Jump to content
IGNORED

Help FIRE!


PBJ

Recommended Posts

Went out to the garage to get the old 86 out for a ride with the wife. I started her up and started to pull out of the garage when a plume of smoke started coming up out of the battery area as i was pulling out. I got it into the driveway and shut it off. The smoke started to lighten up indicating what ever was vurning had stopped but I grabbed a screw driver for the tool area and took off the batter cover and found my fog light wiring to the relay a burned melted mess. I had to cut out some of the wiring and tape everything off in order to take the wife out. I checked all my other lights and electrical and all were un affected.

 

The previous owner had installed the on off switch into a hole in the aluminum part of the handle bar and apparently my sleeve caught it and turned the lights on . But I've never had a fire like that happen before. Could it have been caused by the relay? Or could this have been a short of some kind in the frame? I replaced large car style halogen fog lamps with more effiecent LED lights last year. I simply used the old wiring that was already in place but grounded the wiring onto the highway bar. but i had no problem with them until today. Any suggestions as to what might have happened?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes it was a short. Relay, wiring, etc was the problem. The effects of the fire were caused by not having a fuse as close to the battery as possible, ie, if there were a fuse just 6 inches away from your positive connection, then that mass of wiring would still have done the same thing, been unoperational, but just not caught on fire as the fuse would have blown.

 

Battery positive, then fuse as close as possible, then distribution block or relay, then individual circuit lower amperage fuse will make sure stuff doesn't catch on fire again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was there a fuse in the circuit?

Most likely a wire got pinched in the steering so that when you turned it on it was a dead short.

BUT if there was a fuse inline and near the battery, like there should always be, it should not have melted anything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...