My Car Caught On Fire!!!

zepherman · 08-18-2002, 04:03 AM

They dont seem to have the right smilie to express seething anger.

I was at the local cruise spot tonight and afterward on the way home I had a bit of car trouble.

Half way home i started to smell a funny smell. Then i noticed that the voltage meter in the dash had dropped and the red battery light in the center of the gauge cluster had turned on. I kept driving thinking that my alternator had gone out (ive had problems with it before). Then i smelled something horrible BURNING PLASTIC, it smelled like insulation was roasting somewhere. I hit the breaks and cut off onto a side street. I killed the motor and noticed a whisp of smoke from the crack between the hood and fender. I grabbed my fire extinguisher and popped the hood. To my horror and amazement there were flames coming from just behind my alternator. I then put the extinguisher to good use. I was pretty dark outside and i didnt have my flashlight. I had to wait for a friend to show up with a light. It looks like the harness that plugs into the alternaor is melted and the insulation has been burned off several of the wires behind the alternator. I pulled the belt off of the car to keep the alternator from spinning and disconnected a wiring harness that went to two wires that were burned but werent wired into the alternator. The car started so i got it back on the road got, it up to speed, and turned off the ignition. I coasted that last 4 or 5 miles home doing this to keep the car from over-heating. I would have just left the car in a parking lot or something but for some reason the passenger window won't roll up now. The drivers window works fine but the passenger side won't. I found this odd because the wires affected in the fire didnt seem to have anything to do with anything but the alternator and two wires that run between the evaporator thing and a metal tube that runs under the coolant tube that the egr plate is plumbed into. I have no idea what these wires are for. Anyway, by this time i was so mad that i couldnt see straight. Then when i was walking away from the car to go inside i noticed that coolant was leaking frome somewhere on the drivers side of the radiator. I didnt even bother to investigate, just too pissed off. I will post tomorrow with what i can see in the daylight. I will probably need a little help in the next couple days so i would just like to say thanks in advance.

PKRWUD · 08-18-2002, 04:57 AM

See, that's what you get for suggesting using a bungie cord in the 1/4 mile!

Dude! Sorry to hear the news! Try and get it cleaned up enough to identify the damaged wires, and where they go. I'll try and help you out. Do you have a digital camera?

Take care,
~Chris

zepherman · 08-18-2002, 05:27 AM

That thing about the bungy cord was a poke at Gizmo and the general ricer mentality(not that Gizmo is a ricer). I want everyone to know that I wouldn't really suggest that you use a bungy cord to make your car go faster at the track. But on the off chance that someone tries it and it works and then becomes a common practice at racetracks all across the country, I just want you to know that there is documented proof here on this site that I thought of it first and I deserve all the credit

PKRWUD, thanks for the reply. The fire extinguisher made a hell of a mess. There is white powder stuff all over the engine bay. Ill see what I cant do to get it cleaned up and maybe borrow a digital camera from someone.

I also want to take the time to mention the importance of fire extinguishers. A fire extinguisher is a must in ANY car, not just a performance/race car. Nothing makes it seem more important than something like this. The 20$ I spent on the extinguisher could possibly have saved me $1000's in fire damage to my car. Everyone who reads this should go out and get a fire extinguisher if they dont already have one. Things like this can happen to anyone at any time. Is also important to remember that the best place to keep a fire extinguisher is within the reach of the driver. It won't do you any good if you keep it in the trunk and someone slams into you from beind and jams the tunk shut or if you are trapped inside the car. Enough of this, I'll shut up now.

zepherman · 08-18-2002, 11:50 PM

No luck borrowing a digital camera yet, probably tomorrow.

Why won't my passenger window roll up? Are tere wires for the window in the harness that goes to the alternator? How am i going to get the damn thing to roll up? Is there any way o go it manually?

PKRWUD · 08-19-2002, 12:15 AM

Remove the door panel, unplug the harness connector, and apply 12 volts directly to either the red/yellow wire, or the yellow/red wire (not sure which is for up and which is for down).

Take care,
~Chris

RPM427 · 08-19-2002, 09:24 AM

I had put in a 130 amp alternator on my car with a defective voltage regulator. I had to disconect the output form it so it wopuldn't fry the elecrtical system. I tried to get it to a gas station and the alternator cought fire kinda like yours. I had the hood open and it was more of a flash then it went out. I don't know what I would have done it it had not gone out. I went out and bought an extinguisher later that night.

zepherman · 08-19-2002, 09:57 PM

the harness for the window has two yellow wires one with a black stripe and one with a red stripe it also has 2 red wires one with a black stripe and one with a yellow stripe and also one hot pink wire.

how do i connect them to the battery?

zepherman · 08-19-2002, 10:13 PM

im thinking that i should try both red wires the one with the black stripe on the negative post of the car battery and the other on the pos. then try the same with the yellow wires. What is that hot pink wire for?

will hooking a car battery directly to the window motor burn it up?

PKRWUD · 08-19-2002, 10:29 PM

The pink wire is where the power comes from. the red & black striped wires are for pos and neg voltage. The reason there is 4 is because when the switch is down, the motor turnsa one way, when the switch is up, the motor turns the other way. All that is happening is you are switching polarity on the moptor

Anyway, try posd to yellow/red, and neg to yellow/black, and see what happens. If it makes noise, but doesn't move, then attach the wires to the red/black (neg) and red/yellow (pos) wires

zepherman · 08-19-2002, 10:48 PM

I tried that and nothing happend at all.

PKRWUD · 08-19-2002, 10:50 PM

EXPERIMENT!

try different combos until you get something. You won't hurt anything, and there's only 5 wires.

PKRWUD · 08-19-2002, 10:59 PM

Okay, the red/yellow wire is to make the window go up. Applying a pos 12 wire to it, and a neg wire to the yellow/red wire should make it go up. I'm looking at a factory wiring schematic now

PKRWUD · 08-19-2002, 11:14 PM

Try this:

With the key OFF, unplug the right side window switch, and with a DMM set to Ohms, check the harness for continuity between the red/yellow and ground, the yellow/red and ground, and then the red/yellow and the yellow/red. Make sure you are checking the harness going to the car, not the wires going to the motor.

Then turn the key on, and set the DMM to 20 volts dc, and check for voltage at the pink wire.

Post the results

zepherman · 08-19-2002, 11:26 PM

No meter, old one crapped out and dont have a new one yet. Ill try to borrow one tomorrow. I tried all the combinations in the harness going to the motor and nothing happend.

zepherman · 08-19-2002, 11:29 PM

is there any way to get the window up by hand? I hate leaving it down all night.

thdrcat · 08-21-2002, 02:08 PM

i had the exact thing happen on my s-10. what happened is i had a crack in my + battery cable that welded itself to my frame.

every ground on the car caught on fire and melted. it blew.

just as an FYI, you need to get that white powder off your motor ASAP. (Im guessing you had a Class A extinguisher.) That stuff will eat metal and plastic alike. just hose it off.

RPM427 · 08-21-2002, 02:35 PM

I wish you had a video camera for that one!

zepherman · 08-27-2002, 10:33 PM

PKRWUD, i finally got a DMM and the pink wire reads 11.7 the battery reads 12.4. I dont understand what you mean about checking the other wires. Are you saying i need to check the harness on the door side or the side that goes to the rocker switch?

If your talking about the door side I'll connect one of the leads to the door(ground) and insert the other lead into each of the connections in the harness. Im supposed to be checking for continuity right?

zepherman · 08-27-2002, 11:21 PM

I tested the harness that connects the wires on the switch to the wires going to the door on the door side. The red and yellow wires with the black stripes had low resistance. the red wire with the yellow stripe and the red with the yellow stripe both showed no continuity.

PKRWUD · 08-28-2002, 01:28 AM

Okay, for future reference, when you unplug something from the rest of the car, the car side is called the harness, and the thing you unplugged is called whatever it's name is. So, when you unplug the switch in the door from the harness, there's the switch (from the plug to the switch itself), and the harness (where it plugged in to get to the rest of the car).

Let's try this again.

With the key OFF, unplug the right side window switch, and with a DMM set to Ohms, check the harness for continuity between the red/yellow and ground, the yellow/red and ground, and then the red/yellow and the yellow/red. Make sure you are checking the harness going to the car, not the wires going to the motor.

So, with the DMM set to ohms,:

1) Touch one probe to the red/yellow wire at the plug (harness/car side), and the other probe to a good ground. What does it read?

2) Touch one probe to the yellow/red wire at the plug (harness/car side), and the other probe to a good ground. What does it read?

3) Touch one probe to the yellow/red wire, and the other probe to the red/yellow wire. What does it read?

Take care,
~Chris

08-18-2002, 04:03 AM	#1
zepherman Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Oklahoma City OK USA Posts: 236	My Car Caught On Fire!!! They dont seem to have the right smilie to express seething anger. I was at the local cruise spot tonight and afterward on the way home I had a bit of car trouble. Half way home i started to smell a funny smell. Then i noticed that the voltage meter in the dash had dropped and the red battery light in the center of the gauge cluster had turned on. I kept driving thinking that my alternator had gone out (ive had problems with it before). Then i smelled something horrible BURNING PLASTIC, it smelled like insulation was roasting somewhere. I hit the breaks and cut off onto a side street. I killed the motor and noticed a whisp of smoke from the crack between the hood and fender. I grabbed my fire extinguisher and popped the hood. To my horror and amazement there were flames coming from just behind my alternator. I then put the extinguisher to good use. I was pretty dark outside and i didnt have my flashlight. I had to wait for a friend to show up with a light. It looks like the harness that plugs into the alternaor is melted and the insulation has been burned off several of the wires behind the alternator. I pulled the belt off of the car to keep the alternator from spinning and disconnected a wiring harness that went to two wires that were burned but werent wired into the alternator. The car started so i got it back on the road got, it up to speed, and turned off the ignition. I coasted that last 4 or 5 miles home doing this to keep the car from over-heating. I would have just left the car in a parking lot or something but for some reason the passenger window won't roll up now. The drivers window works fine but the passenger side won't. I found this odd because the wires affected in the fire didnt seem to have anything to do with anything but the alternator and two wires that run between the evaporator thing and a metal tube that runs under the coolant tube that the egr plate is plumbed into. I have no idea what these wires are for. Anyway, by this time i was so mad that i couldnt see straight. Then when i was walking away from the car to go inside i noticed that coolant was leaking frome somewhere on the drivers side of the radiator. I didnt even bother to investigate, just too pissed off. I will post tomorrow with what i can see in the daylight. I will probably need a little help in the next couple days so i would just like to say thanks in advance. __________________ 90 GT 25th Anni. Did the AOD to T-5 swap, SPEC clutch, Steeda Tri-Ax shifter, BBK 2½ inch off-road H pipe, Flows, BBK 70mm TB/EGR, Ford Racing aluminim driveshaft, 3.55's, welded subframes, Ram Air, 3 core radiator, NOS dry kit 75 shot, and a K&N filter. 12.9 @ 108

08-18-2002, 04:57 AM	#2
PKRWUD Junior Member Join Date: Mar 1999 Location: Ventura, California Posts: 8,981	See, that's what you get for suggesting using a bungie cord in the 1/4 mile! Dude! Sorry to hear the news! Try and get it cleaned up enough to identify the damaged wires, and where they go. I'll try and help you out. Do you have a digital camera? Take care, ~Chris __________________ Webmaster: Rice Haters Club Jim Porter Racing Peckerwoods Pit Stop Support Your Local RED & WHITE!

08-18-2002, 05:27 AM	#3
zepherman Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Oklahoma City OK USA Posts: 236	That thing about the bungy cord was a poke at Gizmo and the general ricer mentality(not that Gizmo is a ricer). I want everyone to know that I wouldn't really suggest that you use a bungy cord to make your car go faster at the track. But on the off chance that someone tries it and it works and then becomes a common practice at racetracks all across the country, I just want you to know that there is documented proof here on this site that I thought of it first and I deserve all the credit PKRWUD, thanks for the reply. The fire extinguisher made a hell of a mess. There is white powder stuff all over the engine bay. Ill see what I cant do to get it cleaned up and maybe borrow a digital camera from someone. I also want to take the time to mention the importance of fire extinguishers. A fire extinguisher is a must in ANY car, not just a performance/race car. Nothing makes it seem more important than something like this. The 20$ I spent on the extinguisher could possibly have saved me $1000's in fire damage to my car. Everyone who reads this should go out and get a fire extinguisher if they dont already have one. Things like this can happen to anyone at any time. Is also important to remember that the best place to keep a fire extinguisher is within the reach of the driver. It won't do you any good if you keep it in the trunk and someone slams into you from beind and jams the tunk shut or if you are trapped inside the car. Enough of this, I'll shut up now. __________________ 90 GT 25th Anni. Did the AOD to T-5 swap, SPEC clutch, Steeda Tri-Ax shifter, BBK 2½ inch off-road H pipe, Flows, BBK 70mm TB/EGR, Ford Racing aluminim driveshaft, 3.55's, welded subframes, Ram Air, 3 core radiator, NOS dry kit 75 shot, and a K&N filter. 12.9 @ 108

08-18-2002, 11:50 PM	#4
zepherman Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Oklahoma City OK USA Posts: 236	No luck borrowing a digital camera yet, probably tomorrow. Why won't my passenger window roll up? Are tere wires for the window in the harness that goes to the alternator? How am i going to get the damn thing to roll up? Is there any way o go it manually? __________________ 90 GT 25th Anni. Did the AOD to T-5 swap, SPEC clutch, Steeda Tri-Ax shifter, BBK 2½ inch off-road H pipe, Flows, BBK 70mm TB/EGR, Ford Racing aluminim driveshaft, 3.55's, welded subframes, Ram Air, 3 core radiator, NOS dry kit 75 shot, and a K&N filter. 12.9 @ 108

08-19-2002, 12:15 AM	#5
PKRWUD Junior Member Join Date: Mar 1999 Location: Ventura, California Posts: 8,981	Remove the door panel, unplug the harness connector, and apply 12 volts directly to either the red/yellow wire, or the yellow/red wire (not sure which is for up and which is for down). Take care, ~Chris __________________ Webmaster: Rice Haters Club Jim Porter Racing Peckerwoods Pit Stop Support Your Local RED & WHITE!

08-19-2002, 09:24 AM	#6
RPM427 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Huntington NY Posts: 573	I had put in a 130 amp alternator on my car with a defective voltage regulator. I had to disconect the output form it so it wopuldn't fry the elecrtical system. I tried to get it to a gas station and the alternator cought fire kinda like yours. I had the hood open and it was more of a flash then it went out. I don't know what I would have done it it had not gone out. I went out and bought an extinguisher later that night. __________________ -1993 Mustang, 900rwhp 03-04 cobra based 4v swap, full Griggs setup, project underway -1994 Ranger w/ 427cid windsor (daily beater) check it out!

08-19-2002, 09:57 PM	#7
zepherman Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Oklahoma City OK USA Posts: 236	the harness for the window has two yellow wires one with a black stripe and one with a red stripe it also has 2 red wires one with a black stripe and one with a yellow stripe and also one hot pink wire. how do i connect them to the battery? __________________ 90 GT 25th Anni. Did the AOD to T-5 swap, SPEC clutch, Steeda Tri-Ax shifter, BBK 2½ inch off-road H pipe, Flows, BBK 70mm TB/EGR, Ford Racing aluminim driveshaft, 3.55's, welded subframes, Ram Air, 3 core radiator, NOS dry kit 75 shot, and a K&N filter. 12.9 @ 108

08-19-2002, 10:13 PM	#8
zepherman Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Oklahoma City OK USA Posts: 236	im thinking that i should try both red wires the one with the black stripe on the negative post of the car battery and the other on the pos. then try the same with the yellow wires. What is that hot pink wire for? will hooking a car battery directly to the window motor burn it up? __________________ 90 GT 25th Anni. Did the AOD to T-5 swap, SPEC clutch, Steeda Tri-Ax shifter, BBK 2½ inch off-road H pipe, Flows, BBK 70mm TB/EGR, Ford Racing aluminim driveshaft, 3.55's, welded subframes, Ram Air, 3 core radiator, NOS dry kit 75 shot, and a K&N filter. 12.9 @ 108

08-19-2002, 10:29 PM	#9
PKRWUD Junior Member Join Date: Mar 1999 Location: Ventura, California Posts: 8,981	The pink wire is where the power comes from. the red & black striped wires are for pos and neg voltage. The reason there is 4 is because when the switch is down, the motor turnsa one way, when the switch is up, the motor turns the other way. All that is happening is you are switching polarity on the moptor Anyway, try posd to yellow/red, and neg to yellow/black, and see what happens. If it makes noise, but doesn't move, then attach the wires to the red/black (neg) and red/yellow (pos) wires __________________ Webmaster: Rice Haters Club Jim Porter Racing Peckerwoods Pit Stop Support Your Local RED & WHITE!

08-19-2002, 10:48 PM	#10
zepherman Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Oklahoma City OK USA Posts: 236	I tried that and nothing happend at all. __________________ 90 GT 25th Anni. Did the AOD to T-5 swap, SPEC clutch, Steeda Tri-Ax shifter, BBK 2½ inch off-road H pipe, Flows, BBK 70mm TB/EGR, Ford Racing aluminim driveshaft, 3.55's, welded subframes, Ram Air, 3 core radiator, NOS dry kit 75 shot, and a K&N filter. 12.9 @ 108

08-19-2002, 10:50 PM	#11
PKRWUD Junior Member Join Date: Mar 1999 Location: Ventura, California Posts: 8,981	EXPERIMENT! try different combos until you get something. You won't hurt anything, and there's only 5 wires. __________________ Webmaster: Rice Haters Club Jim Porter Racing Peckerwoods Pit Stop Support Your Local RED & WHITE!

08-19-2002, 10:59 PM	#12
PKRWUD Junior Member Join Date: Mar 1999 Location: Ventura, California Posts: 8,981	Okay, the red/yellow wire is to make the window go up. Applying a pos 12 wire to it, and a neg wire to the yellow/red wire should make it go up. I'm looking at a factory wiring schematic now __________________ Webmaster: Rice Haters Club Jim Porter Racing Peckerwoods Pit Stop Support Your Local RED & WHITE!

08-19-2002, 11:14 PM	#13
PKRWUD Junior Member Join Date: Mar 1999 Location: Ventura, California Posts: 8,981	Try this: With the key OFF, unplug the right side window switch, and with a DMM set to Ohms, check the harness for continuity between the red/yellow and ground, the yellow/red and ground, and then the red/yellow and the yellow/red. Make sure you are checking the harness going to the car, not the wires going to the motor. Then turn the key on, and set the DMM to 20 volts dc, and check for voltage at the pink wire. Post the results __________________ Webmaster: Rice Haters Club Jim Porter Racing Peckerwoods Pit Stop Support Your Local RED & WHITE!

08-19-2002, 11:26 PM	#14
zepherman Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Oklahoma City OK USA Posts: 236	No meter, old one crapped out and dont have a new one yet. Ill try to borrow one tomorrow. I tried all the combinations in the harness going to the motor and nothing happend. __________________ 90 GT 25th Anni. Did the AOD to T-5 swap, SPEC clutch, Steeda Tri-Ax shifter, BBK 2½ inch off-road H pipe, Flows, BBK 70mm TB/EGR, Ford Racing aluminim driveshaft, 3.55's, welded subframes, Ram Air, 3 core radiator, NOS dry kit 75 shot, and a K&N filter. 12.9 @ 108

08-19-2002, 11:29 PM	#15
zepherman Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Oklahoma City OK USA Posts: 236	is there any way to get the window up by hand? I hate leaving it down all night. __________________ 90 GT 25th Anni. Did the AOD to T-5 swap, SPEC clutch, Steeda Tri-Ax shifter, BBK 2½ inch off-road H pipe, Flows, BBK 70mm TB/EGR, Ford Racing aluminim driveshaft, 3.55's, welded subframes, Ram Air, 3 core radiator, NOS dry kit 75 shot, and a K&N filter. 12.9 @ 108

08-21-2002, 02:08 PM	#16
thdrcat Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 100	i had the exact thing happen on my s-10. what happened is i had a crack in my + battery cable that welded itself to my frame. every ground on the car caught on fire and melted. it blew. just as an FYI, you need to get that white powder off your motor ASAP. (Im guessing you had a Class A extinguisher.) That stuff will eat metal and plastic alike. just hose it off.

08-21-2002, 02:35 PM	#17
RPM427 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Huntington NY Posts: 573	I wish you had a video camera for that one! __________________ -1993 Mustang, 900rwhp 03-04 cobra based 4v swap, full Griggs setup, project underway -1994 Ranger w/ 427cid windsor (daily beater) check it out!

08-27-2002, 10:33 PM	#18
zepherman Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Oklahoma City OK USA Posts: 236	PKRWUD, i finally got a DMM and the pink wire reads 11.7 the battery reads 12.4. I dont understand what you mean about checking the other wires. Are you saying i need to check the harness on the door side or the side that goes to the rocker switch? If your talking about the door side I'll connect one of the leads to the door(ground) and insert the other lead into each of the connections in the harness. Im supposed to be checking for continuity right? __________________ 90 GT 25th Anni. Did the AOD to T-5 swap, SPEC clutch, Steeda Tri-Ax shifter, BBK 2½ inch off-road H pipe, Flows, BBK 70mm TB/EGR, Ford Racing aluminim driveshaft, 3.55's, welded subframes, Ram Air, 3 core radiator, NOS dry kit 75 shot, and a K&N filter. 12.9 @ 108

08-27-2002, 11:21 PM	#19
zepherman Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Oklahoma City OK USA Posts: 236	I tested the harness that connects the wires on the switch to the wires going to the door on the door side. The red and yellow wires with the black stripes had low resistance. the red wire with the yellow stripe and the red with the yellow stripe both showed no continuity. __________________ 90 GT 25th Anni. Did the AOD to T-5 swap, SPEC clutch, Steeda Tri-Ax shifter, BBK 2½ inch off-road H pipe, Flows, BBK 70mm TB/EGR, Ford Racing aluminim driveshaft, 3.55's, welded subframes, Ram Air, 3 core radiator, NOS dry kit 75 shot, and a K&N filter. 12.9 @ 108

08-28-2002, 01:28 AM	#20
PKRWUD Junior Member Join Date: Mar 1999 Location: Ventura, California Posts: 8,981	Okay, for future reference, when you unplug something from the rest of the car, the car side is called the harness, and the thing you unplugged is called whatever it's name is. So, when you unplug the switch in the door from the harness, there's the switch (from the plug to the switch itself), and the harness (where it plugged in to get to the rest of the car). Let's try this again. With the key OFF, unplug the right side window switch, and with a DMM set to Ohms, check the harness for continuity between the red/yellow and ground, the yellow/red and ground, and then the red/yellow and the yellow/red. Make sure you are checking the harness going to the car, not the wires going to the motor. So, with the DMM set to ohms,: 1) Touch one probe to the red/yellow wire at the plug (harness/car side), and the other probe to a good ground. What does it read? 2) Touch one probe to the yellow/red wire at the plug (harness/car side), and the other probe to a good ground. What does it read? 3) Touch one probe to the yellow/red wire, and the other probe to the red/yellow wire. What does it read? Take care, ~Chris __________________ Webmaster: Rice Haters Club Jim Porter Racing Peckerwoods Pit Stop Support Your Local RED & WHITE!

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