T350 - Cause of fire at TVR Power

[Blue-Lightning]

Just read that a T350 was the cause of the fire at TVR Power last week.

Statement from TVR Power

Approximately a week ago we received into the workshop a T350 with an engine problem. The car was waiting to be worked on and had not been started since the day it arrived. The cause of the fire has been confirmed by forensics as a problem in the battery area. The CCTV system has been inspected and the confirmation of this has been captured.

Thats two T350 fires in as many weeks.

[tobeee]

Will TVR be doing a recall...

[L33]

It would be useful for other T350 (and perhaps Tamora) pwners to understand what causes the fires and is there anything to look out for / check / needs modifying.

Any ideas guys?

[braders]

Wonder if battery was being charged at the time ?

[trackcar]

i think on the thread it says the car had an electrical problem, but also that it had not been moved for about a week or something and virtually spontaneously combusted, which if true is blinking scary for t350 owners! The fire brigade said something about overcharging by a faulty alternator and battery acid? I think sales of battery isolator switches will be going to an all-time high after this.

[Lensey]

Mmm... a bit worrying this, I haven't heard of anything like this happening since the T350 was released, are we to think that these are just isolated cases and just a coincidence that they happened within a week of each other?

[plasticman]

As I said on another thread :
On all the speed six cars the positive terminal is only seperated from the metallic heat shield by a piece of foam stuck to the side of the battery with contact adhesive.I sure cars have had batteries replaced without the foam being re-attached or it may simply have fallen off . It is worth checking this now . I believe you can buy a battery with the terminals reversed which should solve the problem ( the leads do normally reach ) I cannot think why this was not done at the factory , if there is a good reason I would like to know ,thanks , David
I would have thought the fire was caused by a damp which helped make the circuit rather than battery acid burning the sheathing on the battery cable (as it is unaffected by acid)

[SAGTAFF]

Seems like a few people on here know Dom quite well - is there any chance that TVR POWER can put out a statement / advice /recommedations for us owners based on what they think happened at their place??

I've got an intergral garage so must admit I'm starting to get a tad concerned although based on the post from VARLEYHYD has stated us Sag owners should be OK

SAGTAFF

[< FORZA WEST]

Got one in tomorrow for a service so i'll have a look in the area see what I can see...Had a similar problem with a tuscan back in 2001 which the poss cable was crushed between the body and chassis...very similar layout.

[< FORZA WEST]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Possitive and negative battery cables are chaffing against each other!

This one is worn but not yet dangerous....Its V close to the battery so un fused.

[Targarama]

VARLEYHYD said:

plasticman said:

On all the speed six cars the positive terminal is only seperated from the metallic heat shield by a piece of foam stuck to the side

I don't see it as an issue on the Sagaris.

I have had the main wiring loom & entire battery box out and see no issues with my car.





Others may be different though

G

Edited by VARLEYHYD on Wednesday 20th August 13:20

One thing I notice is different is that your positive and negative terminals are the opposite to those on my car. The battery is still the same way round though. The chafing I found was the battery compartment cover/door/flap rubbing on the various cables trapped between it and the battery.

[VARLEYHYD]

Targarama said:

One thing I notice is different on the Sagaris is that positive and negative terminals are the opposite to those on my car. The battery is still the same way round though. The chafing I found was the battery compartment cover/door/flap rubbing on the various cables trapped between it and the battery.

Mine uses an 036 Round post battery

I took all my 'birds nest' of battery wiring out and had it cut back and remade,removing all unused lengths and trap hazards etc.

Its tidier than the photo now

I am sure it's an easy mod to the T350.

I found the wiring harness between the drivers inner wing worn through to the wire so repaired, wrapped that with plastic spiraguard too


G

[Leadfoot]

This is the bit of foam that Plasticman refers to. It's all that stops the +ve terminal shorting on the aluminised insulation blanket between the battery & chassis.





This is on my '02 Tuscan S which AFAIK is still on its original battery.

[rolex]

Cheers for that Leadfoot! Well worth checking that out. Maybe wrap some insulating tape around the connector as well.

[nelly1]

Just twisting the terminal through 90Deg would help...

Much better to do as Graham suggests and turn the battery round & get the wiring sorted properly though!

[VARLEYHYD]

nelly1 said:

Much better to do as Graham suggests and turn the battery round & get the wiring sorted properly though!

To do this Sagaris style mod for Tuscan,Tamora, and most T350's:-

You will need a new 036 Round post battery ( opposite hand from standard battery)

Check the length of the cable that goes around the chassis will be long enough to stretch to the new +ve position

If not it's:- Red cable 40mm2 x 2260mm long to re make

The Anderson connector leads will be too long so cut these back if you can

Get any modified or new cables professionaly crimped & soldered to avoid dry joints

Here's mine as fitted to Sagaris, but i have removed surplus cable length since early post photo.



Fit the edges of the cover with sponge neoprene seal

Fit an anderson water tight cover to the charge plug to stop rusting up/ shorting


Hope this helps

G

[nelly1]

VARLEYHYD said:

More incredibly useful stuff...

You Sir, are a Legend!



...oh, how I wish I had your patience, tenacity and time...