2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Underhood Fire Cause

[DavidNH]

Hello all,



Just picked up a 95 2500 ext. cab 4x4 complete with a small underhood fire.

The hood is buckled, right batt is melted, air box is ashes, wiring harness is toast, same with top of radiator shroud. Not as bad as it sounds- the turbo inlet elbow got it, but everything left of the turbo survived, the engine did well in this particular case which is why I bought it.



Now to the matter: The fire appears to have started at the junction box on the firewall on the right side. The previous owner parked it and one hour later this fire, electrical in nature started. Since this is my first Dodge, I see things that I like and others that I don't care for. Foremost in my decision to 'bring this one back' or just pull the engine and scrap the rest would be:



Are these trucks known for this sort of behaviour? Is this a recall issue that was not addressed or some electrical issue unique to this truck only? The previous owner tells me that the entire wiring harness under the dashboard had to be replaced some time ago due to melting caused by a mechanic using a fuse that was way too big for whatever circuit was overloading. Could this have anything to do with the underhood fire?



Thanks,

Dave

 

[GeraldGordon]

Dave my mom have a 95 same problem but no fire. I think all the 95 have this.



Gerald Gordon

 

[benhall]

Do you have any pics on the damage?



Ben

 

[Joe Mc]

Dave,



If you decide to part it out I'm interested in the rear end, if it's an LSD 3:55. Keep me in mind.



Joe Mc

 

[Joe G.]

Dave,



The only under hood fires I've heard of on a '95 are because of starter contacts sticking which can burn up the fuel solenoid. That is on the driver's side of the engine. It sounds like some ham handed "mechanic" caused the one on your truck. Over fusing a circuit with a short will certainly do that on any vehicle.

 

[DavidNH]

Here are a couple of pics of the truck. I was on the fence about fixing or parting out and today after several hours under the hood, I'm going to part it out. It's rough and more than I really want to get into. When looking for one, I really just wanted the engine. I only briefly flirted with the idea of fixing the truck, but once I got into it the true scope of the project emerges and is more that I want to do. Easier just to finance 12K and buy a newer one that needs nothing. I have enough trouble keeping up with the problems I know about on my own vehicles let alone adopting someone elses.



Tomorrow I'm going to start the engine, but need to know where the electric boost pump is located, how to electrically satisfy the fuel solenoid to run and how long to 'jump' the grid heater for. Also welcome suggestions on what to look out for would be appreciated as well. 53/KDP I am aware of.



Joe Mc, Let me know how to identify the axle ratio/type and I'll crawl under it tomorrow and see. The previous owner mentioned he had the rear end rebuilt recently. Evidence on axle seems to corroborate this.

 

[DavidNH]

Damn, pictues are too big, I'll have to re-take them tomorrow.

 

[Cummins Thunder]

Send em to me.

Ill resize and post them



-- email address removed --



CJ

 

[Joe G.]

Dave,



The lift pump is mechanical on a 12 valve. In fact, you can start it if you only have power to the starter. Just use a piece of wire to hold up the fuel solenoid and crank it.

 

[Cummins Thunder]

Crispy Cummins :-laf



CJ

 

[Joe G.]

Lots of damage. There is probably some trash in the intercooler. Not really a good idea to start it and suck that trash into the engine.

 

[DavidNH]

I know it looks ugly, but that was the pre-buy photo - she cleaned up nice today with the removal off all that 'crispy' stuff. Once I get it to fire and run, I can start the task of liberating that engine and parting out the rest of the truck. Boy, is it a lot of work to "fix" a head gasket on a 6. 2 :-laf



Joe G: thanks for the info I'll put it to use at once.



Dave

 

[Cummins Thunder]

Boy, is it a lot of work to "fix" a head gasket on a 6. 2 :-laf

Dave

Ahhhhh... . Cheby engine swap??

Is that truck an auto or 5spd?



CJ

 

[DavidNH]

The Dodge is an auto w/OD, but when I'm done with the Chevy... 6 speed manual.

I like this Dodge quite a bit as well, it's just the condition of the truck that was the tipping point to pull the Cummins. Interior is shabby gray and was smoked in, used to plow, oversize tires- she went off road I'm sure. Engine and maintenance items were taken care of. I just want to get a few more years out of the old Chevy and this will do the trick, as well as burn WVO. Once I move on from the Chevy, I'd like to get back into a newer version of this truck in impecable condition, by then I will probably have made my peace with the size of the engine compartment.

 

[DavidNH]

Well,

I disconnected the intercooler hose, forced compressed air through and no debris made it in during the fire. The turbo oil line leaked a bit and after fixing that, the engine fired up after a few short attempts on the starter and 15 seconds on the grid heaters. I had the block heater plugged in for about two hours. Engine runs and sounds good. It is completely disconnected from the chassis electrical system, so I don't have any guages on the inside functioning. The turbo needs to be rebuilt and it lets quite a bit of oil into the exhaust stream, other than that, it's good. One more question, any electrical input to the transmission? Its a 4 speed auto and I can't get it to go into reverse. All forward gears and a recently rebuilt T-case work splendind, but no reverse- engages, but no one is home when engine is throttled up. I know this sounds foolish, but this is my first Mopar. Is this simply the classic symptom of a transmission on it's way out, or am I missing some vaccum signal via electrical input to engage reverse?



Thanks, Dave

 

[DavidNH]

Well,

The cummins runs very good, and stopped smoking after a few hours run time over the course of a few days. The transmission was a bit low on fluid owing to a leaking oil line and goes into reverse fine now. Just a couple questions:



Q: the fire started in the heat sink area of the ECM and melted through the plastic case- has anyone heard of the ECM getting too hot to start a fire like this?



Also, to what degree does this ECM control the engine? I started it and it runs fine without it. I am planning to put this into an 84 Chevy, so will I need to replace this ECM and wiring harness when it goes into the Chevy? Is this unit for drivability or emissions? I of course severed all electrical connection from engine to chassis before start-up as I did not want to energize any of the damaged wiring. Any help appreciated.

Dave

 

[Joe G.]

Dave,



I don't know how you are doing the remaining Chevy stuff so this answer may not be exactly right. The PCM (Powertrain Control Module) controls OD and torque convertor clutch lockup. On the Dodge it controls the alternator and dash board stuff. It also controls the manifold heater and fuel heater. You can get around the transmission control stuff with some switches but that takes a lot of the automatic out of your transmission because you have to control these things manually. It's not as bad as the 47RE transmission used in '96 and later trucks. If you would like to discuss some of the quirks of the '95 PM me.

 

[DavidNH]

Thanks for that Joe,

The Chevy is getting a nv5600, using a GM alternator and GM A/C compresor- sounds as though I can do with out the PCM. Racor filter assembly will have it's own heat, and I've got a switch on the dash for the glow, ahem, grid heater.



Dave

 

[Joe G.]

You have it then. The only thing left to worry about is the tach sensor. It is on the front of the engine and senses the gaps in the edge of the vibration damper.