My XLT is bone stock. The only thing new introduced to the system was an iGO charger for my cell phone. Happened over the weekend. Never saw any smoke in the cab, but the burning smell inside the cab was very strong. My guy at the shop looked at it and he's using words like "cooked", "melted", "completely gone". Of course, my truck is out of warranty at 71K miles and I didn't buy the one offered by the dealer. So I filled a claim with my insurance company. What could it hurt, right? The worst they can tell me is, "No, it's not covered!" Do you think I have any recourse through Ford? I would really like to hear from others unfortunate to have the same experience.

 

I would say first you have to find out exactly what caused the short. Could it have possibly have been the cell phone charger?

I had an alarm installed in my 99 f-150 and they routed one of the wires through the parking brake area. After a few times of apply the parking brake, I started to smell smoke. Needless to say it was the installers fault and they paid to fix everything!

 

Could a cell phone charger cause a major failure like that? If there was some kind of overload, I would think the fuse should have blown and stopped it right there. Forgot about the receiver hitch the dealer installed when I bought the truck. So other than the charger and the hitch, no other changes to the system. Thank God I didn't install the FX4 cluster I bought. The claims department from my insurance company called me yesterday to do a deposition. Next step is sending an an inspector out to look at the damage. I noticed you're from Versailles. I drive through there every week to visit a friend in Lexington, which is where all this crap happened. On the advice of my friend, I had the truck towed to Motorvation. They are telling me it's so bad the truck has to go to the dealer to be fixed. Which dealer is better up there? Paul Miller or the other one right off the Bluegrass Parkway?

 

Paul Miller is the bestlocally. My truck is there ight now getting some warranty work done. Actaully, its ready they just want to hold it overnight and make sure it runs ok in the morning (related to the problems I ws having)

 

The insurance adjuster looked at the truck yesterday. The Claims department said the damage is confined to the fuse block and the wiring harness. Paul Miller has it now to determine the cause and write an estimate for repair.

 

Here's what the Ford tech found... Looks like a pink wire going to the fuse panel started the trouble. From there the modules for the engine, floor, and dash were cooked. They are not sure what the pink wire goes to. Anyone want to take a stab at it? The insurance adjuster is going back out to look at it. Oh, by the way, the cost to repair: $3700.00

 

Looking at the wiring diagrams, I don't see any solid pink wires used. I do see three other choices though:

1. Pink/Black going to Audio Control Module and Istrument Cluster
2. Pink/Light Blue to Auxilary Relay Box and if you have 4X4 Integrated Wheel Ends Solenoid
3. Brown/Pink to Power Point Instrument Panel

 

Thanks for checking. Still waiting to hear from the adjuster.

 

Paul Miller got in the shop today to look at it. Bad, very bad. I could smell the truck before I could see it. Found out the pink wire they were talking about was actually a bundle wrapped with pink tape... the engine harness. The answer to 'why??' was it could have been caused by a loose connection that built up resistance across the link, thus building heat. When the wiring for the engine went, the fuse block, dash and floor harnesses followed. if the specifics are off, I'll be the first to admit I know jack about automotive wiring. Here's how my comprehensive coverage plays: my company will not cover the cost to repair the cause, but they will cover the resulting damage. Check your connections! Couldn't hurt, right? The pics are not the greatest, but you get the idea.

 

Holy sh**!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!