Ram Heavy Duty Trucks Recalled Again for Electrical Short That Can Cause Engine Fire
It’s the second time the trucks have been recalled for a heater relay that can short and cause a fire.
Ram is recalling more than 300,000 heavy-duty pickups for an electrical short that could cause a fire under their hoods. The trucks are equipped with a 6.7-liter diesel engine and include 2021-2023 Ram 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500 models. In paperwork filed with federal safety officials, Ram said there were no crashes or injuries related to the issue, although it said six customer assistance records, three warranty claims, and six field reports have been issued related to the defect.
The engine fires are caused by an electrical short in the solid-state intake heater grid relay that can occur when the engine is on or off. Ram said there’s no current fix for the issue and said the trucks were produced between Aug. 3, 2020, and Feb. 1, 2023. It’s unclear if the issue affects all trucks equipped with the diesel engine made during that period.
Ram said it would begin notifying owners to bring their trucks in to be fixed by the end of March. The issue is similar to a 2021 recall for the same trucks equipped with the same engine. In October 2021, Ram advised owners to park their trucks outside until they were fixed.
For that recall, dealers were advised to check the engine hours on the trucks and return those with more than 600 hours back to owners. For trucks with fewer than 600 engine hours, a relay temperature check was required to determine if the relay needed to be replaced or refurbished with additional insulation. We’ve reached out to Ram for more information about the recalls but haven’t yet heard back.
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