dgrspeed

has any one heard of any problems with c4's having electrical fires? i was awoken last night to my 95 vette in flames it is a total loss. however i still have a 94 vette so i need info if this is common or is gm keeping something from the public and not telling. the car was just sitting in the driveway and the fire marshall said it started in behind the battery were the fuses or relays are then it went, can anyone shed some light on this to check my other c4 so it does not happen again . i am still in shock at the loss of such a buetiful car

Patrick96LT4

First, I am so sorry to hear about you losing your Vette. My 96 burned on May 10th of this year. I miss it too. My fire sounds amazingly similar to yours. If you would like to talk on the phone, send me an e-mail.

Don Martin

They are burning up all over the place it seems. There was just one that burned in a parking lot. The fire started in the dash it was said.

Mine almost burned last month. The wire bundle that runs along the shifter under the console rubbed thru the insulation and grounded to a bolt head. It melted the Viper alarm that was not fused!. The light wires in the Viper became the "fuse" and almost set the car on fire.

That cost me $703 to fix.

I am going to buy a fire extinguister tomorrow!!!

AquaMetallic94LT1

It would be worthwhile to find out what caused this. I think we would all like to keep out C4s.

I have heard of interference problems between batteries with top mount terminals and the cruise control bracket. This appears to be a problem on later model C4s.

Patrick96LT4

It would make sense to investigate it. But, it is difficult considering the insurance company flat beds the car away, declares it "totalled" and you never see it again. Doesn't leave much time.

vettenuts

I am not sure if it is the same problem, but the 90 had a safety recall for wire insulation being chafed under the dash. You may want to check that out. Although I would have to think they fixed it in the later models, it might be a good place to start your research.

PS: Sorry to hear about your car.

white93vette

Wow. Sorry to hear about your fires. I'm wondering if any of you guys who had fires had aftermarket accessories? If these cars are just burning up in stock condition, it something all of us would need to worry about.

Kale

Jackyl's just burned down.. electrical fire from the tell-tale light panel...

I'm going to go buy a toyota, now.. thanks..

Randy

Dgrspeed...I'm very sorry for you loss. When patrick lost his car I got worried. (My car is like the twin of his, except I havn't made it into the 12's yet. ) Now with your fire and Jackyl's I'm getting down right scared. If my car burns in the garage it will take most of the house with it. Maybe time for detectors in the garage.

Hey Patrick...From the pics I saw, it looked like your fire started near the battery also. Is that right?

white93vette

I wonder if statistically there are any more fires with Vettes versus any other car. Maybe not. Though when a Vette burns, that fiberglass doesn't seem to stand up quite as well as steel.

bogus

I am beginning to worry, too... this would be a bad thing... at least I don't have a garage to worry about!

I always wondered about the exposed nature of the electrics there behind the battery... one frayed wire and your in deep doo-doo.

I think it is time to get up with GM and find out if this is a real problem. Also, check with NTHSA... they issue the recalls...

To be honest, Jackyls car was older, and as such, who knows what caused that one to light off... it was also in the dash, but that was mentioned as a recall issue earlier in this thread.

Jay Axson

Makes me nervous to have mine in the garage! I have kids to think about. I wondering if it's worth risk just to keep the car away from the elements.

Jay
92 LT1

Jay Axson

My God, did that happen in your garage? [img]http]//www.corvetteforum.cc/ubb/frown.gif[/img]

Man that sucks. Sorry to all that have had this happen.

Jay
92 LT1

Ray Zavorka

Dear Patrick:

I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your car.

When I was looking for mine, I did see a number of burned cars, but most were in a building or garage fire and did not ignite by themselves. One did but it was a fuel tank fire.

With this situation fresh in all of our minds, and with the warm weather, it is a good time to divert our attention from
speed and modifications to being better mechanics and also being our own "Fire Marshall". When I got my car I gave it a very thorough inspection and I did find sever potential fire hazzards or rather fires looking for a place to happen. In the
very same location that your car started,
I found that some genius had replaced the Power and Burn Off relays and simply left the loose behind the battery and rubbing against other components. One wire had already become bare. I would suggest a very through inspection of everyones cars with some quality electrical tape, shrink tubing and a handfull of tie wraps. Systematically walk aroud the car with a strong work light looking for unsecured wires, wires rubbing, fuel leaks, coolant leaks, oil leaks or literally anything that is not the way it should be. Most of us will find something that needs attention.

Someone mentioned the top terminals of the battery. I would suggest that aftermarket batteries with suplimental top terminals not be used in the C4 application.

Ray

Mika Renwall

Hello dgrspeed ! I am very sorry about your car. Your case looks very identical to the mess i had with my vette 2 years ago. I repaired mine eventhough it was a true pain in the a** to do it. In my case i came to the conclusion that the fire started somewhere from the Delco-Bose system. Can´t be 100% sure about it ,but that´s what it looked like when i checked the wire harnesses inside dash. (they were ok after the fire, but all stereo related wires were molten real bad). My vette is a lot older than yours (-89) but i thought i´ll tell my story as well. I feel your pain, i´ve been there too.
Mika

J Z06

Yeesh.... Patrick...Jackyl now you... Sorry to read this. Once again, The Car is easy to replace YOU are not. Glad all is well with you.

olephart

Save some time and just pick the GM response you like best from the list below.

1. What fire?
2. Never heard of that happening before.
3. It's within normal parameters.
4. It's your fault.
4 a. after market parts fault.
4 b. lack of proper maintenance.
4 c. Fo*d is responsible.
5. Arson.
6. So, sue us.

I think number 2 would be about right - maybe 4.

wake

I put an Optima red-top battery in my 96... In order to avoid problems with the top posts, I had to notch the CC bracket to clear the + terminal...

The terminal was capped with a plastic top, but I knew that with vibration I would never get away with depending on the plastic to insulate the + terminal from grounding on the CC bracket...

Rubyred

I don't know to whom it should be reported, but have you told the feds? If not, you should. Several incident reports would probably start an investigation and/or recall. That would be of better benefit to C-4 owners than just passing it along to Corvette Forum members.

honas

What about using a battery disconnect switch? Sure you will lose the radio presets but would it hurt anything else?