Archived power distribution board burnt up

[twoswipe]

My 3500 dodge ram (flat bed) suddenly quit yesterday. I smelled burnt wires and quickly removed the battery cables. Towed the truck home. It is a 2010 model but must have a 2009 commings engine because only 2009 parts fit. I discovered that the power distribution computer board (located under the hood and under the fuse box) had burnt and melted. I did not see any other melted wires. i called dealer and ordered new computer board. I use this truck everday for hauling water. Does anyone have any idea what caused the computer board to melt and how I can prevent it from happening again. Next time I might not be so lucky and I don't want to burn up my truck. The truck only has 65,000 miles on it.

 

[B.G. Smith]

Were you towing a trailer. First place I would look is the wiring to the trailer plug and the flat bed. bg

 

[twoswipe]

Normally I am towing a trailer. But when the computer board melted, i have driven the truck a lot but I was not towing a trailer.

 

[seafish]

If you have the Denso 220amp alternator and it caused the fire, you may well be covered by FCA--

http://fcauthority.com/2016/10/ram-recalls-2007-2013-heavy-duty-trucks-over-alternator-issue/

BEFORE swapping parts and spending money, start investigating this and document EVERYTHING that happened and that you do!!

An article here--

http://kdvr.com/2017/02/05/fire-under-the-hood-defective-heavy-duty-ram-truck-alternators/

 

[twoswipe]

I took the truck in to the dealer when that alternator recall was issued and my truck was supposed to have been fixed. But thanks for the information, I will have the alternator checked out to see if that caused the problem.

 

[cerberusiam]

That would be the TIPM and there could be several things that caused that. You will need to check or have the connections checked to make sure you do not have a short or bad connections in the electrical system somewhere. The alternator issue cause the alternator itself to catch fire not the TIPM which is on the opposite side of the truck. Doesn't mean the alternator cannot be the source if it is over charging or you have bad battery cables but that is part of diagnosing the root issue.