Hi, Gene Ayers

[geneayers]

Just wanted to provide some information to all regarding the Dodge Ram 1500 Eco Diesel that I purchased new in 2015. On July 10th I was driving north of Atlanta, GA to a meeting on I-75. Was running between 70-75 mph and had not experienced any problems or warnings. The truck had 163,000 miles mainly highway mileage. All at once I lost all power! Managed to maneuver to the emergency lane at which time I noticed white/grayish smoke exiting from the back of the vehicle. Came to a stop and put truck into park at which time the "check engine light appeared" as well as (2) red lightening bolts. Smoke was coming out from under the hood (black). I released the hood release from inside the truck and proceeded to the front of the truck to release the hood latch. The hood was so hot you could not release. A semi tractor trailer driver came in behind me and exited his cab with a fire extinguisher and tried to blow foam under the hood but was unsuccessful. At this point we started to see fire dropping from under the hood onto the pavement. We backed away from the vehicle at this point. Took 20-25 minutes for the fire truck to arrive. Upon arriving the truck was engulfed with flames from the front of the grill to the rear of the cab. Have all maintenance records from the time of purchase in 2015 to present. Had to replace the oil manifold due to oil cap coming off. Was advised by Dodge that if cap came loose you had to replace the complete oil manifold. This was completed roughly 7-9 months prior to July 10, 2019. Just wandering if the oil cap came back off again and that is what caused the truck to loose all power and start the fire? Will not purchase another Eco Diesel vehicle! Truck was great up to this time. Hwy average was 26.5 mpg and in some cases obtained 28 mpg. Have made purchase on used 2016 1500 V8 truck and will have it this Saturday. Have driven Dodge Ram trucks since 1992 and have not had any major issues except with the 2015 Eco-Diesel.

 

[cds13ca]

Geneayers, so sorry to hear this happened to you, but I'm so glad you were able to get out of the truck in time without any harm to you, and so nice of the trucker to stop to try to help. This certainly isn't the first time this has happened to an ecodiesel.

All these fire stories, I think we're all going to have to carry a fire extinguisher!

Was your truck stock or are you tuned? Do you happen to know the temps your truck was running when it happened?

Some fires could be caused by the egr valve if it gets stuck open, (if you're not tuned, all the years of soot building up in the EGR valve, diffuser tube, intakes, this is a possibility), and if it's stuck open, it can cause excess heat, with all the wires and the fuel injectors located right there, is a recipe for a fire. if you're tuned and already have the egr shut off already, then knock off this idea...

On the 15's, there's also the battery cable that runs down to the starter that can rub up against some metal bracket just in front of the transmission (at least that's where another post showed the initial spark came from). I checked into mine, and I will put a little more plastic cable sheathing around it just to prevent this.

Glad you're ok! Let us know the cause if you happen to ever find out. I hope you're insured with comprehensive.

 

[carlhenry]

Welcome to the group lot of that going around

 

[carlhenry]

All that burning stuff dropping was the top cover and the sound pads on top of the injectors melting

 

[TC Diesel]

Geneayers, its NOT FCA , its Fiat relationship with VM Motori.... One of these fire is gonna kill some body..please just let it burn and have complete recoverable insurance.

Everyone that I know of that tried to put the fire out was unsuccessful ,even with the help of garden hose....Remember Diesels can runaway and explode, thus becoming a bomb....wait I think Verndiesel was able to put his fire out that's it......

 

[John]

Geneayers, so sorry to hear this happened to you, but I'm so glad you were able to get out of the truck in time without any harm to you, and so nice of the trucker to stop to try to help. This certainly isn't the first time this has happened to an ecodiesel.

All these fire stories, I think we're all going to have to carry a fire extinguisher!

Was your truck stock or are you tuned? Do you happen to know the temps your truck was running when it happened?

Some fires could be caused by the egr valve if it gets stuck open, (if you're not tuned, all the years of soot building up in the EGR valve, diffuser tube, intakes, this is a possibility), and if it's stuck open, it can cause excess heat, with all the wires and the fuel injectors located right there, is a recipe for a fire. if you're tuned and already have the egr shut off already, then knock off this idea...

On the 15's, there's also the battery cable that runs down to the starter that can rub up against some metal bracket just in front of the transmission (at least that's where another post showed the initial spark came from). I checked into mine, and I will put a little more plastic cable sheathing around it just to prevent this.

Glad you're ok! Let us know the cause if you happen to ever find out. I hope you're insured with comprehensive.

That battery cable is at least on 2014-2016's. I don't know about 17 & 18's, but I think it's the same