Dodge Ram Recall for Wiring?
Alan Pilcher
nite to say he'd gotten notice last week or a recall for a wiring
harness problem. Said it's related to wire overheating related to the
air conditioning. Took his in yesterday and they found an electrical
connector in the dash area somewhere that was badly melted.
I've done the usual searches and found no reference to a recall for
that type of problem. Anybody else hear about it?
Regards,
Alan Pilcher
*** Clinton, Clinton, Reno and Gore;
*** It's time to retire that "Gang of Four".
(with apologies to Chairman Mao)
Nick Topolos
----------
In article <4trrms0b1pf79gi19...@4ax.com>, Alan Pilcher
<apil...@mindspring.com> wrote:
> My cousin, owner of a 95ish Ram 1500, club cab short bed, called last
> nite to say he'd gotten notice last week or a recall for a wiring
> harness problem. Said it's related to wire overheating related to the
> air conditioning. Took his in yesterday and they found an electrical
> connector in the dash area somewhere that was badly melted.
>
> I've done the usual searches and found no reference to a recall for
> that type of problem. Anybody else hear about it?
>
I received this notice on my 95 Ram 1500. It is Notice # 875. It states that
the ignition switch and/or steering column wiring may overheat when the
blower motor is operated at high speed for an extended period of time. This
can cause stalling, loss of blower motor or power window operation, ABS or
airbag lamp illumination or a steering column/instrument panel fire.
A couple of times my wife has driven the PU these lights plus the brake
light have come on. I thought it may have been her key ring.
Jerry
depends where the vehicle was manufactured.
Jerry
Alan Pilcher wrote:
>
> My cousin, owner of a 95ish Ram 1500, club cab short bed, called last
> nite to say he'd gotten notice last week or a recall for a wiring
> harness problem. Said it's related to wire overheating related to the
> air conditioning. Took his in yesterday and they found an electrical
> connector in the dash area somewhere that was badly melted.
>
> I've done the usual searches and found no reference to a recall for
> that type of problem. Anybody else hear about it?
>
Gary Glaenzer
some time ago.....perhaps he would be good enough to re-post it.
G
Nick Topolos <ntop...@home.com> wrote in message
news:AWrb5.41614$i5.5...@news1.frmt1.sfba.home.com...
>
>
> ----------
> In article <4trrms0b1pf79gi19...@4ax.com>, Alan Pilcher
> <apil...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
>
> > My cousin, owner of a 95ish Ram 1500, club cab short bed, called last
> > nite to say he'd gotten notice last week or a recall for a wiring
> > harness problem. Said it's related to wire overheating related to the
> > air conditioning. Took his in yesterday and they found an electrical
> > connector in the dash area somewhere that was badly melted.
> >
> > I've done the usual searches and found no reference to a recall for
> > that type of problem. Anybody else hear about it?
> >
>
Guntar
getting swamped with calls and there is nothing they can do about it. The
letters were sent out to owners before the dealers got the info. He said to
check back in a couple weeks and they should have some parts in and the
information on it. I was there once for an oil change and know how long it
takes them to do work. So I figure I will be able to get mine replaced later
this year.
It is a safety recall to install a blower motor relay and inspect the truck's
ignition switch and replace it if necessary. I guess there has been some fires
caused by it and they are finally doing something about it.
Fitch R. Williams
>Fitch Williams posted a rather thorough narative of the required repairs
>some time ago.....perhaps he would be good enough to re-post it.
Here it is Gary,
These are the two original posts.
Chrysler knew at that time (10/1999) that they had a significant
wiring defect. How do I know that" Simple. They had:
1) taken the time and trouble to design the relay harness,
2) had shipped it to dealers, and
3) were of course selling it as a "kit" to the hapless customers that
suffered various problems including having their trucks set on fire.
The above set of facts says that they knew they had the defect, that
it was a serious defect, but were trying to delay the inevitable as
long as possible at customer expense. So they had somehow not quite
gotten around to issuing the safety recall yet. I ended up buying
nearly two hundred dollars of "kit" that they had prepared to sell to
those of us victimized by the problem.
I installed the ignition switch but not the rest of the kit - I left
that to do this summer since the first ignition switch lasted 4.5
years.
When I got the recall notice Nedra took it in to the local Dodge
dealer and they installed the relay harness.
------------- Insert 1 ------------
October 1999.
Background:
My daughter left for college, with the 1995 truck and the horse
trailer as usual, and every thing on the truck was working. Power
windows, heater & A/C, no warning lights on the brakes, etc. She
arrived at the school horse facility, unloaded her horse, and when she
got back in the truck:
The heater/AC didn't work
The power windows wouldn't roll down
The brake warning light and some others were on
She called on her Cell Phone and made the above report, so with her on
the phone I studied the FSM and determined that all the power for the
above came through one fuse, F2 in the Power Distribution center. If
it was blown, the truck could not be re-started until it was replaced.
The truck was still running, lights worked, etc. so we took the other
truck and met her at a designated half way point.
When we picked up the truck, I put it in reverse and the backup lights
did not come on. When we got home, the truck would start, but the
other items were still not operational.
Later next day, everything works - no blown fuse.
My diagnosis is that the ignition switch is bad. The power from F2
splits and goes to the starter circuit on one branch, and the ignition
switch run position that feeds all the items that were
non-operational. Only variable in there is the ignition switch.
I read the FSM instructions for removal and replacement - piece of
cake except for the tamper proof torax screws, and my neighbor says
just bust the center pin out, so I decide I will do the replacement.
Reason for posting:
One thing lead to another and I didn't get to a Dodge dealer.
Thursday night my daughter returned home (she has no Friday Classes).
she went to Terry York Valencia Dodge-Isuzu (where she has had good
experiences on other occasions) and asked to purchase a replacement
ignition switch for her truck.
They had one (round of applause for Terry York Dodge) and very nicely
spent some time with her to make sure she understood this was not a
"one-for-one" replacement. It is a wiring "kit" that requires cutting
and splicing the wiring harness and which installs a blower motor
wiring "overlay" that adds a relay to hopefully prevent this from
happening again.
I haven't done the installation yet, will do it tomorrow (Sunday)
since I have plans to take my horse for a nice long trail ride today.
For those moved by fixing things on their own time before they break,
if you have a 1995 truck the part number is:
4874996 SW PKG IG 8050083 and instruction sheet K6855214 dated
2/26/1996 revised 3/13/1996.
------------- Insert 2 ------------
I did part of the job today. Truck is drivable again, and good as
new, but not better than new ... yet.
If you have to replace an ignition switch on one of our trucks, it
will help to have a FSM. The steps are:
1. Remove negative battery cable(s) from batteriy(s).
No sweat, pair of 1/2" open box wrenches, and it is done. I notice
that the terminals were almost loose, the lead lugs are pinched tight
together, and the things clearly need cleaning. I store that
observation away for later action.
2. If the vehicle has a tilt column, remove tilt lever by turning it
counterclockwise.
Right! .... Takes stronger fingers than mine, but I notice a square
wrench flat ... looks mighty small ... I have some ignition wrenches,
remember those from days gone by? If you have a 7/32 ignition wrench
it will fit the wrench flat on the tilt lever and the thing will
unscrew easily. It is also handy for reinstalling it.
3. Remove the upper and lower covers from steering column (Fig. 1)
I perform a contortionist bending act (the first of many) that would
have qualified me for the circus and observe that the screw I can see
is a torax drive screw. I look at it, and notice it is bigger than
the one I have in the study for the Compaq computer case screws. I go
upstairs and get it and prove my eye is good. No problem, I have a
1/4" drive torax T-20 socket and a screwdriver grip 1/4" driver - I
remover the center screw. The others however are buried up inside
deep holes that I can not reach with my stubby little socket.
I rummage in the tool box and find a screwdriver handle T-20 driver,
and joy unbounded - the other two are out.
4. Remove ignition switch mounting screws.
This is a problem. They are the tamper proof (yeah, right) torax
screws. I determine they are also T-20 size. My neighbor, the one
that repairs D8 CATs, etc. said just break off the pin with a punch
and then take it out. Well, on a CAT this might work, but this thing
is all over plastic and pot metal - one blow and I expect to see the
whole apparatus including parts that must be reused in shattered bits
on the drivers side floor.
I measure the pin in the middle and determine it is about .059" in
diameter. I measure the end of the cheap Harbor Freight torax socket
and prove to myself that one could drill a .0625" hole in the middle
of it and still have significant metal left - the torque on these
screws is like 20 in-lbs so they can't be all that tight. so I mount
the socket in the milling machine (yes, I happen to have one in the
garage - Tim Allen eat your heart out). I also happen to have a
.0625" solid carbide bit on an 1/8" shank, and a 1/8" R8 collet for
the mill. So I carefully center the torax socket under the drill and
with great care and gentle pressure drill a hole in the end of the
hardened socket metal. I remove it from the mill, take it over, slip
it on the end of the 1/4" screwdriver handle driver, and try it out.
Eureka! It works. ZZZZZZZiiiiiippppppppp and the "tamper-proof"
torax screws are all removed. I love it when serendipity triumphs
over science.
5. Gently pull switch away from column .........
Switch and connectors come apart just fine.
6. and 7 go as written, and I get to use my newly customized torax bit
again, feeling very smug.
I map the old switch, and then transfer the key cylinder to the new
switch, and determine the contacts are the same. Then I read through
the directions for the new wiring harness and the replacement ignition
switch connector.
I start through the steps on the kit instruction sheet and end up with
the wiring harness all laid bare and ready for the cutters. I decide
to match the wire colors and pre mark them for length before cutting
the first one, that way I will be sure to have the harness the same
length.
The colors don't match! Two of the wires on the new connector are
different colors than the wires in that location on the existing
connector. What to do? I hate guessing so I read the rest of the
directions.
What I figure out is that I can install the new switch and have a
truck running good as new, but not better than new as the kit intends.
So I do that and put the new harness on hold until I can confirm that
if I just match the two odd wires by connector pin it will be OK.
Truck reassembled and running. New harness still in box in garage.
Since then Dominique (AKA John DiMartino - a former dodge Mechanic)
wrote me off the list and told me that the replacement connector is
because they frequently melt the connector, switch, and wires into a
glob which is why it is included. I can leave my original perfect
condition connector installed and then proceed to do the wiring
harness overlay.
That will have to wait.
Fitch
In So. Cal. High Desert
1995 Reg. Cab 2WD 2500SLT/12V/5spd/4.10/Turnover Ball gooseneck hitch/Tekonsha Sentinel
1999 QC 2 WD 3500SLT/24V/5spd/3.55/customized mirrors/Turnover Ball gooseneck hitch/
Tekonsha Sentinel/Class IV DrawTite rear hitch/RhinoLiner.
prowler99
had it. One day the power windows wouldn't work, every light on the dash was
on. The truck was running so I drove it three blocks to work, thinking I
would take it to the dealer that afternoon. When I came out, everything was
fine, and it never did it again.
--
Randy
"I would rather be camping"
"Jerry" <jlr...@home.com> wrote in message
news:396E4D06...@home.com...
> The recall is out for some 1994 through 1996 Dodge Rams. Probable
> depends where the vehicle was manufactured.
>
> Jerry
>
> Alan Pilcher wrote:
> >
> > My cousin, owner of a 95ish Ram 1500, club cab short bed, called last
> > nite to say he'd gotten notice last week or a recall for a wiring
> > harness problem. Said it's related to wire overheating related to the
> > air conditioning. Took his in yesterday and they found an electrical
> > connector in the dash area somewhere that was badly melted.
> >
> > I've done the usual searches and found no reference to a recall for
> > that type of problem. Anybody else hear about it?
> >