FIRE IN SC ENGINE COMPARTMENT

dan proudfoot · 08-18-2009, 01:03 PM

Driving in 90 degree heat last Friday, with engine temp 215 degrees, the plastic hose connected to the heater blower and the sound inhibiting pad on the firewall ahead of the engine somehow conspired to catch fire.
That is, chunks of the pad fell down and turned to flame at the bottom front of the engine - that was the view I was confronted with when I opened the lid. And the blower plastic hose had split and partially melted from the heat. I am not sure of the order of these two events. Maybe the hose melted first, then hot air was directed on the sound deadening pad, and then the pad fell apart/ignited.
Good thing I had a fire extinguisher with me.
Anyone have a similar experience?
Dan Proudfoot, Toronto

douglas bray · 08-18-2009, 03:34 PM

Welcome to rennlist Dan. You'll figure it out....

Daniel Dudley · 08-18-2009, 08:27 PM

No gas leak ?

theiceman · 08-18-2009, 08:29 PM

Welcome aboard Dan

i was wondering when you and your SC would finally get here ....
Dan is quite the author in his own right and I read his stuff in the local papers for years. Great to see after all those car articles written you decided on an SC for your leisure ride

Well It was cooking out last Friday for sure and I stayed in doors. 210 on the motor sounds about right if you ended up in some stop and go traffic but that should not be enought to cause issues. A couple of questions , or comments .

You should not have a plastic hose on the car if it is the line I am thinking of .. The output from the heater blower should be aluminized cardboard and should not melt. The only big plastic duct should run from from the input of the heater blower to a plenum on top left of the engine. The plastic hose may explain the fire.

If your car has AC you should have a restrictor that makes the output heater hose smaller to get by the compressor.

I did have the noise pad fall apart on me too. I did a partial drop, ripped it all out and replaced it sometime later. That stuff gets EVERYWHERE so the sooner you rip it out the better. On mine it sucked it into the engine by the cooling fan and it got stuck on top of the engine as it was sticky from an oil leak.

Better to clean it all up if you can.

BTW Dan it is customary to post pics of your ride when you join or we will really have to haze you ..

As you know I have my 78 sc ( " Project 78 SC Targa" you may know it as ) out in Toronto quite often at the Satuday morning get together at our top secret location behind chapters on the queensway ... DOH ..!
Come down any time and we can compare notes and swap stories...

So again a big welcome to Rennlist .. and don't forget to check out the canadian forum in the "jump to " section on the left.

theiceman · 08-18-2009, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daniel Dudley

No gas leak ?

did he SAY Carrera ?

theiceman · 08-18-2009, 08:51 PM

somehow you ended up with a double post Dan . After reading your other one I suspect your sound deadening pad ignited and caused the other damage. Hope it isn't oo bad ...

slownrusty · 08-18-2009, 08:52 PM

Dan - Are you related to Jeff Berdin?

dan proudfoot · 08-18-2009, 09:39 PM

Thanks to all for your replies.
The 'plastic' hose from the heater blower was stock. Only difference I can see is that my mechanic charged $50-plus Cdn. for the replacement part whereas I see it on Pelican for $3-plus.
I remain mystified.
As for the note from the Toronto area SC enthusiast, I am really happy you've got in touch; however, I will be out of town the next couple of weeks, otherwise hope to make it to the secret location behind Chapters.
Dan Proudfoot

rusnak · 08-18-2009, 11:53 PM

Hi Dan, and Welcome.

I can't imagine air from the heater causing a fire. The ignition source was electrical, or gas.

I also think 215F oil temp is way too hot in 90F ambient heat. Were you running your heater blower to push air through the heat exchangers? This is a good technique to deal with high engine heat. Perhaps the heater motor is going bad. Sometimes an electrical motor will actually catch fire if it is going bad. The coil can get hot enough to start a fire.

I think the blower also blows toward the rear, but I can be wrong about that. I would probably buy parts myself in the future, rather than go back to the same guy.

08-18-2009, 01:03 PM	#1
dan proudfoot Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 3	FIRE IN SC ENGINE COMPARTMENT Driving in 90 degree heat last Friday, with engine temp 215 degrees, the plastic hose connected to the heater blower and the sound inhibiting pad on the firewall ahead of the engine somehow conspired to catch fire. That is, chunks of the pad fell down and turned to flame at the bottom front of the engine - that was the view I was confronted with when I opened the lid. And the blower plastic hose had split and partially melted from the heat. I am not sure of the order of these two events. Maybe the hose melted first, then hot air was directed on the sound deadening pad, and then the pad fell apart/ignited. Good thing I had a fire extinguisher with me. Anyone have a similar experience? Dan Proudfoot, Toronto

08-18-2009, 08:29 PM	#4
theiceman Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Cambridge Ontario Posts: 9,189	Welcome aboard Dan i was wondering when you and your SC would finally get here .... Dan is quite the author in his own right and I read his stuff in the local papers for years. Great to see after all those car articles written you decided on an SC for your leisure ride Well It was cooking out last Friday for sure and I stayed in doors. 210 on the motor sounds about right if you ended up in some stop and go traffic but that should not be enought to cause issues. A couple of questions , or comments . You should not have a plastic hose on the car if it is the line I am thinking of .. The output from the heater blower should be aluminized cardboard and should not melt. The only big plastic duct should run from from the input of the heater blower to a plenum on top left of the engine. The plastic hose may explain the fire. If your car has AC you should have a restrictor that makes the output heater hose smaller to get by the compressor. I did have the noise pad fall apart on me too. I did a partial drop, ripped it all out and replaced it sometime later. That stuff gets EVERYWHERE so the sooner you rip it out the better. On mine it sucked it into the engine by the cooling fan and it got stuck on top of the engine as it was sticky from an oil leak. Better to clean it all up if you can. BTW Dan it is customary to post pics of your ride when you join or we will really have to haze you .. As you know I have my 78 sc ( " Project 78 SC Targa" you may know it as ) out in Toronto quite often at the Satuday morning get together at our top secret location behind chapters on the queensway ... DOH ..! Come down any time and we can compare notes and swap stories... So again a big welcome to Rennlist .. and don't forget to check out the canadian forum in the "jump to " section on the left. __________________ 78 SC Targa 76 XS360 95 Audi 90 Sport 09 Maxima Gone but not forgotten 87 944S " I'm not very smart but I know how to google "

08-18-2009, 08:51 PM	#6
theiceman Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Cambridge Ontario Posts: 9,189	somehow you ended up with a double post Dan . After reading your other one I suspect your sound deadening pad ignited and caused the other damage. Hope it isn't oo bad ... __________________ 78 SC Targa 76 XS360 95 Audi 90 Sport 09 Maxima Gone but not forgotten 87 944S " I'm not very smart but I know how to google "

08-18-2009, 09:39 PM	#8
dan proudfoot Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 3	FROM DAN PROUDFOOT Thanks to all for your replies. The 'plastic' hose from the heater blower was stock. Only difference I can see is that my mechanic charged $50-plus Cdn. for the replacement part whereas I see it on Pelican for $3-plus. I remain mystified. As for the note from the Toronto area SC enthusiast, I am really happy you've got in touch; however, I will be out of town the next couple of weeks, otherwise hope to make it to the secret location behind Chapters. Dan Proudfoot

08-18-2009, 11:53 PM	#9
rusnak Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 4,173	Hi Dan, and Welcome. I can't imagine air from the heater causing a fire. The ignition source was electrical, or gas. I also think 215F oil temp is way too hot in 90F ambient heat. Were you running your heater blower to push air through the heat exchangers? This is a good technique to deal with high engine heat. Perhaps the heater motor is going bad. Sometimes an electrical motor will actually catch fire if it is going bad. The coil can get hot enough to start a fire. I think the blower also blows toward the rear, but I can be wrong about that. I would probably buy parts myself in the future, rather than go back to the same guy. __________________ I run from earth-crossing asteroids...or from cross, earthy women on steroids.

08-18-2009, 03:34 PM	#2
douglas bray Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: California Posts: 7,571	Welcome to rennlist Dan. You'll figure it out....

08-18-2009, 08:27 PM	#3
Daniel Dudley Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 4,429	No gas leak ?

08-18-2009, 08:52 PM	#7
slownrusty User Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,562	Dan - Are you related to Jeff Berdin?