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HELP! 1986 engine fire

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Old Jul 22, 2011 | 10:13 PM
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Default HELP! 1986 engine fire

So my fan caught on fire somehow and melted to the radiator, and my oil and coolant temp werent high. The only damage is the fan radiator and fan shroud, and maybe the MAF. My question is why my car wont start and the digital display wont come up. The radio works and the car wont even crank.
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Old Jul 22, 2011 | 10:22 PM
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Check all your fuses first. The fire had to be electrical in nature and may have fried fuses and relays.
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Old Jul 22, 2011 | 10:30 PM
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the fuses were good
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Old Jul 22, 2011 | 10:39 PM
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Pics?
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Old Jul 22, 2011 | 10:59 PM
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let me take some and figure out how to post them
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Old Jul 22, 2011 | 11:24 PM
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http://s1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/86corvette/

this is my photobucket URL I could not get the pictures uploaded to this forum
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Old Jul 22, 2011 | 11:29 PM
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Originally Posted by 1986 4+3 CORVETTE
So my fan caught on fire somehow and melted to the radiator, and my oil and coolant temp werent high. The only damage is the fan radiator and fan shroud, and maybe the MAF. My question is why my car wont start and the digital display wont come up. The radio works and the car wont even crank.
Check the Fusible Links right below the battery tray on the driver's side.

Likely there are burnt out fusible links there after the electric cooling fan fire.
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Old Jul 23, 2011 | 12:20 PM
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I agree., melted wires usually mean shorted wires. the fusible links probably protected the rest of your wiring. cut the damaged area apart and replace the individual wires, then go for the fusible links.
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Old Jul 23, 2011 | 12:32 PM
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Old Jul 23, 2011 | 12:32 PM
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Old Jul 23, 2011 | 12:33 PM
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Old Jul 23, 2011 | 12:37 PM
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nows a good time to upgrade radiators
Fusable links.
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Old Jul 24, 2011 | 10:27 AM
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That sucks ! I just went through my 87 fan system and not only was the fusable link blown but when i directly powered the fan with direct power the wire supplying the power would get so hot you could not touch it and after a few minutes the fan would stop working.

After seeing this post I find myself feeling pretty lucky !
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Old Jul 24, 2011 | 11:55 AM
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wow,worst than i thought ! change everything related (wires relay and fuses)
but most important, you must know what caused this, it wouldn't be nice to replace everything and suddenly happens again.

Here's a nice Dewitts upgrade fan :
http://www.dewitts.com/pages/product...asp?ProdID=428
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Old Jul 24, 2011 | 12:08 PM
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SPAL (?) fans are the gold standard from everything I read. Solid motors that are heavy from big magnets and very powerful to move hi-performance blades for max cooling efficiency.

Was this car equipped with a fan bypass of some sort ? ??
I'd sure undo that fan relay bypass....if thats where this originated. I've seen this result from guys doing the fan over-ride incorrectly and sending voltage to ground.
next time, do the ground wire or put a switch between the temp sensor and a ground...
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Old Jul 24, 2011 | 12:28 PM
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Lucky for you the fire did not burn into the firewall/harness.

Fusable links....

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Old Jul 24, 2011 | 01:07 PM
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That single electric Fan motor use on the early 1984 to 1989 C4's or so....

My 87 Vert has the same.........

It draws around 40 amps continuous when the fan is commanded on.

When it 1st turns on it draws 80 amps peak for a few seconds.

I checked one sunny summer day with my my Fluke Clamp On Amp Meter.
Has Peak Amperage readings, and Average amperage measured, along with real time current amperage readings.

I have seen electric fan fires in the past too.

Its more of a common occurrence on Ford Crown Vic Police cars & Lincoln Mark 8's with that Modular V8.

Brian
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To HELP! 1986 engine fire

Old Jul 24, 2011 | 02:37 PM
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Thanks guys for all the help my dad and I are gonna tear into it tomorrow, hopefully it wont be too bad
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Old Jul 24, 2011 | 08:56 PM
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that much melt, bet you have issues back in your harness that dont show
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Old Jul 24, 2011 | 09:05 PM
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lucky it wasn't near ant fuel

some early cars had issues with harness degradation.
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