Car almost caught on fire....need help ASAP
11-12-2005, 11:30 AM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Palm City, Florida
Posts: 4,287
Car almost caught on fire....need help ASAP
So my bottle heater switch kept blowing fuses...people told me to wire it directly to the battery. Wired it directly to the battery, reconnected everything, then I hear "TSSSSS", kinda like my purge, so I figure my purge button was being pressed since the knee panel was leaning against the seat.
....Then I see smoke coming out from inside my car. I jumped into the car, saw that all my N2O wires were on fire, so I grabbed them with my bare hand and ripped them out. My middle finger looks like beef jerky.
Now the thing is, the wire that I just ran directly to the battery is NOT burned...all the others are. I'm afraid to even reconnect my battery, let alone work up the motivation to re-wire everything
....Then I see smoke coming out from inside my car. I jumped into the car, saw that all my N2O wires were on fire, so I grabbed them with my bare hand and ripped them out. My middle finger looks like beef jerky.
Now the thing is, the wire that I just ran directly to the battery is NOT burned...all the others are. I'm afraid to even reconnect my battery, let alone work up the motivation to re-wire everything
11-12-2005, 11:42 AM
#3
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Palm City, Florida
Posts: 4,287
Re: Car almost caught on fire....need help ASAP
Originally Posted by FastZinTennessee
You just got a lesson in why every wire that goes to the battery needs to be fused 
11-12-2005, 11:57 AM
#5
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Costa Mesa, CA
Posts: 2,521
Re: Car almost caught on fire....need help ASAP
A wire will usually burn from the point of the problem (usually where it's grounded out) towards the power source. You probably pulled the wires loose before they burned to the power wire going to the battery.
11-12-2005, 12:00 PM
#6
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Palm City, Florida
Posts: 4,287
Re: Car almost caught on fire....need help ASAP
So that means what?
After looking closer. it was just the accy wire from the switch to the heater relay...it melted all the electrical tape and a few surrounding wires, but it looks like it was just that wire that caught on fire.
After looking closer. it was just the accy wire from the switch to the heater relay...it melted all the electrical tape and a few surrounding wires, but it looks like it was just that wire that caught on fire.
11-12-2005, 12:07 PM
#8
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Costa Mesa, CA
Posts: 2,521
Re: Car almost caught on fire....need help ASAP
Double check your relay wiring, some how you've got that wire that melted shorted to ground. I'd bet it's through the relay. Go write down the pin #'s on the relay, what wires they are going to and post so I can figure it out.
11-12-2005, 12:48 PM
#10
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Costa Mesa, CA
Posts: 2,521
Re: Car almost caught on fire....need help ASAP
Your wiring sounds fine. These things are hard to troubleshoot these things in person, much less over the web, but I'd start by looking at either a bad relay or somewhere along the line your accessory wire is pinched and shorting to ground.
The first thing you need to do though, is put a fuse on ALL your wires that are getting power at any time. Obviously don't worry about the ground(s), but fuse all power wires.
The first thing you need to do though, is put a fuse on ALL your wires that are getting power at any time. Obviously don't worry about the ground(s), but fuse all power wires.
