99 grand voyager lights blink rapidly

QuestionEdit

QUESTION: 3.3 engine. I posted this question to Kevin while you were gone and it was moved to the pool so I'm hoping you can help me. Windows left down during very hard rain Sunday. Have been leaving open as much as possible since then to help air out and everything is dry now but as soon as the key is turned on all interior and exterior lights begin flashing rapidly. I read an old post by you and tried those suggestions (pulling IOD fuse, using key to cycle locks,) but no luck. I pulled battery cable for 30 minutes and reconnected and that stopped it at first but then it started again.Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

KEVIN'S ANSWER: one of the door switch or a door adjustment

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QUESTION: Doors are all closing well and making good contact with the switches. Also there is the door ajar indicator in the instrument panel and it goes out when all the doors are closed. Should I pull the door switches one at a time and jump across them to see if that stops it or is there something else. Also, I have found that if I turn the headlights on the flashing stops and everything appears to work normally. I drove it around for 30 minutes this way with no problems but as soon as the headlight switch is turned off the flashing starts again. Does that give you any other ideas? Thanks so much for your time.

ANSWER: Hi Robert, Please tell me whether all interior lights and all exterior lights are blinking on and off and are they doing this in synchrony? Are some lights not blinking? Turning the headlights on to the park postion does what? Turning on the headlight high beams does what? Did water get on the dash board as well and exactly where did the rain fall upon/flow into? Did the multifunction switch that includes the headlamp control switch get wet? Did the rain fall on the top of the dash board and then possibly drip down on the fuse box/body control module which are just the left and above the brake pedal under the dash. The body control module mediates the lighting, and it is located on the rear side of the under dash fuse box. Those two components are not only mechanically connected but have at their interface a set of internal electrical connection so that if you get water at the interface between the pair of components all sorts of electrical shorts/gremlins could occur until the water dries out. It may be counterintuitive but a spray can of electrical contact cleaner may help to evaporate water stuck on exposed electrical connections Answers to those questions may help me figure this out. Thanks for the details. Please rate my answer (see above). Thanks, Roland

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QUESTION: Just went and picked up a can of contact cleaner/drier to try but wanted to answer your questions so here goes: First of all, I was out of town till the next day so I didn't see it but wife said everything was pretty wet and about an inch of water standing in floor under petals. Key on/headlights off/low beam: all inside lights except dome lights and all outside lights except backup lights flashing together in steady rhythm.

Key on/headlights off/high beam: all lights are on but no flashing.

Key on/ Park lights on/ low beam: all lights on, only headlights flashing.

Key on/ Park lights on/ high beam: all lights on, no flashing.

Key on/ headlights on low or high beam: everything working normal.

Also I noticed there are no lights working when you turn on park lights or headlights with the key off like they normally would.

Hope this gives you some clues and thanks again for your help.

AnswerEdit

Hi Robert, Because the problem seems to be altered by the specific position of the headlamp switch I would start there. It could be that water is inside of it and has caused shorts or altered resistances which then feed false info to the body computer. To do that you need to remove the instrument cluster bezel (an 8-step procedure I can type in). That will give you access to the 2-plugs on the witch and then there are about a dozen measurements/tests that you can make with a multimeter to determine if the switches internal circuits are correct or not. It would be easier for me to copy and postal mail you these pages for the test readings,etc. as I don't have a scanner. But it might also be good to do this first: The other place to look would be the fuse box/body computer module under the dash. Disconnect the battery cable. Remove the lower steering column cover and knee blocker reinforcement. You will see that the fuse box has a rear module which is the body computer and it has two plugs on the bottom edge. Remove those to see if those are wet. If so dry them. To separate the box from the module you would remove the bolts that hold the box to the dash panel mounting bracket and remove the box along with the module. Remove screws that hold the module to the box and slide downward to take them apart. See if there is water in between them and on the contacts that connect their circuits. If so dry that. Please rate my answer. Thanks, Roland