Dakota backup lights switch?

Well, we're getting ready to leave this fair but rainy climate for something a little warmer. Thusly, I had the truck in to have the lights converted back to US standards. Over the last three years, I've had no backup lights, as they've been rewired to be turn signals - the UK requires white turn signals in back, but oddly does not require backup lights.

I've hated not having those lights, and was looking forward to actually being able to see what I was backing into at night.

But, alas, the mechanic tells me that the lights don't work, and they've traced it to the switch. I, of course, have little idea what he's talking about. Acquiring a part isn't too hard, we'll be back in the USA for a couple months between tours... but, is the switch something I can replace myself? I don't know if Australia requires backup lights or not, but I do want them working ASAP.

So, my question is, where exactly is this switch? Is it user-replaceable? Why did the thing break in the first place? It was explained that the switch would be activated whenever I put the truck in reverse, whether or not it's actually lighting the lamps. Is that true?

Thanks for any help!

jmc

The switch is easy to replace. It's on the transmission. Need to know year and auto/manual trans to pinpoint it, but if you have a manual trans, the back-up switch is screwed into the passenger side of the rear housing. With the ignition switch on, disconnect the connector from this switch, and jump the two terminals in the connector. If the backup lights come on, you've got a bad switch. Unscrew and replace.

On an automatic trans, it's a combination park/neutral switch, and is located on the driver's side, very close to the shift linkage. The pinouts here could vary based on your year, but if it's a three-pin connector, one pin will have voltage on it (with the ignition on). Jumper this pin to both of the others (one is the neutral sense, the other is the backup lamp feed), and check the lights. As above, if they come on, the P/N switch is bad. This unscrews as well, but you're going to leak fluid as you change it, so be prepared with a drain pan, and replace the lost fluid after you're done.

If you don't find any voltage at the connector, check for a blown fuse (probably did that already, but if you have no voltage, check again). If voltage is there, but jumping the connector pins doesn't light the lamps, you've got problems upstream, and then you need a wiring diagram to start tracing things out.