So i bought my 08 dodge ram 1500 HEMI, 6 months later the truck stranded my wife when the fuse box started smoking and melted,(that made the starter kick on as well as the wipers). Dodge did not want to fix it and said it had to be something i was doing to it, LOL.

The same thing happened to my brothers 08 dodge ram after he had it 2 years,( we bought them on the same day at the same dealer). Oh yeah, they are bone stock trucks!!

I have had mine 2 1/2 years know and it just did it to me again at 40,000 miles, again Dodge said they will not cover it and i have to pay $900 to fix it. They cant tell me what is causing the problem. They do tell me the truck is drawing to many amps. So they just replace the fuse box and wire harness and wait for me to come back....

I call the corporate # and get nowhere there!!

Is anyone else having this problem?

 

Have heard of it, but not a common issue at all. Usually traced to a dead short and yeah, usually caused by someone wiring in their own accessories. However, by law, if the first time you had the issue, the dealer could not prove that you modified anything to cause the problem AND you were within your 3/36 bumper to bumper period, it was his obligation to fix it. The burden of proof would be on him to prove tampering. As per the Magnuson-Moss Act, the "you must have done something" act don't fly.

Shame on you for not fighting for your rights!

If they can tell you the truck is drawing too many amps (how are they determining this?) then a little probing with a meter will tell them WHERE the excessive amp draw is.

And the amp draw can't be too excessive from one component or you'd be popping it's fuse or relay... Or did you or someone wire something in WITHOUT using a fuse or relay???

 

Ive never heard of it but is all sounds correct so far. Pulling too many amps for a wire or circuit will cause over heating of the wire which then melts the insulation and then causes exposed wires to touch each other or grounds and short out. Its really a Domino effect.

So what all accessories have you wired into the truck? Stereo? Amps? TVs? Power inverters? Anything? Or all bare and completely 100% stock?

 

The first time the truck was stock, both times it happened to my brothers truck it was stock(he got tired of the hassle and traded his in) this time i have a pioneer head unit in mine. It has been inthere for 1 1/2 years. there is nothing else. i would think the fuse or something would go out first. I just dont think that would cause this, you would have to really be drawing power from that truck to overheat the box unless its a really bad design.

Thanks

 

I dunno, I've been on Dodge Truck specific forums for about five years now and have two family members who are/were mechanics at Dodge dealerships. As stated, I won't say I've NEVER heard of an entire fuse box going out, but it's rare.
I know at one time Ford had an issue where battery leakage would take out the fuse box due to design over time. Was even a recall I think, but even that was a fairly rare occurance.

For both you AND your brother to have the same issue on similar trucks bought at the same dealership, I'd almost be more inclined to think its possibly a result of something the dealer is doing, possibly as part of their prep or in a dealer installed option?

Lord knows, I'm one of the first ones to cry foul when there is a common issue that I feel is unaddressed (and they all do it, be it 'Yota, Furd, Cheby or Dodge). Can you say "C-Clips" or "Dash Crack"? But the fuse box has given no indication of being a problem component or having a design flaw.

 

Could something like undercoating cause a problem? Do you and your brother use a high pressure washer. What's in common between the two trucks?

 

I agree with RedTruck. There has to be something here in common between your truck and your brothers. Do you guys wheel much? any chance you guys are splashing excessive mud/water onto or under the fuse box?

I, like Hammer, find it odd that you and your brother have nearly identical problems on trucks from the same dealer, that other than these 2 instances appears to be pretty uncommon. I would do a little looking for yourself and see if you can't trace down the source of the problem yourself. It should be pretty easy to spot the source of the heat/electrical short that is melting your fuse box, so long as it's not a giant ball o' fusebox at this point.

nateroach

 

I wash mine by hand, My brother well he is a country boy that loves the dirt on his, lol.
There is no undercoat, im going to the dealer today to pick it up. ill post the specifics on what they say tonight.

Thanks again everyone.

 

I also taught is was to weired it happened to us both, No wheeling in this truck. i bought it so i had something reliable to drive( not the case). I have found 3 other people around the US this has happened to, Im going to keep digging thou its rare it has to be happening to more people and when i get enough i can take legal action. I have no confidence that it will keep running.

 

I'm sorry to hear that.