Mark

Took a road trip to pick up some wheels for the track car project yesterday. (250 mi ea. way). Was heading home and car was running great - but I started to smell that 'burn' smell...rolled down the window to see if it was outside, and realized there was some smoke in the car. I immediately pulled over, and just as I got the car stopped - flames could be seen in the pass side footwell....yep - the ULTIMATE 928 Electrical Gremlin....a melting, smoldering, FLAMING fuse/relay panel!
THANK GOD - I had my fire ext...and in about .01 seconds - I had it out of the back seat, pin pulled, and flame knocked down.
The car was running fine, and I was able to determine that the headlights were now causing a short (don't know yet if they were the orig cause - but with the melted mass of fuse panel - who knows!!).
Being in the Middle of Nowhere, AL (aka - "Bubbaville, AL") on the side of the interstate @ 9pm on a rainy night - I decided to go for the exit that was about a mile away....I nailed it - left hand on the wheel, right hand pointing the fire ext. at the panel (and I did have to hit it a couple more times). I made it to the exit w/no problems, but was unable to see well enough to assess the damage.
OK - 150 mi from home...burning shark...."Bubbaville"...even my AAA Plus ain't gonna get me back.
I have THE BEST wrench around! After calling him - he immediately went to my house, got my truck and trailer and drove 2+ hours to get me. We loaded the car and got back around 3am. GOD BLESS YOU, Harry Williams Imports in Pensacola, FL (He deserves a huge plug!!)

In the light this morning - I could better see the damage...fuses 36-40 are melted...especially around #39 & 40 (dipped low beam right, and Parking light right). Also - the relay XIX (Intensive washer) appears to show signs if internal heat and is somewhat melted. (I will try and post pics when I get a chance - the Dry Powder Fire Extinguisher did it's job - but WHAT A MESS! That damned powder is EVERYWHERE!).

I am VERY hopeful that, since this was a 'fire' - my Comprehensive insurance will cover it...I'll let y'all know what the adjuster says.

ANY ideas at all what might have caused this?!?!?

Lizard928

probably corroded contacts getting so how they eventually caused it or a break in a wire shorted out against a ground.

sorry to hear that, but I hope your insurance covers it, and they do a good job, might be better off finding a good use out of someones parts car or calling 1 of the big 3

tuk_928

Hi Mark,

Damn! What a story that was...found myself biting my nails as I read it. Now I'm off to the garage to checkout MY fuse/relay panel ;-) So sorry to hear of your experience with the interior fire. Jeez...you were smart to have the extinguisher with you even it if was a dry powder kind. I've been searching for an affordable NON-powder version (halon or perhaps CO2?)but have not had any luck yet. I'll search the archives.

Meanwhile, please let us know how your post-mortem of this event proceeds including the outcome of your meeting(s) with the insurance adjuster. We'll be sending good Karma your way in the meantime.
Hang in there man...a new year is upon us

Best,
TUK

ps.
Wish I was close enough to Pensacola to use Harry Williams Imports!
Gainesville has some good wrenches around but have not had to put them to this type of test just yet....hopefully never will.

Nicole

Oh gosh... That sound like the worst nightmare! You are so lucky to have a wrench like this!

T Colvin

Sorry to hear about your Shark. However, it's good to hear that you got the mechanic version of Jerry Maguire.

Mark

here's a pic...

Lizard928

ouch that is harsh

JEC_31

Damn! I'm going to get off my butt and go get a fire extinguisher right now...

Mark

I hate to think what would have happened had I not had a fire extinguisher. I am sure she would have burnt to the ground!!

I will replace it with a Halon or CO2...but hey - a little dust cleanup beats the crap out of a total burn down! ("Little dust cleanup" my butt! It's gonna take a MAJOR detailing...that dust is EVERYWHERE!!) I found it interesting - as I sat waiting for my "ride home" read the fire ext. bottle - it actually lists as an ingredient: "Nuisance Dust"!!!

Randy V

Coulda been much worse. Let us know how it turns out.

Just last weekend I cleaned all the fuse contacts and the relay pins on my car. My high beams, reverse lights and fog lights were acting up.

I found that using a Dremel rotary tool with the small wire brush wheel works real well. Cleaned all contacts in about 15 minutes.

Now my voltage meter reads better, and the lights all work fine again.

Jack Flesher

Sorry to hear about your fire. That dry chem can be very corrosive. So clean it up good.

Jim Nowak

Mark,

That sucks!

Yep, Harry is a pretty good guy and his son should have one heck of a college fund by now. Just ask him about the college fund I provided. J/k, I always joke with him about that.

goldknight

Sorry to hear about your fire. On a been there done that note. I had a dry chem. ext. im my back seat and during a porsche driving event through the mountains it came out of its clamps in a very hard turn smashed against something hard and fired off. At 60+mph it scared the snot out of me and those behind me. hit the windows down and the sunroof open to try and clear it out. It was so thick I could not breath. To this day I still find some of the stuff when cleaning the car.

Thurston.

heinrich

I hate to admit it but here's my MEA CULPA ... I once (won't say when) put a fuse into a 1AMP socket accidentally - it was a huge one, like 20A. Anyway no idea how that happened, don't know and really not the way I usually do it. However. I had a major interior replacement I performed, part of which was installing the rear ceiling lamp. Well, WARNING!!!! If you aren't VERY careful, the + can meet the - very hard there, because the rear ceiling has metal in it. And so all was well till I had strapped SweetGirl into her usual spot one day, and (I NEVER use it) turned the light on back there. Still looked OK. Drove down the road a bit, and she alerted me to smoke FALLING out of the rear ceiling. By the time I got to the fuses, there was a gooey mess, and no way to pull the offender out. So it burnt out completely. Blessedly, the rear harness is one of those overengineered items likely because of the rear defoggers) .... it burnt to a crisp, but allowed the rest of the wiring (professionally checked out) to live. A simple replacement job, and bending the electrodes of the rear dome light back, and all is well....... oh yes ... and a complete recheck of all fuses and ratings.

SteveG

heinrich: What MY is your car?