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So I just recently came across what seems like a good deal (I hope). 2005 F-250, 4x4, 6.0 Turbo Diesel with around 180xxx miles. Purchased it from an online auction so I haven't personally seen or inspected the truck just yet. All I've seen are pictures. Bottom line is well, the dashboard caught on fire (No idea how) and it melted a good amount of it. No electrical power to the dash or anywhere in the truck. Here are a few pics. Any ideas on what I will need as far as parts and or Labor? Thanks in advance.
So idk why I can't upload pics. https://www.copart.com/lot/20627407
The good news is you don’t have to add tint to the windows.
The bad news is you better be damn good with electrics and plan on getting replacement harnesses on both sides of the firewall. You may even find you have to gut the entire cab to rid the truck of the smell. But that’s what Powerstrokes with broken motors are destined for. Really cheap donor trucks.
Too bad you can't see the BJB in the engine photo.
That truck is going to be a lot of harness work. And
like Jack said the smell is not easy to get rid of.
There are going to be a lot of small things that will add
up very quickly to more than you think they would.
I would find a crashed truck that still has the dash in
good condition and buy that for starters. A rollover
might be a good donor or a hard rear end hit so long as
the dash is still good.
Too bad you can't see the BJB in the engine photo.
That truck is going to be a lot of harness work. And
like Jack said the smell is not easy to get rid of.
There are going to be a lot of small things that will add
up very quickly to more than you think they would.
I would find a crashed truck that still has the dash in
good condition and buy that for starters. A rollover
might be a good donor or a hard rear end hit so long as
the dash is still good.
I'm not familiar to what BJB stands for. And can' get any hits from googling it? But even so getting a donor truck, I would have to be lucky enough to get the same engine and model specs right? For all the wiring harness and parts I'll need. Think maybe I'll need a ECU as well? I know it' hard to see in the pics but it doesn't seem like the fire went through the wires. At least I'm hoping. Maybe the fuses went out and thats the reason It doesn't turn on? Wishful thinking. Lol.
Sometimes Sean's auto spell correction has a mind of it's own, but I'm guessing he meant the electrical junction box.
Have you done any restorative work like this before? Just so you know what your getting into.
First plastic burning odor permeates into everything, especially fabrics. Really tough to get out which is why I would just gut the interior. Pretend that you're doing soundproofing.
The fire probably STARTED at the wires, and with the risk of insulation being damaged and somewhere down the actual road another short or crosstalk within the electronics is not what you would want. There's too much there to spice or overlay, so a complete harness changeout would be the best. Getting new from the dealer would get expensive even at discounted pricing. So a donor truck is necessary.
These are Low Rez images, so it's hard to blow them up to get a good look. The fire started in the cluster or under it, the fuse panel. So the interior control center of the vehicle. The airbags did not go off but depending on the extent of wire damage or the vehicle authority who will need to declare the vehicle road worthy may have other ideas if one or both need to get replaced, since this is a salvage title.
Oh and that white powder that went everywhere, that the most corrosive material you'll come across. It can screw up a lot of electrical connections.
On the engine side of the firewall it looks ashed, so that harness may need to be replaced, and maybe a few things around it. Possibly hydroboost. The mounting plate for the coolant Degas bottle may just have corrosion rather then the painted burned off, or a different finish then my truck.
Looks like the fireman did a good job using a prybar to get the hood open to yank the battery cables.
So from someone who used to restore early Mustangs and Shelbys, restoring those harnesses, you have some work ahead of you.
Sometimes Sean's auto spell correction has a mind of it's own, but I'm guessing he meant the electrical junction box.
Have you done any restorative work like this before? Just so you know what your getting into.
First plastic burning odor permeates into everything, especially fabrics. Really tough to get out which is why I would just gut the interior. Pretend that you're doing soundproofing.
The fire probably STARTED at the wires, and with the risk of insulation being damaged and somewhere down the actual road another short or crosstalk within the electronics is not what you would want. There's too much there to spice or overlay, so a complete harness changeout would be the best. Getting new from the dealer would get expensive even at discounted pricing. So a donor truck is necessary.
These are Low Rez images, so it's hard to blow them up to get a good look. The fire started in the cluster or under it, the fuse panel. So the interior control center of the vehicle. The airbags did not go off but depending on the extent of wire damage or the vehicle authority who will need to declare the vehicle road worthy may have other ideas if one or both need to get replaced, since this is a salvage title.
Oh and that white powder that went everywhere, that the most corrosive material you'll come across. It can screw up a lot of electrical connections.
On the engine side of the firewall it looks ashed, so that harness may need to be replaced, and maybe a few things around it. Possibly hydroboost. The mounting plate for the coolant Degas bottle may just have corrosion rather then the painted burned off, or a different finish then my truck.
Looks like the fireman did a good job using a prybar to get the hood open to yank the battery cables.
So from someone who used to restore early Mustangs and Shelbys, restoring those harnesses, you have some work ahead of you.
So that's what that dent on the hood is? Well that makes sense. Wouldn't of figured that one out anytime soon.
I did some looking up on Craigslist and there's a guy that' parting out one just like it. 4x4, 6.0, crewcab. Says he can sell me the dashboard, complete headliner, and the harness for $400? Does that sound reasonable?
I haven't done anything similar to this but I'm not afraid of a challenge. Or am I chewing off more then I can handle? I had a 2005 f250 and really liked it but it was a gas engine, sold it to get the same year and model but diesel engine. Harness, dashboard, cluster, and possible hydrobust is what I'm understanding might be needed so far right?
The job is doable. $400 JUMP on it like a Rat Terrier on a big fat rat.
The terms I used are BJB = Battery Junction Box, CJB Central Junction Box.
The BJB is the one in the engine bay next to the brake master cylinder and
the CJB is the one in the cab to the left of the steering wheel down by your
knees. I would start at the CJB and see what melted from there out.
There is one issue and it a PITA is the bolt that holds the main feed from the
BJB to the CJB and that bolt and nut are hard to sepreate do to the nut being
staked very heavily.
Just thought if something. Get everything under the dash like that
heater control module in that one photo with all the colored hoses.
Things like the barometric sensor and the VSM (Vehicle Security Module).
That is up on the firewall on the drivers side near the back behind the stereo.
Like I said ask for anything electrical behind the dash. Also on the trans tunnel
up front is the crash module under a little snap on cover.
Here is a shot of the back of the CJB and this next photo is the nut.
In the bottom left corner you can see the bolt sticking up that the main power connects to. in the photo above
right next to the blue marked connector is where the bolt location from the back side of the CJB. It has a plastic
cover that is just snapped on. The bolt it's self is a "T" type thing. Not your normal hex nut.
Some under dash photos I happened to find in my albums.
Also do yourself a big favor and get a set of back-probes for your meter.
Also Do Not puncture the insulating
that can and will cause problems.
Other than a good meter and a set of long leads. Long as in 5' to 10'
I woould also have the back probes and a good set of wiring diagrams
to work from. I can help you with some things just ask.
I;ll call this enough for this post more as you ask later.
Best luck. I have a 2006 crash truck I am working on too.
One thing to all to the list is the Ford Service Manual on DVD,
This one is a good one to have. They are expired Shop Manuals
and all you need to do is change the date on the computer or
use a program called "RunAsDate"
This seller on Ebay is good. I have gotten a lot of stuff from him/her
and have been very happy with the service I have gotten.
If you do get this ask me and I'll tell you the best way to set things up.
I even have a set of instructions on how to run from your hard drive.
Makes it so you don't have to have the DVD installed in the DVD drive.
All of this is doable, but the less re-wiring and electrical troubleshooting experience you have the more you want to go towards replacing wiring then repairing, plus it will save massive amount of time.
As I mentioned I gut the interior, the metal bracing around the dash is going to need repainting anyway, and then build it back up.
You are going to need to vac out all the extinguishing powder ASAP, as it’s corrosive nature screws everything up. In the one picture you can see the power switches on the pass seat. That stuff can mess with that and it’s a fine powder that gets into everything. So items like that are going to need to be checked, cleaned or possibly be replaced. Door panel switches too.
You could check with a company like ServPro to see if they could possibly clean interior fabrics as they are very good at that, as those seats would be expensive to recover. But there are good aftermarket sources that make nicer then stock upholstery.
They guy who is parting out the truck may have good items more then already mentioned.
The powder used in the fire extinguisher used on an electrical fire is corrosive... PERIOD.
What you don't remove will begin to eat the truck. Depending how much they used and where it ended up, you may gut the cab and wash it down before building the dash and interior. I'm no chemical expert but am trained in fire fighting and have used these type extinguishers in fires, both electrical and oil fires.
I don't want to throw a Monkey Wrench in here ,but buyer beware on the used harness, 6.0 harnesses have been known to rub on bolt heads creating shorts in the harness, creating all hell for the Owners to problem solve, not saying his truck had this problem just a heads up for ya
That's why I thought he had engine side damage too. it's just hard to get a good feel without a higher Rez image, or being there. I'd never buy anything without sight unseen.
09-22-2017, 11:42 PM
