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You are going to be chasing gremlins for years as hot as that got under the hood. You would be better off finding a F250/350 with a blown head gasket for cheap and buying the truck. I would replace all the wiring, fuse box, etc from the donor truck. Your looking at a lot of work.
I was able to find the coolant reservoir, vacuum tank, air filter housing and boots for the turbo to air filter housing at a local salvage yard. Also found the AC blower motor and evaporator housing, just hav ego go back and pull it out.
I was able to remove most of the burnt wiring harness, appears this particular harness was for the HVAC and lights. Nothing on this harness was connected to the engine so hopefully the FICM and PCM were not affected by the short. I wonder if my fog lights could have contributed to this issue. A couple of years back I noticed my fog lights were melted from the inside out. I haven’t turned them on since but maybe they were switched on somehow, I’ll have to check the switch tonight and see if it is pulled out.
I’ll post more pictures as I get new parts installed and the AC housing removed and replaced.
You are going to be chasing gremlins for years as hot as that got under the hood. You would be better off finding a F250/350 with a blown head gasket for cheap and buying the truck. I would replace all the wiring, fuse box, etc from the donor truck. Your looking at a lot of work.
This is a good suggestion as another way to get the parts. I had a mid 80's Dodge Caravan that had the main harness melt down, similar to what you had happen. I replaced it and the other melted parts with parts sourced from the junk yard. I never had any further issues or gremlins. I replaced everything that was close to the heat or looked like it was damaged. Just my experience.
I think I found the cause of my fire. Originally I thought it started in the wiring loop next to the fire wall but I think it started at the battery. The right side battery case is melted just behind the positive terminal. This is the terminal which rubbed a bare spot on the battery cable because of the oil cooler being too close to it. The cable was grounded out on the oil cooler which, in my opinion, caused the battery to overheat and short out. My neighbor reported seeing sparks and we thought it was something pointed at the truck but nothing was found. All of the fire damage is in the wiring loom by the fire wall, very little heat damage by the battery. The battery cables weren’t even melted. Below are pictures of the battery, cable bare spot and what it grounded to. I think the sparks the neighbors saw were coming from the battery and going up to the wire loom causing it to catch fire. The fire chief even commented at how strange it was to see a battery with a melted hole but nothing around it burnt.
Battery case melted Inside the battery. You can see the post inside is black
You can see the bare wire here This is the oil cooler it was rubbing against.
That is one reason I got rid of my IPR cooler and went back stock. It is too tight in that area with the hoses and Intercooler tube. I hope you can fix the truck, best to find a 6.0L in a yard and you pull the harness yourself, that way you take your time and don't have to worry about splices.
I was able to source a new harness. Supposed to be here Thursday so I should have it in Saturday or Sunday. Just a few new parts remaining and it should be running again.
I think if that's were it started, it would've gotten much hotter, melted the coating, and there would be more damage to the cooler. A dead short in a battery cable really arcs and gets hot. Being a diesel there are 2 batteries to pour juice to that dead short. I just don't think that's what happened. I would take a sander and round the corners on that cooler when you're rebuilding the truck.
Where does the battery cable running back along the engine towards the A/C drier go to? If the fire started in the back and melted that cable or that cable rubbed through and started the fire, that makes more sense to me. The coating is discolored like it got hot. It makes sense, both batteries would've been discharging through it.
Do yourself a favor and order some silicone hoses for your coolant filter. They are pricey but when I blew my hose to the filter it was a side of the road repair.
Lance, I believe that cable goes to the starter but I will have to confirm that when I start replacing battery cables. I was planning to replace and/or reroute many of them to help eliminate any possible re-occurrence.
Lance, I believe that cable goes to the starter but I will have to confirm that when I start replacing battery cables. I was planning to replace and/or reroute many of them to help eliminate any possible re-occurrence.
Jeff
Good plan, make your own and choose a little better routing. I've never studied the cable routing or how much room is available, but I would see if you can build your own mount and locate the batteries side by side. I would think you could really reduce the amount and complexity of the battery cables. I was going to look at that harder when I get close to putting a snow plow on my EX. I'd like to add a second battery when I put a plow on.
Well today I received the last part needed to make the truck run again. Now I am looking for the burnt wiring harness, which is no longer manufactured, and the AC housing inside the engine compartment. Over the next few days I will also be replacing the right side valve cover, it has been leaking for about a year and I just haven't wanted to deal the issue. Now that the AC housing will be removed, accessing the right side valve cover will be much simpler.
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