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2000 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire · 683688 · 2008-08-18

Vehicle

Make
JEEP
Model
GRAND CHEROKEE
Year
2000
Manufacturer
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)
Component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Speed
65 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
Yes
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

WHILE DRIVING HOME USING THE A/C I SMELLED AN ODOR OF BURNING PLASTIC. I PULLED TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD TO INVESTIGATE AND NOTICED SMALL AMOUNTS OF SMOKE COMING FROM UNDER THE PASSENGER SIDE DASH BOARD. WITH THE IGNITION OFF I FELT AROUND BEHIND AND BELOW THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT AND WAS BURNT BY MELTED PLASTIC FROM A SMALL BLACK COMPONENT (THE BLOWER CONTROL MODULE AS I FOUND OUT LATER). THE WIRES TO THE MODULE WERE VERY HOT, THE CONNECTOR HAD MELTED, AND AFTER LETTING IT COOL, THE A/C BLOWER WOULD NOT WORK. I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT JEEP KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM, HAS MADE REPAIR KITS AVAILABLE BUT WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM OR COVER COSTS, THE MODULE COSTS ABOUT $165, THE WIRING REPAIR KIT COSTS ABOUT $20, THE LABOR $80. THE SAFETY ISSUE IS OBVIOUS, WITH BURNING PLASTIC, FIRE, SMOKE, FUMES, AND POSSIBLE ACCIDENT IF THIS GOT OUT OF CONTROL WHILE DRIVING. HEALTH AFFECTS FROM THE SMOKE FUMES ARE INDETERMINATE AS OF NOW. I HAVE PURCHASED PARTS TO MAKE THE REPAIRS, AS WELL AS A PYROMETER TO MONITOR WIRE AND MODULE TEMPERATURE. *TR

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10238684
Machine
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