Oh No, another fuel fire
Discussion
Reports of a cerbera on fire and burnt out
glenrobbo said:
Today was a very bad day for the unfortunate driver of what was an immaculate white TVR Cerbera AJP V8:
He was fortunate to escape with just his beard, eyebrows and some hair singed off, and some minor burns. He could so easily have been trapped inside the car, as the doors are opened electrically by a rotory switch knob on the centre console IIRC.
He said he'll be okay, but it all happened so quickly, he never got a chance to use his fire extinguisher.
Suspected cause is due to fuel hoses being ravaged by the dreaded bioethanol petrol.
You know, the environmentally friendly Eco fuel that has been forced upon us all.
I am unsure if the fuel hoses had been renewed, but there are many instances of supposedly "ethanol proof" labelled hose imported from China that deteriorates and becomes porous within 12 months.
This issue needs proper regulatory controls and effective testing before being sold
here, as it is potentially a matter of life or death.
Sleep well folks, and don't have nightmares...
I've corrected the inaccuraciesHe was fortunate to escape with just his beard, eyebrows and some hair singed off, and some minor burns. He could so easily have been trapped inside the car, as the doors are opened electrically by a rotory switch knob on the centre console IIRC.
He said he'll be okay, but it all happened so quickly, he never got a chance to use his fire extinguisher.
Suspected cause is due to fuel hoses being ravaged by the dreaded bioethanol petrol.
You know, the environmentally friendly Eco fuel that has been forced upon us all.
I am unsure if the fuel hoses had been renewed, but there are many instances of supposedly "ethanol proof" labelled hose imported from China that deteriorates and becomes porous within 12 months.
This issue needs proper regulatory controls and effective testing before being sold
here, as it is potentially a matter of life or death.
Sleep well folks, and don't have nightmares...
Jesus.
My sincere empathy for the loss of your car.
Look on the bright side.
Imagine watching someone else wining and dining the love of your life.
"I'd rather have loved and lost as opposed to have never loved"
Anyone who says that has never been in love.
And... I know this is a car forum.
However..
If there is a rational debate, we can have as adults, about being so ignorant about how a real car makes you feel, so that it insulates you from it's loss, then why not just walk everywhere.
I'd rather cry myself to sleep than walk from a to b.
The rest of you lucky F U C K E R S. even if it's broken there is nothing more special than driving a Cerbera.
My sincere empathy for the loss of your car.
Look on the bright side.
Imagine watching someone else wining and dining the love of your life.
"I'd rather have loved and lost as opposed to have never loved"
Anyone who says that has never been in love.
And... I know this is a car forum.
However..
If there is a rational debate, we can have as adults, about being so ignorant about how a real car makes you feel, so that it insulates you from it's loss, then why not just walk everywhere.
I'd rather cry myself to sleep than walk from a to b.
The rest of you lucky F U C K E R S. even if it's broken there is nothing more special than driving a Cerbera.
I feel sorry for the chap but thankfully he escaped unhurt.
It's certainly a reminder to check our fuel lines. I had one split on a run to Le Mans a couple of years ago, despite regular servicing and (I thought!) checking the fuel lines. Thankfully I smelt the fuel when we stopped at the toll and decided to investigate a couple of miles further on. Mine went on top of the engine but it was the underside that had split - the visible side looked almost new!!
Maybe if you can't remember when your fuel lines were last changed, it may be time to do so?
It was certainly scary at the time imagining what would happen if the fuel caught fire at high speed!!
And very sadly one less Cerbera around
Rob
It's certainly a reminder to check our fuel lines. I had one split on a run to Le Mans a couple of years ago, despite regular servicing and (I thought!) checking the fuel lines. Thankfully I smelt the fuel when we stopped at the toll and decided to investigate a couple of miles further on. Mine went on top of the engine but it was the underside that had split - the visible side looked almost new!!
Maybe if you can't remember when your fuel lines were last changed, it may be time to do so?
It was certainly scary at the time imagining what would happen if the fuel caught fire at high speed!!
And very sadly one less Cerbera around
Rob
Billy_Rosewood said:
On the way to Le Mans I made sure my passenger was familiar with the emergency releases, where the extinguisher was and advised to keep the window slightly open at all times.
He laughed at my "joke".. I also laughed so as not to alarm him that I was quite serious
I do the same with new passengers.He laughed at my "joke".. I also laughed so as not to alarm him that I was quite serious
ukkid35 said:
I need to replace the fuel lines in the nearside rear wheel well
Any advice or suggestions are welcome
Yeah my suggestion is to be careful it’s secured properly. Unlike the garage who replaced mine the same morning resulting in aerosol fuel spraying over the exhaust through a small hole until such time as pressure was so low the engine was missing. I was VERY lucky….Any advice or suggestions are welcome
See the nice trail of fuel. I nearly went back to the future here!
I found this very helpful archive…
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Ptfe/teflon is the way to go, with AN fittings. While replacement high quality rubber pipes are excellent they are still permeable and will degrade (it seems quickly in the harsh cerbera environment) Hose clips are good but AN are better.
I intend to ‘upgrade’ for peace of mind shortly. After the above fire incident I’ve checked my lines three times this year! (Quite luck to have quick access equipment)
The only issue I have found is the low pressure fuel tank feed hose to the fuel pump, I think it’s 1/2” and need to figure decent connection setup. BTW this is the only hose I found to have degraded quickly on my car…
Also I’m also concerned over fuel injectors leaking over HT leads / coil packs….that’s another story!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Ptfe/teflon is the way to go, with AN fittings. While replacement high quality rubber pipes are excellent they are still permeable and will degrade (it seems quickly in the harsh cerbera environment) Hose clips are good but AN are better.
I intend to ‘upgrade’ for peace of mind shortly. After the above fire incident I’ve checked my lines three times this year! (Quite luck to have quick access equipment)
The only issue I have found is the low pressure fuel tank feed hose to the fuel pump, I think it’s 1/2” and need to figure decent connection setup. BTW this is the only hose I found to have degraded quickly on my car…
Also I’m also concerned over fuel injectors leaking over HT leads / coil packs….that’s another story!
DCerebrate said:
A Nissan tuning company called Torqen sold me genuine Gates Barricade Ethanol ethanol E85 fuel hose in the correct size, I think it was 5/16, 8mm. Being a US product, it was sold by the foot, price was reasonable at the time (2018).
I've read mixed reviews on the latest Gates stuff. This is what I use for my bike and cars.https://www.glencoeltd.co.uk/cohline-2240-r9-speci...
DCerebrate said:
I think I saw discussion that mixed reviews on Gates hose related to counterfeit products. But as I don’t have sight of actual evidence I can’t say for sure. My fuel hoses as supplied above are doing well after 15000 miles and 5 years.
I think it was more to do with where it's now made, with more being made in the far east over the last few years. stuthe
said:
said: Yeah my suggestion is to be careful it’s secured properly. Unlike the garage who replaced mine the same morning resulting in aerosol fuel spraying over the exhaust through a small hole until such time as pressure was so low the engine was missing. I was VERY lucky….
See the nice trail of fuel. I nearly went back to the future here!
Wow - thanks, and I'm glad that you and the car are still with usSee the nice trail of fuel. I nearly went back to the future here!
I met the chap yesterday on TVR run, hair, eyebrows, beard, etc all in working order 🙏 He’s now the proud owner of a T350 with an LS7 conversion - it’s a monster!
The fuel lines were “proper” and in good order, investigators reckon the actual cause of the fire was an injector stuck in the open position which flooded the plenum…..
The fuel lines were “proper” and in good order, investigators reckon the actual cause of the fire was an injector stuck in the open position which flooded the plenum…..
Anyone ever test the integrity of their fuel lines using a pressure decay test? Back in my aircraft mechanic days we were required to test cabin combustion heaters for leaks in the combustion tube. This involved capping off all exits to the combustion tube and then presurizing it to a specified setting, removing the pressure source by means of a ball valve and then monitoring the pressure within the tube over a period of time on a pressure gauge that was installed after the ball valve. Losing a certain number of psi over a specified time frame meant a failing tube.
I'm thinking it would make a fairly quick & simple test to remove and plug the fuel return hose at the tank and apply pressure at the fuel regulator end of the hose, pressurize to say 10psi and monitor for 5 minutes. Same thing on the supply side although there's the additional complication of draining the fuel tank if you wanted to test end-to-end. Any pressure decrease would mean it's time to start troubleshooting.
I'm thinking it would make a fairly quick & simple test to remove and plug the fuel return hose at the tank and apply pressure at the fuel regulator end of the hose, pressurize to say 10psi and monitor for 5 minutes. Same thing on the supply side although there's the additional complication of draining the fuel tank if you wanted to test end-to-end. Any pressure decrease would mean it's time to start troubleshooting.
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