This is the one down side to tenders in my opinion (though I have 6 in action now!!)...especially if the trip involved is low speed, low RPM (the idling that you described counts as a big battery drain to me). You might have a bad ignition switch...or a fried headlight switch...all of which have been reported in your model.

In reality, I was hoping for a quick fix for you...suspect I guessed wrong in your case...and, you have some serious sorting to do. I spoke with Viper Tech Tom Sessions about an hour ago...I'll send this thread to him hoping that he spots an easy answer for you.

Good hunting !!

 

[Doug Supercharged Vipers]

Hello Craig,

Sorry to read about your unfortunate circumstances. Please consider visiting our facility sometime soon so I may introduce myself and offer my assistance to help you. I service Dodge Vipers everyday and know what to look for during a brief inspection.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Best regards,
Doug Levin

 

[Steve-Indy]

GO for that offer !!!

 

[Doug Supercharged Vipers]

GO for that offer !!!

Thanks for the positive input!

 

[NVMYVPR]

Thanks Doug. I exchanged a couple of emails with you earlier in the week about unrelated stuff I wanted to do to my Viper but as soon as I can get my fan working so I don't overheat I do plan on calling you first to schedule something and then get her out to ya.

Craig,

 

[Tom Sessions]

Craig, I feel you have a ground Issue. I think I have run into something like this before.Just trying to remember whos car and just what I did.

PM sent

 

[Steve-Indy]

Doug and Tom: THANKS for jumping in here...we can always count on you guys!!

 

[NVMYVPR]

Grounding issue? I sure hope not because I don't have the expertise to run that one down. I may just have to flatbed it over to Doug's place and let the experts handle it. It has run totally fine since purchasing in January until now. Checking fuses etc today.

 

[NVMYVPR]

Update. Started the car today and all was completely normal. No lights everything was working fine. I let it idle in the driveway again waiting to see if they fan came on and it did....kind of. It never spun up to speed. It was for lack of a better observation a lazy fan and then it stopped working and the lights came on as before. So not a fuse issue but grounding may be a likely culprit. I am thinking of just flatbedding at this point and call it a day.