Classic Rover terror

[I Leak Oil]

So I'm relocating my alternator on my SIIa. Moving it up higher on the engine to keep it away from the water and muck. I get the brackets all mounted and loosly run the wiring to the alternator to make sure the length is O.K. I've got the primary wire connected to the alt. but the battery isn't hooked up. Then....I smell smoke... I start by calmly looking around the engine bay for any signs of smoke. I disconnect the wiring completely, still smell it. I tear apart the seat box to check the second battery... nothing...
I then dive under the truck to see if something has shorted....nothing...Getting very nervous, sweating and acting more scatterbrained trying to find the source. Just then my wife runs out the front door saying "it's on fire!" I yell "where?" She says "on the back deck, where do you think???"
Friggn' grill:violent-smiley-031:

 

[Scott Brady]

LOL :ylsmoke:

 

[dustboy]

Hah! Great story. Yesterday I was cutting some steel tube with an abrasive wheel on my chopsaw, throwing tons of hot sparks, and smelled smoke. Looked all over the garage for a pile of burning sawdust, nothing. Finally looked way out on the driveway about 15 feet away, lo and behold, a pile of leaves had somehow been ignited by a spark!

 

[stevenmd]

LOL, gotta love your rover!:victory:

 

[James86004]

Whenever I smell burning oil, overheated brakes, or overrich mixture, my heart skips a beat and I assume the worst. Fortunately, ever time that has happened in the last 10 or so years it has turned out to be the vehicle in front of me.

 

[czenkov]

Your story is funny. Mine is not so funny.....Friday finally got the engine in the 88" and running - sounds great - I look over at the box on the passenger side and it is smoking - 3 wires go red hot and burn. Looks like it only burned those three wires but still trying to determine true extent of damage. Gotta love these things to put up with the abuse.

 

[kellymoe]

15 years ago on a drive home from the Mojave Desert in my 1969 IIa smoke filled the cab but the but dissipated within a few minutes. Later inspection showed some wires behind the fuse panel melted off the insulation. Never stopped to pull over, just kind of typical for a rover.

Earlier this year I was running errands in my 1994 Disco. When I made a stop at a store in downtown LA I noticed smoke pouring from under the hood. I popped the hood and flames were licking around the exhaust manifold and the steering pump. Grabbed my fire extinguisher, pulled the pin and zilch! No pressure. I had a small bottle of water in the truck, grabbed that and poured it on the flames and barely extinguished the flames. A crowed had gathered and I pleaded for them not to call 911, the fire station I worked at at the time in East LA was right around the corner, if they had come out I would have never heard the end of it. I went into the store, finished my shopping, hopped in the disco and drove the 15 miles home with no further problems.

Smoke and fire are just all part of the great big wacky world of Rover ownership:ylsmoke:

 

[getlost4x4]

awesome!

first time i was ever welding, i was wearing frayed jeans. i'm welding along then i stop. i lift the helmet and there is still smoke. my leg feels a little warm. but i'm still looking for the source of the smoke. i finally look at my leg and its on fire and the flames are almost up to my special place. :Wow1: i start running around slapping out the flames with my gloves. my jeans burned up to my knee.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

awesome!

first time i was ever welding, i was wearing frayed jeans. i'm welding along then i stop. i lift the helmet and there is still smoke. my leg feels a little warm. but i'm still looking for the source of the smoke. i finally look at my leg and its on fire and the flames are almost up to my special place. :Wow1: i start running around slapping out the flames with my gloves. my jeans burned up to my knee.

That exact thing happened to me! One of my first welding jobs, wearing old jeans with a hole worn in the knee, the threads caught fire! I didn't smell the smoke, but just my leg started getting warm.

 

[Dendy Jarrett]

These are funny stories. This thread should be renamed the wacky and smokey world of Land Rovers. We typically take the NAS110 on long trips. EVERY time we are driving down the road, and there is a smell, ... my wife says ... WHAT is THAT?! I usually spend the next 30 seconds micro analyzing everything around and usually get to say ... it is the car in front of us. (mentally letting out a huge Whew!).

Dendy

 

[UnfrozenCaveman]

No fire, no smoke....but on last month's trip to Colorado, I would smell coolant from time to time...no steam, no moisture, no elevated temp. indicated.

This happened two or three times before I realized that I only smelled coolant when the Dodge diesel pick up with the Giant Camper Shell would pass me and pull back into the right lane!

Hope he made it to his destination.

...oh, and Rovers have nothing on air cooled VW's for impressive wiring failures!

 

[BIGdaddy]

Whenever I smell burning oil, overheated brakes, or overrich mixture, my heart skips a beat and I assume the worst. Fortunately, ever time that has happened in the last 10 or so years it has turned out to be the vehicle in front of me.

yup, me too. hahaha!:victory:

 

[Funrover]

HAHAHA!! Great story with a surprise ending!

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Haven't had any wiring problems yet (Yet! I said YET you gremlins, don't punish me for my hubris!). But, my wife occaisionally asks why she has water splashing on her leg. That's a D2 thing.

 

[luckyrxc]

Me too

I think everyone who reads this thread can say, "Me too."

I was welding and didn't realize I was kneeling over an acetone soaked rag. Pretty soon my crotch was warm, then my jeans were on fire, then I was jumping and slapping...