Here's what happen i was cut off in the snow and I was and ran into about 6inches of snow. Upon trying to rock the car back and forth from reverse to drive something when terrible wrong. All i know is the car lost all power and shut off lights engine and everything. I jumped out and notice I had a small fire coming from the passenger side of the bottom of the motor. I was scared as F*** called 911 to put the fire out and the fire was already gone. After about 10 minutes of the car sitting it regained electrical power lights and everything besept it attempting to crank or click noise. Now a few months ago I had the starter replaced from smelling a burning wire do you think I blew the starter again? Please help me please car is stuck on the road side.
Help Me Please Someone!!!! Fire underneath
- Thread starter lsev8
- Start date
antonio fuller
Well-Known LVC Member
Ok spool you replaced starter because you had burning smell then you run over snow and somethings on fire on pat side umm. I would say who put the starter in check all wires make sure its the correct starter replace all brunt wires
Sounds like it........ Although, not being there...... What caused the burning in the first place?
me being super a**hole going from reverse to drive trying to rock it out a stuck position in the snow after several attempts. Thats when it happen. I can turn the key lights get kinda dimm radio comes on but i get nothing no clicks or attempts at all. This car is so low I have to get it on a lift. But it was def a small fire under their you think I burned a wire to the starter is this un heard of? And when the starter went last time my mechanic said that I was lucky then it didnt catch on fire.Hopefully its nothing major cause as soon as I fix it FOR SALE it goes!
I guess the snow (water) could have shorted-out the wiring to the starter.
Worst case? I would think the PCM also shorted-out. Best case? The started shorted-out before any real damage was done.
At best this is just a guess.
Yes and no.... The PCM is replaceable.
After sleeping on this I think I misinterpreted your initial post. I'm pretty sure there should be no power going to the starter unless you're actually starting the car. If there was, I would suspect you would hear the starter gear grinding against the ring gear.
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
Actually no. The starter has a high power connection to the battery that is always live. There's a solenoid switch on the starter itself that switches power to the starter motor, but the cable that attaches to the starter is always live.
Somehow, the snow or something hidden in the snow must have pulled a cable loose or otherwise shorted something to it. I would guess that the worst case will be if the long cable from the battery to the junction at the front passenger wheel is damaged.
Thanks you guys I wish I could take a picture. I went back to the car today and look underneath and it looks like the red cable that going to the starter is charred and burned. Does this sound like a simple fix after I get a tow. I still have all electric in the car lights radio,dash lights,everything but no start.
Telco
Dedicated LVC Member
I had something similar happen to an old truck (87 Chevy halfton with a PCM) I had. I installed headers, and thought I had everything secured but did not notice that the wiring had enough free play to hit the headers. 3 months later I started having intermittent periods where the truck would die completely for a split second. I never found a problem until one day the truck died and stayed dead. Wind under the truck would blow the wire against the headers. The insulation melted off enough that when the wire would touch, it would short the wire out which would kill the truck, then when the wind force reduced it came back to life. Since the burned area was facing the exhaust, and the wiring was nowhere near the exhaust when not running I didn't notice it until it burned through. Once it burned through it was obvious what had been happening. This was an engineering screwup on GM's part, because they used the starter terminal on the 81-87 trucks as the secondary systems tap instead of having it up on the firewall like it was on the 88-95 models, or inside the fusebox like it's been from 96-on. Since I was out of town when it broke I spliced it and drove it until I got back home, then I moved the wiring to the firewall like it should have been to begin with. Yes, it was my fault that the wiring was hitting on the headers, but that wiring should not have been going to the starter to begin with. Anyway, the point behind all this is once the wiring was fixed, there were no further problems.
Thanks..... I wasn't sure.
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
So, it was my worst case guess. Sorry...
oddball
Dedicated LVC Member
It's getting harder to find that wire in the boneyards as folks start to recognize that's a lot of copper. The run from the wheel well to the starter is pretty common though.
You're actually pretty lucky. That's a 2ga wire with no fuse. Can start a serious fire, lots of sparks, not to mention cooking the battery and making it vent.
You're actually pretty lucky. That's a 2ga wire with no fuse. Can start a serious fire, lots of sparks, not to mention cooking the battery and making it vent.
Telco
Dedicated LVC Member
It'd be an expensive piece as well, being made for such a small run car. Be better off picking up some 2ga welding cable and some tips to replace it. It will work just as well, but cost a lot less than other solutions.
OK thx, Here's what my mechanic told me my options because its 2 gauge wire. He suggested that like you said since they are hard to find I can maybe get away with a 2 gauge amp wires or something like that from the starter to the battery? What you think. Also he said that I guess the splash guard was never put back on that's why the starter was exposed.
Telco
Dedicated LVC Member
It would work, but might be a bit harder to route depending on the strand size. Once again I recommend 2ga welding cable for the job as it's very flexible and does a great job.
Telco
Dedicated LVC Member
Nope, not for the starter wire. Check the phone book for a welding supply store. The starter pulls a lot of amperage, and going with too small a wire can cause the wire to catch fire. Going too small can also cause starting problems when it's really cold, as the resistance of the smaller wire may prevent enough power from making it to the starter when the battery's amperage is at its lowest.