Engine warning light on. All he/// broke loose.

[dano6.5]

Bear with me, bit of a long story leads to many problems. First, Engine light came on. Had regular mechanic do scan, codes came back as glow plug problems, mechanic cleared codes. Engine light didn't reappear unit next cold start, had no problems starting. Glow plugs cycling normally. Decided to make a road trip with the ponies.
While towing horse trailer on mountain roads, engine quit on long hill. Noticed fuel gauge went wonky, Coolant over heated, temp gauge showed about 220F, but not in red warning area. Was towed to truck stop, topped up coolant and engine won't start. No glow plug cycle. Checked fuses under hood. ECM fuse blown. Replaced fuse, engine started. There is some electric problems now with the fuel gauge, wrapped to show over full tank, rear brake lights are on when igintion key is on. No left turn signals, all other lights workin. Drove truck home 110 miles, lots of black exhaust smoke when climbing hills, but made it home.
Could an electrical short under dash etc. cause the 20 amp emc fuse to blow, or are the problems unrelated? Was the over heating of the coolant revalent to the fuse blowing? Have owned truck for a couple of years. First trip towing in hills with loaded trailer. Truck has a recent rebuilt trany. 90k miles truck seems to be in fair condition other than these recent problems.

[joescj5]

Being as you had recent work done to your rig make sure the "mechanic" didn't screw you up. I would crawl down around in and through as much as you can in the general area of the transmission and it's mounting points. Look for things like loose grounds while you are there. But with a fuse blowing what you are really looking for is a wire or a bundle of wires that is not secured and is rubbing against metal. Another likely spot to look is around the exhaust. Look for a melted wire or two.

Find, re-insulate, and secure the wiring. Then leave your batteries grounds disconnected overnight to clear the PCM. No gaurantees that this will solve your problems, but this is the approach I would take. Good luck.

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

I'd PM every electrical connector I could find. I wonder if the well-known ignition switch problem with 95's extends to other years...

If it blows another fuse & you can't find bad wires, replace the fuse with a light bulb & start wiggling things - when the light bulb starts blinking, you've probably found your problem.

Good Luck & Blessings!

[dano6.5]

Thank you for the great ideas. I check under the truck and found melted wires that run to the the rear brake lights and the fuel tank float. The donut gasket between the left exhaust manifold and the lower pipe is blown out. Hence the hot exhaust hit the wires and melted and shorted them out. Doesn't completely explain the ECM fuse blowing, but the engine is running fine. I am going to replace the gasket and insulate the wiring to prevent this happing again.