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I'm glad nobody was hurt and damage to a minimum, could have been much worse!!
Originally Posted by Jason89s4
Wow. I just checked mine, and the way the positive battery cable is routed at that location it looks "designed" to literally rub up against the edge of that mount for the connector, until it saws through the insulation!
You can even see in the pic where the paint has rubbed off!
Disconnected and pulled back the positive cable from the previous post pics.
Sure enough, that light pink area is where the insulation was up against the bracket and it is starting to rub off!
Knowing what I do of the history of my car...my educated guess is that right now is the first time that cable has been disconnected and pulled back like that.
(You now have Exhibits 1,2 and 3 for your insurance.)
Last edited by Jason89s4; 02-20-2019 at 05:55 PM.
Reason: edit
This is my car and the fire was caused by a power steering hose bursting.
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Does it have the "Do It Yourself" manual transmission, or the superior "Fully Equipped by Porsche" Automatic Transmission? George Layton March 2014
928 Owners are ".....a secret sect of quietly assured Porsche pragmatists who in near anonymity appreciate the prodigious, easy going prowess of the 928."
Now to the customer’s 928: we had just finished the work on it that the customer requested, and he was coming the next day to pick it up. I’d taken it for a test drive, all was well, but because it was going to rain, I decided to park it inside for the night.
So if it was just parked for the night why were the fender covers still on it and the car on jack stands - inquiring minds want to know?
Another solution would be to insert a piece of thin rubber material behind the cable there, by adhesive to the inner fender, so that regardless of the wire insulation, at the touch point it is insulated.
The big red unfused line at the jump post is - from the factory - looped around the harness and connector so as to avoid touching the mounting plate. Or, in other words, not like the pictures above.
Reason #1 to always route things the way the factory did unless you are 100% sure you know better.
When doing a timing belt on ‘87+ and periodically on any 928, it’s important to inspect these unfused lines for damage to the insulation, proper routing and ‘rub’ protection. Two of these at the jump post, ABS power on the other side, starter and alternator. Routing the ABS power correctly after a timing belt is vital. I’ve ‘saved’ several 928s where the ABS line was 1 harness covering molecule away from shorting due to rubbing on the belt cover side, or being cut by the power steering belt.
So: pay attention to that stuff.
On Carl’s original subject: that sucks, glad it only took the car. Owner’s likely not happy. The master fuse looks interesting.
Carl, thanks for sharing this experience and the new learnings. Very happy for you that it wasn't worse. I almost completely burned down my new kitchen a few months ago, if it makes your feel any better... This stuff happens.
I know this does not apply to your situation, because the car was in the process of repair and release. For cars however that sit longer periods, I tend to unhook batteries. For the most part, the parasitic drains kill the batteries, and on the other hand, I just don't trust them for months at a time hooked up without being attended to.
02-20-2019, 05:53 PM
George Layton March 2014
