Death of the b*tchin' Defender?!

[gjackson]

So the Defender caught fire today. I had been planning out the solar install, so the house battery was disconnected. Not being able to complete the project today, I decided to park it and put the car cover on. I didn't hook up house battery positive, I just pushed the leads out of the way and put the seat back in. BIG mistake. I was just about turned around when I smelled the electrical fire. I jumped out, pulled the seat out, pulled the cover off just in time to see the Hellroaring system catch fire! The loose + lead had moved and was sitting on the - lead for the house battery and the main battery was discharging into the hellroaring system. I had 2 foot flames in the passenger compartment!! I poured the contents of 4 ABC fire ext into it to get it out! Every time it went out, it would re-ignite!

Hell of scary! Almost a toasted Defender.

So be careful with those electrical projects. Take the time to put everything back. I'm lucky I don't have a 110 inch piece of slag in the ally!

. . . as you were.

cheers

 

[Ursidae69]

Oh my gosh. You are lucky, glad you got that out. :yikes:

 

[Blair G]

Great to hear you still have a 110. In my earlier days as a Fireman I responded to a Volkswagen that had caught fire. Not really a strange thing to have happened. Being the good Fireman, I DC'd the battery and put the fire out. Cleaned up the mess and sent the VW on its way on the back of a tow truck. What I failed to do was either clip the terminal off or wrap the positive connection in electrical tape so I wouldn't have to be called back to put out the flaming VW that was then attached to the back of the the Tow truck.
Nice to hear you had enough extinguishers to do the job.

Blair

 

[Andrew Walcker]

Say it ain't so and not even from the oil return lines! Man, Car-B-Q's are never a good thing and sorry to see you having to deal with it. How bad is the interior and what are your plans for the remodel? Dare I ask for pics?

 

[gjackson]

What I failed to do was either clip the terminal off or wrap the positive connection in electrical tape so I wouldn't have to be called back to put out the flaming VW that was then attached to the back of the the Tow truck.

That I did, right before I went to get a beer. No secondary fire.

Man, Car-B-Q's are never a good thing and sorry to see you having to deal with it. How bad is the interior and what are your plans for the remodel? Dare I ask for pics?

I haven't fully assessed the damage yet. There's not too much. The hellroaring system is toast and I imagine that a bunch of wires are toast. Maybe 2 optimas since they went from 14.1v to 12.3v in about 2 minutes! Could've been a lot worse, but it could also have been a lot better! I'll get pics tomorrow . . . if I can stomach it!

cheers

 

[Desertdude]

Really sorry to hear your news...

 

[Blair G]

That I did, right before I went to get a beer. No secondary fire.



I haven't fully assessed the damage yet. There's not too much. The hellroaring system is toast and I imagine that a bunch of wires are toast. Maybe 2 optimas since they went from 14.1v to 12.3v in about 2 minutes! Could've been a lot worse, but it could also have been a lot better! I'll get pics tomorrow . . . if I can stomach it!

cheers

At least you had a beer.
Blair

 

[Andrew Walcker]

I haven't fully assessed the damage yet. There's not too much.

All right, I'm feeling a bit better. Your thread title had me imagining a molten pile of aluminum. I hate reading about Defenders and fires...Once again really sorry about your experience.

 

[mountainpete]

That's awful!

I had that happen once on a 24V Land Cruiser - it can happen quick and I'm glad to hear that you are OK.

Pete

 

[kellymoe]

That sucks! I had something similar happen to me last year. I was charging my batteries with a 50w panel with the wires running down from the roof and in the door. The door pinched the wires which caused the wires to touch at a weakened spot and heat rapidly. I went out to find all the insulation burned off the wires and the seat starting to catch fire. Tragedy was quickly averted.

Sounds like yours was much worse butt also sounds like you are very fortunate and will have things sorted in no time.

 

[Funrover]

WOW Glad you didn't totlly toast her

 

[bovw]

At least it's not a loss, and more imporantly no one was hurt. Quick thinking and being prepared certainly paid off for you. I hope you have it back on the trail soon.

 

[Pskhaat]

yours was much worse butt ...

Literally.

 

[Michael Slade]

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have a fire extinguisher in your truck. Some of mine even have two (one in front, one in back...).

Quick thinking and being PREPARED saved your truck. Good work.

Now, get it fixed and back on the road. That'll be the way to erase the memory.

I had something similar happen on my CrewCab. The wire from the AC compressor behind the pully got worn and caught on fire. I saw/smelled the smoke, stopped the truck, popped the hood and saw flames. I got it put out quickly from the extinguisher mounted under the driver's seat. Had my heart beating pretty good for a while. I was 200 miles from nowhere when it happened.

 

[HongerVenture]

I love your Defender and was scared when I read the thread title...
Whew! Close one. Glad to hear the the damage was minimal. Good job on the quick thinking and quick action.

Joel