Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Engine fires

[JGheen]

Man, with these last couple of posts I have read about the grid heaters and fuel heater causing fires, you guys got me all paranoid that mine is gonna catch fire. I carry a fire extingusher in the cab all the time for that exact reason, but now that my rig has close to 150,000 miles on the original fuel heater and grid heaters, I just have the gremlins goin' through my head that it's gonna flare up. If anyone has any other fire prevention knowledge besides removing the relays or disconnecting them, I would be glad to hear them. Also, any other fire stories I would like to hear to give me some certain circumstances would be great as well.



Thanks, Joe

 

[JGheen]

What? Are fires that uncommon that know one has any advice or issues that they could address to me?? Paranoia sure does suck and I know if I forget about it, it's gonna catch fire the minute I am caught off guard.

 

[PUMPERDUDE]

I think they are very rare but so were the dowel pin failures a few years back... ... ... I'm thinking of doing away with the fuel heater myself. Not much need for it down here anyway. In the mean time I carry a five pound extinguisher in the tool box (driver side) just in case

 

[Dfuruness]

Just so happens that mine burned out last week. I noticed a burning smell for a couple of days. Was not too worried, however, when I checked I noticed that the temp sensor on top of the prefilter was fried. Completely melted. Did some investigation and noticed that one of the wires entering the sensor was frayed and allowed water to get in and zap! Over heated the wire and burned out the sensor. Replaced the wire harness for 48. 00 CDN from Cummins Alberta Edmonton. The make of the harness is fleetguard. Good quality stuff.



Further, I noticed that the harness connector was a little hot as well since in melted slightly. No big deal, cleaned it up and the harness snapped together with no problem.



I would not worry about it too much. Just check your harness connection for any melt down and the temp sensor. If there is no fray in the wiring or broken seals then things should be good to go.

 

[JGheen]

Sounds like it's a hit and miss kind of thing. I was inspecting the harness and housing last night and it all looked good, no fretting. If I were to change out that temp sensor, is there a seal the goes with that as well?? It sure is a tight squeeze back there, I found it kind of easier to access and examine with the shutdown solenoid removed.

 

[Joe G.]

Dfuruness,



Do you have a part number for that harness? The Cummins guy here could not find it.

 

[Cooker]

Joe G.

What harness are you wanting the PN for? I can dig up the PN for the harness with has the thermostat on it if you would like. I know I saved my receipt.

 

[JGheen]

I had another question in regards to the fuel heater relay. I pulled the cover off my relay/fuse box under the hood on the driver side and there is a relay for the fuel heater and a 40 amp fuse labeled for the fuel heater as well. If I wanted to disable the fuel heater instead of disconnecting the harness at the heater, should I remove bother the fuse and the relay or would the relay removal be enough to prevent it from heating and possibly one day causing that unwanted fire?

 

[Joe G.]

Thanks Cooker,



Andy Redmon posted these numbers on another thread:

3845400S prefilter screen kit

3834185S pre-filter, upper heater o-ring

3907766S heater element

3843722S cable harness

Does that agree with what you have?





JGheen,



You should look in your service manual for that kind of stuff. My '95 may be different.

 

[Cooker]

Yep that's it.

 

[JGheen]

Originally posted by Joe G.







JGheen,



You should look in your service manual for that kind of stuff. My '95 may be different.

Yeah, I need to order that Dodge service book you described about above. It seems worth the $90, I'll have to call Chrystler tomorrow. Thanks, though