Power Distribution Module: Description and Operation

Fig.8 Power Distribution Center Location - Typical:

POWER DISTRIBUTION CENTER
All of the electrical current distributed throughout this vehicle is directed through the standard equipment Power Distribution Center (PDC) (Fig. 8). The molded plastic PDC housing is located in the left front corner of the engine compartment, just behind the battery. The PDC houses the generator cartridge fuse and up to ten maxi-type cartridge fuses, which replace all in-line fusible links. The PDC also houses up to seven blade-type mini fuses, up to thirteen International Standards Organization (ISO) relays (one standard-type and twelve micro-type), two joint connectors (one sixteen-way and one twenty-six-way) and a sixteen-way engine wire harness in-line connector.

The PDC housing is secured in the engine compartment at three points. Integral mounts on the front and inboard sides of the PDC housing engage and latch to stanchions that are integral to the molded plastic battery tray. An integral bracket on the rear of the PDC housing is secured with a screw to the top of the left front inner wheel house. The PDC housing has a molded plastic cover that includes two integral latches, one on each side. The PDC cover is easily opened and removed for service access and has a convenient fuse and relay layout map integral to the inside surface of the cover to ensure proper component identification.

The PDC unit cannot be repaired and is only serviced as a unit with the headlamp and dash wire harness. If the internal circuits or the PDC housing are faulty or damaged, the headlamp and dash wire harness unit must be replaced.

All of the current from the battery and the generator output enters the PDC through one cable with eyelets that are secured with a nut to the one B(+) terminal stud located just inside the inboard side of the PDC housing. The PDC cover is unlatched and removed to access the battery and generator output connection B(+) terminal studs, the fuses, the relays, the joint connectors and the engine wire harness inline connector. Internal connection of all of the PDC circuits is accomplished by an intricate combination of hard wiring and bus bars.