ssleeper94

While driving to work today, the check gauge light came on, the volt gauge was low. I pulled into gas station and opened hoood and found my brake lines were on cherry hot and on fire. The brake fluid was boiling in the reservoir. Poured water on it to extinguish it, the lines didnt stop glowing till i pulled batt cables. Anybody have any idea what could have caused this? Should i get my ins company involved in this?

MrFusion

Sounds like you might have a dead short on your positive battery lead. Disconnect the batteries and check the big red wire for any place that the insulation is worn through. If it was rubbing on the metal brake lines and wore through that would cause a short and potentially a big fire.
I'm not too familiar with your year of truck but possibly check the line from the alternator to the battery as well.

Mexstan

MrF, it sounds like that you are on the right track. ssleeper94, please let us know what the problem was.

Dieseldude13605, have no idea what to suggest to track down your problem, but strongly suggest that you delete your post and re-post it under a new title. That way you will probably quickly attract the attention of someone who knows the answer to your problem. The way it is now is that there are two totally disconnected problems under one title or subject and consequently your problem is hidden.

ssleeper94

Wire shorted out by steering column. Burnt a hole in line for clutch master

Mexstan

Thanks for letting us know what caused the problem.

Given that you said that the brake fluid was boiling, if this was my truck I would do a complete brake fluid flush to eliminate any contaminates due to the boiling and also get rid of any induced air in the system. Perhaps to prevent any possible future problems, would maybe also at the the same time install a new master cylinder. This to me may be overkill, but is cheap insurance compared to suddenly having no brakes one day. Who knows what damage the boiling brake fluid did inside the master cylinder?

richard

Also you should keep an eye on the rubber brake hoses. If the lines were glowing then the rubber may have melted at the crimp connection. Maybe i'm being too cautious here but it's worth a look.

Mexstan

Thought of something else to check.

If the steel lines were red hot, then that probably means that they were soft. If brake pressure was applied to those soft lines they could now be swollen and just maybe weaker. Check the steel lines carefully for any signs of distortion and if distorted in any way, for safeties sake, consider replacement.

MrFusion

Thanks for the update.