Freightliner Columbia electrical issues.

I bought a 2006 Columbia with 680K miles on it. Very clean, came from a large fleet and had maintenance records. They replaced the turbo and egr valve about 15,000 miles before I bought it. Also had new brakes and drums all the way around and brand new Good Year tires all the way around. The fuel saver ones, 399's in the front and 372's in the rear. Couldn't pass it up for the price. $20,000. Drivers side windshield had a crack so I had it replaced. While the knucklehead was cutting the seal, he broke the other side. Asked me if I wanted to wait until it got worse. I said no, and that he needed to replace it now. So I got both sides replaced for the price of one. Good deal right? Well about a week later, was in Ohio and it started raining really bad. All of a sudden, water leaking on the inside of both windshields all over the dash. Got to a truck stop and the truck wouldn't shut off. Turned the key off and nothing. Truck just kept running. Called Safelite and they came out and resealed them. Truck finally shut off about an hour after turning off the key. Didn't think anything of it, just figured it was due to water getting in through the windshield. A few days later I got the truck washed. Left the truck wash and went to the truck stop across the street. Again, the truck would not shut off when I turned off the key. Did some searching on the internet and found another person having the same issue. They stated that they had to have the computer replaced a couple of times due to water intrusion and that Freightliner could not find the source of the water leak. So I open the compartment next to the driver's seat where the computers are located. Unplugged the computer connectors and sure enough, connectors had that green crap that builds up on connectors when they get wet. I proceeded to clean all the connectors and coated them and filled them with electrical grease. Looked around to try and find the source of the water leak and there isn't anywhere any water can come from above that point. Stumped, I put it all back together again and everything worked fine. 4 truck washes and many rain storms later, no more problem. About a month later in a really bad rain storm in the middle of the night I get woken up by water dripping on my head. What the hell?? I look up and water is leaking from the upper bunk window. Opened the computer compartment and sure enough there is signs of water on the computers and wiring. Luckily the grease kept it all out. I went in the truck stop and bought a tube of silicone. Pulled the truck in the fuel island and proceeded to remove the window and seal it. I have checked the computers a couple more times during bad rains and it is now dry. I guess that window was leaking water in between the outside of the truck and the interior panel and finding it's way forward to the computers for quite some time before it started to leak inside on my head. So those of you with Freightliners that have that upper bunk window. i recommend removing them and sealing them properly. All they have from the factory is a thin foam seal that crushes and dries and then doesn't seal anymore. I'm thinking something like that should be turned into a recall since it damages the computers and could be a safety issue if it decides to fail when you are in the middle of an intersection in a rain storm. Or worse, cause and electrical fire. Anyone else have unexplained gremlins with their Freightliner?

 

I also had a cruise control issue. I found the connections on the clutch pedal switch had come loose. There are 3 wires with screws holding them on. Tightened the screws and it fixed it. My cruise would only work once in a while and the at one point, my jakes wouldn't work at all.

 

Yes, the jakes and the cruise started workingafter i tightened the screws The switch is behind the plastic panel at the bottom of the dash. Just follow the clutch pedal up and you can't miss it. If you push the clutch pedal with your hand an inch or so, you will hear it click. Hope it fixes your problem.

 

mjfmjf. Did you fix the problem with your truck?

 

Remove the small torx screws around the window on the inside of the truck. Remove the ring that the screws hold and remove the window. Just make sure you had onto it as it can fall out if you're not careful. Apply a very light amount of silicone to the foam seal and put it back together.