intermittant electrical fault , help pleeease !!!

viper1day

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Hi All
My Viper has developed and intermittant electrical fault thats driving me mad !!! hoping for some electrical wizard to guide me in the right direction
Had my Viper for about 8 years and have had just about trouble free motoring , but recently electrical problems have emerged .most of the time all dashboard light out with no problem , but now the brake and abs came on ( indication of abs sensor fault , changed sensors , lights still come on ) but now i also get the red airbag light come on , when it does , i lose brake lights , indicators , blower fan , radio , mirrors and hazards only flash on one side , nothing seems to set this off , it just does it randomly ,but the car still drives normally , then suddenly all lights go out all back to normal
sorry electrics are not my strong point so not sure if any of these are linked in any way
hoping for the huge amount of knowledge here may help me . please any help of where to start would be very much appreciated . a very frustrated owner , sorry forgot to mention its a 2001 rt/10
 
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Steve-Indy

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Others may ask about the year...or at least the generation as they do differ.

My experience is quite limited...but, suggest that you carefully check all major grounds including negative terminal at battery. For instance, there is a large ground ******** Gen II's on passenger side just behind the cross member in front of engine.

As I recall, back up light switch can go bad causing weird things.

Good luck.
 

KyViper

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I second the Grounding check. I have a C5 Corvette and they are well known for rolling intermittent faults due to grounding points not making clean contact. So, I feel your pain.
I do have a couple of questions.
What is the status of the battery? New, Old, been sitting with no maintainer attached, corroded terminals?
Any recent maintenance or Mods?
Where is it stored?
Forgive me for asking, but any chance the Mice have gotten to it?
Or any additional information about the car that might help to focus in on problem.
KY
 
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viper1day

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thanks for the reply
to answer the questions ,
battery not changed since i had the car , so at least 8 years old , but always the same after winter lay up ( no trickle charger ) put charger on car for a day and it fires up and then no issues for rest of year

corroded terminals , no
no mods
recent maintenance , changed dropped links
storage , steel insulated container , no issues with mice or rodents but understand question , lol

just also forgot to mention in the list of things above the electric windows also dont work when these lights come on also this year , dont think its linked but oil pressure reads really high since i took it out this year , but i think thats a sender fault ??

hope it all makes sense

thanks again for your help
Les
 

KyViper

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Ok, I would be very suspicious of the battery and it's connections. I would get the rear tire off and have an eyeball on them. While in there I would replace the battery. 8 Years you got your moneys worth.
I do have a complete set of 2001 service manuals that include all wiring diagrams. Let me know if you would like some specific info. I can take pics of the pages and send them to you.
Also, will keep
 
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viper1day

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Thanks again for your reply ,
thanks for the offer but i already have complete set service manual with all wiring diagrams , but haven't got a clue what they mean they look like an alien language to me LOL ,
i think i will get new battery sorted and see what happens then , thanks again
Les
 

GTSnake

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I'm leaning towards the battery too. I used to change my battery every 3 years because they would go bad. The car pulls a trickle current constantly due to various modules and alarm system so it will wear out a battery easily. However since I put the car on a battery tender all the time I haven't needed to change the battery.
 
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viper1day

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cheers everyone for all your comments and help ......... but at last SORTED !!!!!!!
It turned out to be a faulty ignition switch , everything started fine but when the key returned to its position after starting the car the contacts were burnt so not always getting full contact , ordered new switch , swapped ignition key cylinder , refitted and PERFECT !!!!!!! ONE HAPPY VIPER OWNER
 
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