My Robin Hood nearly caught alight
Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2023 8:00 pm
So i was unsure if to start this thread as may well turn out that it is my fault this happened but as it may help others so what the hell.
So on Friday i was on my way to parents in Kings Lynn via most of a scenic route i have used to get to Stoneleigh, after approx 2 1/2 hrs the 'power lost' message came up on the TomTom that you usually get when you turn the ignition off, gave the lead a wiggle and a few seconds later the area beneath and behind the dash started to fill with smoke the smell of which was insulation melting.
As i was on a country lane i was able to pull over as i flicked the main battery isolator on the dash off ( key point 1 ), slip off Harness and jump out the car whilst shouting various absentees, flip up the bonnet catches and heave the bonnet / nosecone and scuttle combo up to see the smoke dissipating.
As there was no immediate risk i quickly grabbed a spanner and took both terminals off the easily accessible battery (key point 2 ).
After the heart beat returned to near normal i decided to have a look around hoping i could locate and sort out the issue as i had a rather good weeks driving planned, using the sniff test realized that the remains of the melting smell was still evident in the fuse box / main wiring loom under it area on the front of the tunnel.
As far as i know I am the forth owner of the car and had plans to revisit the loom and fuse box as it appeared that the original loom had been stuffed in as was and needed tidying up at least ( was on the to do list ), from having a look around it appears that the ignition pos 2 circuit had suffered a short and melted the insulation off for a fair distance that i could see already as well as partly melting adjourning wires insulation, including one of the wires on the brake res switch.
Due to the position of the fuse box and wiring it took me a only a few minutes to decide that although i could probably try and trace out and replace the obviously affected wires at the roadside i would not be able to check any of the hidden ones including under and around the rear area and the best and safest course of action would be to leave the battery disconnected then get the car moved home for a thorough check of the electrics with a mind to also cut out the unwanted wires and circuits to improve the situation overall, this might mean a new fuse box as i have done previously on the Locost during the rebuild.
So a call to insurance/recovery section had me uplifted in less than two hours to be moved to a Motorway services and a much longer wait till i got second trip home.
Back home the car was pushed in the garage and i quickly moved what was needed into the road car and came up to Kings Lynn the following day for a few days rest !
No real pics taken of the wires at the time, but will put some i did take for effect, so looking forward to taking the full bonnet, scuttle nose cone section off completely and to one side so i can crack on with checking once i get home in a week or so. Point to note i did also make sure that despite loading loads in the car for my trip i did make sure that the fire extinguisher was still accessible if needed.
So on Friday i was on my way to parents in Kings Lynn via most of a scenic route i have used to get to Stoneleigh, after approx 2 1/2 hrs the 'power lost' message came up on the TomTom that you usually get when you turn the ignition off, gave the lead a wiggle and a few seconds later the area beneath and behind the dash started to fill with smoke the smell of which was insulation melting.
As i was on a country lane i was able to pull over as i flicked the main battery isolator on the dash off ( key point 1 ), slip off Harness and jump out the car whilst shouting various absentees, flip up the bonnet catches and heave the bonnet / nosecone and scuttle combo up to see the smoke dissipating.
As there was no immediate risk i quickly grabbed a spanner and took both terminals off the easily accessible battery (key point 2 ).
After the heart beat returned to near normal i decided to have a look around hoping i could locate and sort out the issue as i had a rather good weeks driving planned, using the sniff test realized that the remains of the melting smell was still evident in the fuse box / main wiring loom under it area on the front of the tunnel.
As far as i know I am the forth owner of the car and had plans to revisit the loom and fuse box as it appeared that the original loom had been stuffed in as was and needed tidying up at least ( was on the to do list ), from having a look around it appears that the ignition pos 2 circuit had suffered a short and melted the insulation off for a fair distance that i could see already as well as partly melting adjourning wires insulation, including one of the wires on the brake res switch.
Due to the position of the fuse box and wiring it took me a only a few minutes to decide that although i could probably try and trace out and replace the obviously affected wires at the roadside i would not be able to check any of the hidden ones including under and around the rear area and the best and safest course of action would be to leave the battery disconnected then get the car moved home for a thorough check of the electrics with a mind to also cut out the unwanted wires and circuits to improve the situation overall, this might mean a new fuse box as i have done previously on the Locost during the rebuild.
So a call to insurance/recovery section had me uplifted in less than two hours to be moved to a Motorway services and a much longer wait till i got second trip home.
Back home the car was pushed in the garage and i quickly moved what was needed into the road car and came up to Kings Lynn the following day for a few days rest !
No real pics taken of the wires at the time, but will put some i did take for effect, so looking forward to taking the full bonnet, scuttle nose cone section off completely and to one side so i can crack on with checking once i get home in a week or so. Point to note i did also make sure that despite loading loads in the car for my trip i did make sure that the fire extinguisher was still accessible if needed.