Archived Lightening strike

[Dieselnut59]

I had a bad lightening strike beside my shop. It struck a pecan tree just beside where my '03 was parked. It blew out the dirt down the root of the tree, under the rear tires of my truck. I cranked up the truck and it did fine, then all the lights lit up on the dash, the gauges never moved (including tach and speedometer), the headlights came on and stayed on, the overhead console is inoperable and the horn does not work. I think it fried the PCM. Any ideas and where is this thing located? Any other things to look for? Electric door locks, windows, radio and interior lights all work fine and the engine starts/runs normal.

I wanted to post this last night, but the lightening strike fried my computer, surge protector, cordless phone/answering system, satellite television receiver, and blew out the power transformer to my shop. Thankfully, no fires!

Thanks for any help or suggestions yall may have to get my truck going!

John

 

[Missouri Mule]

It definitely seems lkie it fried something. If you have comprensive insurance or collision I would let the insurance co take care of it.

 

[CKelley1]

sorry about that. the ecm is on the driver side of the motor down low bolted to the block and the plug that goes in it has about 50 wires evenly spaced on it the plug has one screw in the middle to remove it some accessories require us to add pins and wires to this plug like the engine brake we have to add two wires to it i think it is pin 32 and 46, you may not have fried the ecm. do this first remove both negative battery cables wait about two minutes and reconnect them there is a 50% chance this will fix it. if it does not you might try a reflash on it before condeming it there is only about 10% chance it will work. pm me if you decide to add protection to the house

 

[CKelley1]

good idea about the insurance the home owners policy should get it

 

[Dieselnut59]

Thanks for the information guys. I called the insurance company. They said they had heard of this happening before, and on a gasoline powered vehicle, it can explode. Thank God I do not have anything gasoline powered!

I do not think it is the ECM, rather the PCM (just for the powertrain/chassis). The engine runs fine. I just got this message, as my computer at home is also fried from the strike. I will try the ground removal and see what happens. I did the "gauge test" procedure and the gauges/lights all work fine. Again, thanks for the information and tips! That is what makes the TDR great! And the political forum is what makes it fun! LOL

 

[icman95]

I'm curious as to how it will turn out. Please let us know. Good luck.

 

[Dieselnut59]

I removed the negative battery cables for about 2 hours. The problem still existed. I performed the "gauge test" thing again and all the gauge needles and lights work properly. I still need to figure out about the PCM. Does anyone know where it is located? Again, the engine and all its components work fine. The gauges, lights, horn and overhead computer are not working properly. What should I check next? I have the gauge cluster removed now. Gotta find and test that PCM...

 

[Ron Bissett]

Check the fuze blocks, in cab and under hood . Ron

 

[Missouri Mule]

Wouldn't the PCM still be located on the Passenger side on the firewall behind the wheel well like in the first gen and 2nd gen? Seems they had good luck with it there.

 

[Dieselnut59]

Wouldn't the PCM still be located on the Passenger side on the firewall behind the wheel well like in the first gen and 2nd gen? Seems they had good luck with it there.

That is what someone else told me also. Going to get the truck into my shop and check further. I checked the fuses and swapped around a few possible relays but made no difference. I believe all my fuses are in the one location under the hood, instead of being in split locations like the second generation trucks.

 

[Rams-n-Hogs]

"The Powertrain Control Module (PCM) is located

in the right-rear section of the engine compartment

under the cowl (Fig. 4). Two different PCM’s are used (JTEC and

NGC). These can be easily identified. JTEC’s

use three 32–way connectors, NGC’s use four

38–way connectors"





Straight out of the 04 Service Manual. Hope this helps.

 

[Dieselnut59]

Thank you sir! That is the information I was seeking! I will check mine out this evening (hopefully).

Thanks again!

John

 

[Huff N Puff]

The Items that arn't working

I had a bad lightening strike beside my shop. It struck a pecan tree just beside where my '03 was parked. It blew out the dirt down the root of the tree, under the rear tires of my truck. I cranked up the truck and it did fine, then all the lights lit up on the dash, the gauges never moved (including tach and speedometer), the headlights came on and stayed on, the overhead console is inoperable and the horn does not work. I think it fried the PCM. Any ideas and where is this thing located? Any other things to look for? Electric door locks, windows, radio and interior lights all work fine and the engine starts/runs normal.

I wanted to post this last night, but the lightening strike fried my computer, surge protector, cordless phone/answering system, satellite television receiver, and blew out the power transformer to my shop. Thankfully, no fires!

Thanks for any help or suggestions yall may have to get my truck going!

John

Are all run by the BCM, body control module. I'd disconnect both batteries and touch the disconnected positive terminal to the disconnected negitive terminal. Reconnect everything see what happens cross your fingers.

 

[Dieselnut59]

Are all run by the BCM, body control module. I'd disconnect both batteries and touch the disconnected positive terminal to the disconnected negitive terminal. Reconnect everything see what happens cross your fingers.

Where is the "BCM" located?

 

[Dieselnut59]

"The Powertrain Control Module (PCM) is located

in the right-rear section of the engine compartment

under the cowl (Fig. 4). Two different PCM’s are used (JTEC and

NGC). These can be easily identified. JTEC’s

use three 32–way connectors, NGC’s use four

38–way connectors"





Straight out of the 04 Service Manual. Hope this helps.

I cannot locate this PCM... Where is it in relation to the "filter dryer" for the air conditioning? I do not see anything in the right rear of the engine compartment, except the a. c. filter/dryer...

 

[Huff N Puff]

I'm sorry Dieselnut, the BCM was replaced by theEMIC

Where is the "BCM" located?

It stands for Electro Mechanical Insrument Cluster It replaced the BCM the signals are bused in on the CAN bus and converted to analog signals If the truck runs and drives fine,the ECM and PCM are probably fine. Also disconnect the over head see if the instrument cluster comes back. One can take out the other if it shuts the bus down.

 

[Rams-n-Hogs]

I cannot locate this PCM... Where is it in relation to the "filter dryer" for the air conditioning? I do not see anything in the right rear of the engine compartment, except the a. c. filter/dryer...

I looked at my '04, and didn't see the PCM there, either. After looking at my book a little more, there is a module called an FCM, which controls the headlights, horn, fog lamps, park lamps, and windshield wipers. It's located in the left front corner of the engine compartment. It mates to the Power Distribution Center to form the Integrated Power Module. You have to partially remove the IPM to get to it. There is a 49 pin electrical connector screwed to the IPM. The book says to pull it straight out, once you have removed the screws. Disconnect both the + and - battery cables before doing this.





To remove IPM:

(1) Disconnect battery cables.

(2) Unsnap cover and remove the B+ terminal nut from the integrated power module B+ terminal. Remove the B+ cable from the integrated power module.

(3) Disconnect the gray connector from the integrated power module.

(4) Remove the integrated power module retaining bolt and screw (Fig. 2). They show a bolt on the fender, and a screw on the bottom front left of the IPM.

(5) Grasp the integrated power module with two hands and slide the assembly in the direction shown (Fig. 3) to free the module from its mounting bracket. It slides toward the engine. Position the assembly upside down to access the electrical connectors located on the bottom of the unit.





Hope this helps.

 

[Dieselnut59]

Thanks for the information. I will look into the things you mentioned! Hope to get some time to mess with it this weekend. Thanks again. I will post what I find.