FIRE!

[swallet]

Well 5 weeks of TVR ownership and this morning disaster!

Car has stalled a few times when hot. The HT leads and distributor cap were well past it so replaced these and the rotor arm last week. Seemed to be running great since.

When I changed the king lead last week noticed a smear of oil on the coil. As it was running well I put off replacing the coil.

This morning running very lumpy and stalled just after I pulled into a car park.

Smoke from bonnet. st!
Popped the lid and the coil was on fire!!

Luckily I had a fire extinguisher - quick puff and it was out.
Fire seems to have started where the king lead plugs into the coil.

So lucky I had the extinguisher as damage is limited to the coil, king lead and the insulation has burnt off some of the wires feeding the coil.

I'm assuming that I had a very dodgy coil that was getting hot and causing the misfire and stalling when hot. The oil leak must have combined with a spark and boom!

Has anyone seen this before?

[AJV8]

Haven't heard of that before but i think i'll be going out and getting myself a fire extinguisher this afternoon !!

AJ

[TOV!E]

AJV8 said:

Haven't heard of that before but i think i'll be going out and getting myself a fire extinguisher this afternoon !!

AJ

A must for any TVR.....

[swallet]

Definately recommend it. Fire and fibreglass - doesn't bear thinking about!
It was a freebie from a pharmaceutical company and it's been in my car for about ten years. Today was the day I needed it!

Waiting for RAC to tow me to a garage now

[NiceCupOfTea]

Nicely caught. I have been carting fire extinguishers around in all of my cars since I learned to drive. Not needed to use one...yet.

[brett84]

nice save mate.
i'm so tempted to get a plumbed in kit after a few horror stories recently . Not in TVRs but other classics, must be devastating

[JonyTVR]

not just TVR's or just classics! I saw a clio/corse or some euro hatch crap thing on the side of the M69 yesterday with smoke bellowing out of the window!

[brett84]

the kits seem to be about £100 and i'm guessing extinguisher would sit nicely on top of the fuel tank, then run lines into the bonnet with sprays directed at the heads. hmmmmmm might have a look into it
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JJC-2-25-Ltr-Plumbed-In-...

[SSPPGG]

lots of cobra replica guys install fire extinguisher systems in the engine bay, ive seen a few cobs go up in flames, usual culprit is split fuel lines/abrasion on fuel lines, or those glass type fuel filters.

as said, very well caught!

[swallet]

Well thank god I had the fire extinguisher.

New coil and king lead and some replacement wiring.

£110 and we are back in business (well the engine is anyway)

Could have been a lot worse.

[450Nick]

brett84 said:

the kits seem to be about £100 and i'm guessing extinguisher would sit nicely on top of the fuel tank, then run lines into the bonnet with sprays directed at the heads. hmmmmmm might have a look into it
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JJC-2-25-Ltr-Plumbed-In-...

These are mandatory in the race world, but from listening to a few stories about people actually using them, they do very little to put a fire out unless you have a big tank, lots of nozzles, and they are all very carefully aimed. You also need to regularly air blast the lines to prevent the nozzles clogging. To be honest, you're much better off with a handheld as you can direct it to the exact location of the fire, not just its general direction.

[brett84]

450Nick said:

These are mandatory in the race world, but from listening to a few stories about people actually using them, they do very little to put a fire out unless you have a big tank, lots of nozzles, and they are all very carefully aimed. You also need to regularly air blast the lines to prevent the nozzles clogging. To be honest, you're much better off with a handheld as you can direct it to the exact location of the fire, not just its general direction.

I'm going to get both just in case.
A friend of mine lost a MK2 escort he spent about 6 years building. Normal A road cruising, smoke from under bonnet, by the time he'd pulled over and got the extenguisher which was clipped on the rear bulkhead it was too late. Still don't know what started it but fibreglass bonnet went straight up and spread too quick for the handheld to do anything. He was/is devistated. I'm going to have 3 nozzles firing to the top of the engine plus handheld so I thought for the sake of £100 in the long run it's not much for that extra bit of protection?

[Graham]

I've had the misfortune to have to pull the fire ex on a race car twice, neither did much thankfully the first fire went out as it was oil on top of the exhaust from the smashed oil coolers and the bonnet was 100 ft away.... 2nd time i hit the marshals post where he had a handy fire ex. TBH in a race car its more about giving the driver time to get out rather than putting the fireout.

I also had a range rover go up, 100 yards from home, had a workshop fire ex just behind the front door at home so ran home, grabbed fire ex ran back and managed to save the car without too much damage.

If you do get an underbonnet fire, try and spray some under the engine, then crack the bonnet enough to get the fire ex in but no more, only lift the bonnet once youve got some control, as opening the bonnet lets a lot of air in and the fire will flare up in your face.


On a road car I'd put the nozels under the bonnet at thats the main place you'll get a fire... and carry a hand held...

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

I'm thinking of getting a fire extinguisher, prompted by this thread!

What's the most suitable type? Powder? CO2?

[swallet]

Either Co2 or dry powder is safe for burning liquids or live electrics.
Dry powder are more compact IIRC.

The one that saved me was dry powder - makes a mess of the engine bay though - dust everywhere!

[450Nick]

Not just that, but if dry powder gets wet it becomes very corrosive indeed. As I recall, the dry powder did more damage to Graham's engine bay than the fire did!