What a flaming nightmare!!!

[mrzigazaga]

Hi peeps..Was planning on going out today as the weather is glorious again..Yesterday i was trying to sort a battery clamp out and sanded down some of the paint so i could cold weld a fixing in...It didnt work..Anyway started the car this morning and noticed some smoke coming from under the bonnet and thought maybe it was just some dust on the exhaust and was about to pull away..Then it got a little thicker and smelt electrical..So i decided to check.....Its a good job i did as my alternator was on fire!!...Apparently the diodes are knackered..Ive managed to locate a secondhand one from the ford garage for £35+Vat or the auto-electrician has offered to have a look at it...I think it might be cheaper to go for the first option...It now makes me think perhaps i should fit a fire extinguisher somewhere...What a horrible scenario that could of unfolded...My delilah could have been no more...Cheers..Ziga

[broadside]

Like this?

Lucky call!!

[Jack Valiant]

Zig, this all sounds symptomatic of your battery / starting problem then as the diodes may have destroyed your battery fella?

Chris

[chapperssx]

Blimey Ziga that was lucky mate glade you caught that in the nic of time, i think our luck is poured from the same bottle!!

[mrzigazaga]

broadside said:

Like this?

Lucky call!!

Jeesus f..ing christ..What an awful sight and a horrid reminder of what could of happened..
Im hoping the battery hasnt been damaged..The car started fine earlier!!..Funny enough when i was coming back from visiting hallsie the weekend i did smell a faint electrical burning smell so it was probably starting to go then..I did fear that all my fiddling yesterday around the ignition when i was trying out a secondhand indicator stalk might of done it but the alternator is fed directly from the battery..
Martin i think you could be right about the luck mate...Im going to do the lottery tonight as today is indeed a lucky day..My good friend dominic..(sireatalot)..is venturing down from bristol today and is bringing the alternator off his which he doesnt need and dropping it by on his way to a friends..What a star..I might look into putting some fuse wire on the last few inches of the live feed going to the battery..It might save me if it ever happens again...Cheers..Ziga

[Campbell]

Ziga get you self to aldi as they were selling powder units for a good price. They arent to big but will fit in different areas of a wedge, i got my self a few and also carry a 2kg poweder in front of the pasenger seat.
Good catch though and not letting it get out of control.

Cambelt

[Jonny weggie]

broadside said:

Like this?

Lucky call!!

What a bloody shame - lovely looking car. [was]

[tempus]

I thought you`d replaced the diodes with Dilithium Crystal Ziggy? sorry,I couldn`t resist.

[mrzigazaga]

tempus said:

I thought you`d replaced the diodes with Dilithium Crystal Ziggy?.

Well i was trying to but i keep getting an internuclear separation when im trying to bond the two lithium atoms..I cant seem to get it to the gas phase...I know the bond order is 1 but somethings not right..I need a KCK.."Klingon conversion kit".. but cant find one anywhere..They are as rare as kryptonite..

[vampire222]

Atleast your wedge gave you a clear indication of what the problem was, haha!

[Wedg1e]

RCK974X said:

Zig, Nice reply

I'm sorry but that photo looks a little photoshopped - or is it just that I can't handle the sight of a 350i on fire and my brain rejects it ?

I should think it would reject it - if it was a 350i. The US-style bumper and reg plate would suggest it's a 280i; they never got the V8.

[wooly350i]

That's how Paul and micheles wedge ended up on the Bracknel bypass,he said that was alternator.

[mrzigazaga]

Well i have another...Kindly donated by sireatalot..It has sat around for a few years but was new and has only done about 400 miles..Its been stored in a garage and only has surface oxidisation that brushed off!!..It has some spiders living in it but still looks realitively new..Considering that mine was sat in a garage for ten years i think i may stand a chance that it might still be ok to use..I will find out in the morning after i fit it..Also im going to look into fusing it as i dont want to lose my wedge to fire...Cheers...Ziga

[combine]

Fire extinguisher is a must , got one in mine !

[Wedg1e]

mrzigazaga said:

Well i have another...Kindly donated by sireatalot..It has sat around for a few years but was new and has only done about 400 miles..Its been stored in a garage and only has surface oxidisation that brushed off!!..It has some spiders living in it but still looks realitively new..Considering that mine was sat in a garage for ten years i think i may stand a chance that it might still be ok to use..I will find out in the morning after i fit it..Also im going to look into fusing it as i dont want to lose my wedge to fire...Cheers...Ziga

It'd have to be a big fuse Zig... the heavy cable from the alternator has to carry the full rated output of the alternator (35A? 50A?) when recharging the battery and powering all your electrickery.

[mrzigazaga]

Wedg1e said:

It'd have to be a big fuse Zig... the heavy cable from the alternator has to carry the full rated output of the alternator (35A? 50A?) when recharging the battery and powering all your electrickery.

I was told by the ford guy earlier that the capris had a special type of fuse wire that would break away in such an event..It was apparently on the last few inches before the battery...Is this something i could get?..Instead of a fuse?..Cheers..Ziga

PS: A fire extinquisher is on my list of things to get.

[Wedg1e]

mrzigazaga said:

I was told by the ford guy earlier that the capris had a special type of fuse wire that would break away in such an event..It was apparently on the last few inches before the battery...Is this something i could get?..Instead of a fuse?..Cheers..Ziga

PS: A fire extinquisher is on my list of things to get.

Quite a few Fords had the 'fusible link' hiding in the wiring loom. I recall a Mk 3 Escort that had been 'looked at' by three so-called auto electricians who between them had replaced the battery and alternator twice each... none of them thought to check for continuity in the wiring loom; the fuse had blown. As I recall it just looked like a length of wire (like the blue ballast resistor fitted to some of the V6s ignition) and had a crimp fitting on each end. It was hidden inside the loom sheath.
I fixed it for the young lady owner, but didn't get a sh*g out of it

[BadRed]

Wedg1e said:

I should think it would reject it - if it was a 350i. The US-style bumper and reg plate would suggest it's a 280i; they never got the V8.

Ian I think the 280i on the wing is also a bit of a give away

[wca]

Nice escape zigzag

I think you have just upped the sale of fir extiguishers. I need two, one for the wedge and one for my (newish) Scimitar.

RCK974X - what is this design feature on the Scimitar that pours petrol out of the carb?!?! Does it affect the '69 SE5 with a 3 litre Essex engine? just like to know how I will die...

[mrzigazaga]

Wedg1e said:

Quite a few Fords had the 'fusible link' hiding in the wiring loom.

So is there anything that could prevent a fire from happening rather than putting out a fire?..This is really going to play on my mind everytime i drive it now!..As far as i understand the regulator on the alternator ensures the current only goes one way..Im not sure if mine failed and caused the current to reverse or if something else caused them to burn out?..It would give me peace of mind to know that something is in there preventing this from happening again..Which would be far better than me panicking with a fire extinquisher trying to put the car out...Trust me..I WILL panic..Cheers..Ziga