breaker - check
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SMP-BR330/

 

don't pay insurance to do it either just go to a bone yard get a carpet wipe down your interior really well then take it to a detail shop and get them to fog it or ozone it..i got a fog done on a chevy at work and you can't smell anything like smoke..it smells like citris or oranges for a little while then it smells like nothing and it had a lot worse fire in it then that...and it was less the 90 bucks

 

My truck is under warranty until 2011. And it is a 2001. You just need to get the extended warranty.

Also, I had a fire in my 1996. I lost the pics from it when DF changed over. It was in the engine compartment. And it was my fault. Don't disconnect and reconnect your fuel line then go driving 10 mins after without rinsing the engine. Especially when your compartment has dirt, leaves and other crap inside it. And you have headers.

I also had a fire INSIDE my 1996. My ex GF flicked her cigarette out the window, and it somehow came back in and landed between my back and the seat. I smelled guido burning and since I was from NJ and she was from Oklahoma, I got worried. I was more pissed that she burned a 6 inch hole in my FAVORITE sweatshirt than making a quarter sized burn mark on my cloth seat.

We should make a "Fire Truck" club. Indy, me and you. Anyone else?

 

Damn that sucks i want to hear the outcome at the dealer**** though, hopefully you can get it like new for cheap I have 2 fire extinguishers in my truck but there mostly for the bonfires we have, just a safety measure and something to show to cops that might want to cause a ruckus

 

Is that a **** bottle in the background? You know you're supposed to toss those when you hit the first gas station you stop at.

 

Haha thats definitely not gatorade haha.

 

If there's a recall, even 40 years from now, they, by law, must replace the defective parts and any damage that incurred as a result of the recall safety notice. Doesn't matter if your the original owner, how many miles, how long it's been out of warranty when we are discussing a factory defect. It's a federal law that governs this.

I had gone through that with my hood latch and, the hood flew off while on the freeway, busted the windshield, twisted the mounts etc. Dealer paid for the whole repair 100% in my case.

 

Recalls are an entirely different matter than simply aging parts. You are quite correct, if it is a recall, the dealer fixes it, no questions asked. (according to theory.....) If there isn't a recall though.... the dealer has some discretion on whether to fix it or not....... Its a major shot in the dark, but, certainly worth a try.

 

I've seen cases of exposed wires under the seat and, I myself have seen two seat related fires. My wife went through this:

case one: motor in seat shorted inside thus drawing excessive current thus producing the same end result as you- melted wiring, and carpet damage. She has a 300M and, same thing as you happened.

-case two: switch on the seat malfunctioned and, since power was supplied to the seat even in key <OFF>, it kept power going to the motor thus once again, overheating the CKT and igniting the padding in the seat.

So, the bottle had nothing to do with it. What most likely happened is that there was excessive current draw due to a partial short- this is why no fuse blew. IN a DEAD short, yes, the fuse will blow but, not in a partial short which, sounds like what you had going on there.

In order to determine the failure mechanism, you should take the harness out, lay it on the bench and remove the sleeve. I have ten bucks that the insulation melted thus exposing the conductor inside thus the reason for sparks when attempting to move the bottle- they touched for a split second causing a dead short thus the sparks you saw.

I would also remove the motor and all switches out of the seat as well and inspect them for welded contacts, stuck on condition, look at the motor and if the paper label on the motor is burnt- that's the root cause for failure and is your primary mode of failure- shorted coil in the motor but, not always.

In order to tell, the motor would have to be torn down and OHM'd out along with looking for a short.

Another mode of failure for these is that the motor binds up or, due to the mechanical mechanism inside the seat jams up, over time, this runs the motor hot when moving the seat thus drawing tons of excessive current but, yet not enough to blow the fuse. Overtime, the coating on the copper wire inside the motor breaks down thus exposing it thus causing a partial short initially, then, the longer it goes undetected, the worse it becomes until there's a fire.

CM

 

I just ripped the wiring out and there are 3 quick disconnects (power wires) that run from the fuse panel. I believe the disconnects are there so you can take the whole seat out and just disconnect the wiring there. Thats where it started. About 4" on either side of the disconnects are bare wires now (all insulation melted off). No other wires are damaged.

Called the dealer**** and they told me that there are no recalls and that im basically SOL, unless I call headquarters, which I will look into. Dodge wants $350 for a new wiring harness...**** that. I have a buddy that was an aircraft electrician and is going to replace the bad wires for me.