Four problems related to underhood wiring have been reported for the 2001 Dodge Ram 1500. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Several electrical issues due to pieces from broken dashboard falling into dash area wearing and cutting away wiring insulation. Have had problems with headlights turning off and gauges not functioning properly. Also on several occasions have seen smoke rising out of large holes in dash area. Glare from mounting brackets reflecting off inside of windshield has created visibility issues on bright days.
My dash has been cracking out over the last few years. For about the last 10 months to a year I have had check engine light that has no significance to the way it runs, and the code is unrecognizable to auto garage. Also I have wiring problems for about the same amount of time. My dash lights will go out completely on their own and sometimes come back on, sometimes not. Also there are sharp edges on the plastic dash everywhere. As of two weeks ago, a section caved in, leaving a gaping hole about 6 by 8 inches in size. The cracks and hole look identical to pictures of other Dodge truck dashes I've seen on the internet and news. I feel that the sharp edges alone make for a safety issue, and since the cracks are so sharp and sever by the passenger airbag deployment site, I wonder if it would fail during deployment. Combined with the wiring issues that I and so many other owners are experiencing that a safety recall should be issued immediately before someone is seriously injured because of the faulty plastic used on all these Dodge trucks.
Vehicle started to smoke just as the consumer had parked it and got out. Black smoke was puring from under the hood. Vehicle was totaled Chrysler was sending someone out to inspect and determine cause of fire.
There was a partial fire under the hood near the steering column on the drivers side, fire originated at the elctrical distribution panel from the vehicles charging system. (claim#43-r794-475).