Today leaving a client site my power cut in the truck and a bunch of smoke came out of the top of the dash and defroster vent. I still had interior lights and brake lights, but not much else. I found some crispy wires, and also found that the middle bus bar on the back of the fuse panel was live, but the outboard br was not. I jumped a wire over and then could start the truck and everything worked, as long as that wire was there. When I kill the truck I have to pull that wire because the electric fan and some other things keep running otherwise.
I am assuming a fried a fusable link, but am having a hard time tracking down link locations. I have the FSM, but it's still a daunting task.
Any advice?
Thanks,
Mark

 

fuse links are by the left hood hinge. They come out of a Y block.

 

I don't think that it is a fusible link! You need to find out where the smoke came from and what caused it. I have seen wires melt together behind the gauges. Pull the bezel, gauges and then there is a plastic cover you open up and there is about 50 wires running together in there

 

Looks like there is a black wire melted coming out of the back of the fuse block. Like I said, everything works when I jump the bus bars (even the dash lights) but there is a switched source missing somewhere.... I'm sad...

 

Probably is a fusible link then, Phillip is right with the location. Sometimes fusible links blow for no reason but in your case it blew to protect whatever shorted out. You'll need to find out what happened to melt the black wire and blow the fusible link.

 

According to the wiring diagrams, there are fuseable links all over the harness. I think there is one on the back of the fuse block and that's the one that blew. I will try to patch around it. I'm embarassed to say that my gauge power and light harness rubbed and grounded out.

 

Edit, you found your problem while I was two thumbing my phone.

 

Yea, I pulled my harness first thing, so I eliminated the source of the problem, just have to correct the damage now. I was thanking God for my Fluke multimeter and that I had it with me.

 

Weird I figured my edit would change in your Quote?
Good to hear it wasn't hard to find. May I suggest putting all of your add on stuff on it's own circuit rather than tagging off the old **** poor Dodge wiring? At least then when you have an "embarrassing" moment it won't shut down the rest of your truck.

 

I have to use the old Dodge circuits, at least as the signal source. Next time I isolate the power with relays. Live and learn.

 

I have the fuse box hanging down so I can jamb a jumper wire into it to start it. Nobody will be able to steal it at least. I need to take out the dash and start cutting wire bundles to trace the source of the problem but that will take a lot of time. For now, it runs.