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How Did the Fairmont Catch On Fire?

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  • #886913
    EricTheCarGuy 1EricTheCarGuy
    Keymaster

      Mystery solved.

    Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
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    • #886919
      JamesJames
      Participant

        Was there a lot of fuel in the sump?

        #886933
        EricTheCarGuy 1EricTheCarGuy
        Keymaster

          Probably a gallon and a half in the intercooler.

          #886993
          asetoftoolsasetoftools
          Participant

            Ah man! thats lucky!

            Reminds me of the time when i was younger that i used the trunk release wire in my car to wire my amp and sub in the trunk. I find trunk releases from the cabin to be insecure anyways so i thought.. why not!

            So what happened? i was driving along, rocking that bass, and suddenly the cabin starts to fill with smoke and my girlfriend at the time starts screaming! we pull over and both get the F out of that car as fast as possible! i pull out the battery connection (just ripped it right off the terminal i was so amped up!), but by that time the smoke was starting to clear and there was no visible fire.

            Problem was that a cheap chinese fuse i bought at the dollar store melted in the fuseblock and the metal parts of the fuse contacted heating up the wire and burning the coating off the wire all the way along.

            luckily, that was unbelievably the only wire in the harness that was damaged! i removed teh melted mess of a fuse and started the car up and drove it home.

            Then i ran 10 gauge to the trunk a few weeks later and it was all good after that.

            I was cleaning burned wire goo from various spots on the chassis and under the dash for years afterwards, but it could have been FAR worse!

            I always remember that mythbusters episode where they try and try again to light liquid fuel on fire and simply cant do it. their conclusion was it has to be vapourized to ignite by heat, or static, or shot from a gun (kinetic), or whatever. But i guess spraying a bunch of fuel all over the engine compartment with a (backfiring?) carb and literal flames was enough to do it in your case! im sure there was plenty of aresolized vapour in your engine bay at the time as well.

            man so lucky… eric does the learning so we don’t have to!

            #891759
            KevinKevin
            Participant

              Caught my Eaton supercharged Mazda MX3 on fire about three months ago. Very similar cause, but it was a failure of a boost activated regulator (FMU). Except I was on the highway when it happened. Don’t do this LOL. I almost have her put back together with a bigger motor and I’m going to use an after-market computer this time. Scary stuff

              #891760
              KevinKevin
              Participant

                If anybody is wondering I botched a rebuild on the fmu, (inappropriate gasket material, yeah I know) the fmu locked up completely, immediately causing a leak and extreme rich condition… obviously from Eric’s video, use Extreme Caution with fuel pressure mods

                #891783
                EricTheCarGuy 1EricTheCarGuy
                Keymaster

                  Sorry to hear that. Yea, be very careful when working with the fuel system.

                  #891786
                  KevinKevin
                  Participant

                    Thanks for the reply. Ironically fuel flow is the only thing I’m hung up with on the 1.8 installation now. Noid lights, pressure gauge, runs with starter fluid.. I’m down to bench testing the injectors, it is a low mileage motor but it was warehoused for 6 years

                    #959478
                    Jeff KelleyJeff Kelley
                    Participant

                      In Hot Rod Magazine, Eric mentioned the Fairmont fire. Check it out: https://www.hotrod.com/articles/eric-car-guys-turbo-fairmont/

                      #961037
                      JamesJames
                      Participant

                        That’s a very unfortunate accident. Everyone one really need to be extra cautious working with highly combustible fuel.

                        #961989
                        Andrew smithAndrew smith
                        Participant

                          This is insane

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