Fire...

[cboosh]

So, I bought my dream... A 1984 911 targa, no whale tail exactly 10 days ago... Been driving her daily and loving it.

Today she caught on fire...

What a kick to the balls! FORTUNATELY, I and my 14 yo son escaped without major injury. I only have some blisters on my left hand.

The AC had previously been removed from this car, but, the condenser fan in the trunk was still there. That's where the fire started. My tech guy says this must be the cause.

The car is not totaled though... But I'm not sure I'm brave enough to drive her after the repairs are complete. The damage is limited to the inside of the trunk, forward of the battery, and the battery is, um, melty.

I'm already thinking "sell"...

Share your thoughts for the noob?

[dentist90]

Wow. That sucks. Apparently the front condenser fan is known to have problems that lead to meltdowns/fires when the motor seizes. There is a concensus that this non-fused blower needs to be fused (I plan to next season), yet in most of the pics of the carnage I have seen the wires are intact. It wasn't the wires overheating but the motor brushes. If that is the case having a fuse won't necessarily help as the motor burned up before the wires overheated. I'm curious.. if it's not too painful could you post some pics of your melted motor so we can see if the fire started in the wires or the motor brush area? Was it already fused by any chance?
I wouldn't get rid of it because of this, however! New fan (fused), new battery, new paint and it'll never happen again (especially if you disconnect it if it's not being used. Strange that it was on if you have no AC, or were you using the AC system just for a breeze?) There are more expensive fixes to be done than this, so chin up!

[DocHop]

Wow...sorry to hear about this unfortunate event. Glad I purchased a Fire extinguisher last week...time to install it !

[SoCalSK8r]

This reminds me- I need an extinguisher ASAP. Glad u are ok.

[Ferrino]

Which extinguisher did you buy?

[porsche930dude]

dont sell it man! electrical propblems happen on a 30 year old car. espicially a newly aquired one that has probrobly been sitting around. thats why at most antique cars you are required to have a fire extinguisher . lucky you were able to save it for sure. dont feel like its a time bomb. its not like every little problem will catch the car on fire. usually those motors dont catch on fire when they burn out just some melted plastic around the brushes. the fresh air blower infront of the dash board does the same thing.

[Kidasters]

Don't sell it. Fix it and just plug the hole. You said the A/C was pulled anyway, so you really don't need that condenser fan.

At the same time - it's a 30 year old car. So - while it is being fixed, think of other "safety critical" things you might want to work on - brakes, fuel lines, hoses, seat belts. Get everything squared away and drive with confidence.

And now that you bring it up, I'm going to put a fire-extinguisher in mine right now.

[tirwin]

Good time to mention that the dash lights are not fused. Quite handy to do that little mod. I am on the go or else I would post a link.

Sorry to hear about your fire and that you and your som are safe! Don't sell the car. It is machinery made by man. It can be fixed!

[mreid]

Same thing happened to me driving from Chicago to Philly with my wife in our newly acquired 86 930. We were just outside of Pittsburgh, when smoke started coming through the vents. I pullled over and smoke was pouring out of the trunk. Popped it and used my wife's water bottle to put it out. This was a 40k mile pristing RUF 930! The brnad new battery had a slight melt and there was smoke damage, but otherwise seemed fine. I unplugged the completely melted condenser fan, closed the trunk, and told my wife it was time to go. She was half way down the road and thought I was crazy! I finally got her back in the car and the rest of our trip was uneventful other than the sheer joy of driving that incredible machine!

Stuff happens and no one was hurt. Fix it, fuse it, and continue to drive. Life is always better when a Porsche is involved!

[rattlsnak]

ill take it off your hands if you don't want to mess with it..

[cboosh]

I don't have any pics. The car was towed to my garage. I did not have an extinguisher in the car. 4th car to pass me was a dump truck with one. Thank god! I only shudder to think how much worse this could be.
The ac fan switch must have been on since I picked her up, I never bothered trying the switches, knowing it was supposed to have been removed.

I don't plan on being able to sleep much tonight.

Standing in the road hoping for as much as a bottle of water to extinguish your burning car would keep many of us awake.

I will be buying extinguishers for all my cars tomorrow.

I expected some niggles from a 30yr old car, and a few electrical problems... But... Not this.

'night all

[Kidasters]

Try and de-stress. You've been through a pretty traumatic event.

Review all of this in a few days when you have a clear head.

And remember - you are OK and so is your son. That's the important thing.

Ken

[DRACO A5OG]

Wait, if AC was pulled, did they forget to disable the rest of it? Wierd. That means it was constantly on, you did not hear a whirling noise up front?

In any case, don't sell brother, just fix it and check everything else to be certain there are no open circuits. I would think a PPI would have caught that.???

[Jack Stands]

The easiest may be to simply remove the blower and plug up the hole. There are several threads about adding additional fuses to the footwell blowers, instrument lights, and front condenser fan.

I also just acquired an 84 Targa, and am going through things one by one. So far, I did put in some additional inline fuses, and also added a third brake light so brain dead SUV driver's may have a better chance to see me while texting!

Remember, stuff does happen to 30 year old cars, but they're just as much fun as all the newer ones, and a whole lot simpler to maintain. When I stop by the Porsche dealer, I feel like I'm looking at an entirely different animal than the one I love. I guess it's called progress by some........

[86 911 Targa]

Originally Posted by cboosh

So, I bought my dream... A 1984 911 targa, no whale tail exactly 10 days ago... Been driving her daily and loving it.

Today she caught on fire...

What a kick to the balls! FORTUNATELY, I and my 14 yo son escaped without major injury. I only have some blisters on my left hand.

The AC had previously been removed from this car, but, the condenser fan in the trunk was still there. That's where the fire started. My tech guy says this must be the cause.

The car is not totaled though... But I'm not sure I'm brave enough to drive her after the repairs are complete. The damage is limited to the inside of the trunk, forward of the battery, and the battery is, um, melty.

I'm already thinking "sell"...

Share your thoughts for the noob?

Please have a look at my posts/threads "Added Fuses and Relays"

Fusing and relays were not Porsche's finest hour for the pre 993 models.

Good luck,

Gerry

[g_vaxed]

Get this: I did the added fuse mod to the front fan condenser ^^^ YESTERDAY! Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Sounds like fixable damage and hey---that's what insurance is for, right?!

[Brown747]

Dash lighting fuse installation

[E Sully]

Fire is a very scary thing. For peace of mind consider a kill switch for the battery. Good theft protection at the same time. I had a small electrical fire in mine when I first bought it. I was driving at night in the middle of a bridge when the lights started to flicker and smoke came from head light switch. I had to shut off the lights and get off at the first exit. Couple of wires had shorted and melted the insulation. Nerve wracking, but no serious damage.
Also, I would reccommend buying a set of fuel lines from BoxterGT, Len. No matter what the mileage, the rubber lines are old and get brittle. Pelican Parts Technical BBS - View Profile: BoxsterGT

Originally Posted by BoxsterGT

Here are a set of hoses for a 3.2 911C I made up recently.................



These are the usual 3.2 engine hoses along with sets of front & rear chassis hoses, all done in Metric Braided Stainless Steel. They are made to mate with the Polyamid tunnel lines shown above.

A note about my braided fuel hoses; they use the same rubber compound and have the same lifetime as the plain rubber multi-fuel hose. The only benefit is a bit of abrasion resistance and bling.

Please NO PM's. For answers to your questions, Email me and I will reply with Photos & price details.

Len

[r-mm]

Can someone clarify this point? I too have the A/C compressor and rear condenser removed from my car and considered myself insulated from this problem. I occasionally run the fan when it gets hot in the cabin. What triggers the front condenser fan?

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

Wait, if AC was pulled, did they forget to disable the rest of it? Wierd. That means it was constantly on, you did not hear a whirling noise up front?

In any case, don't sell brother, just fix it and check everything else to be certain there are no open circuits. I would think a PPI would have caught that.???

[86 911 Targa]

Originally Posted by r-mm

Can someone clarify this point? I too have the A/C compressor and rear condenser removed from my car and considered myself insulated from this problem. I occasionally run the fan when it gets hot in the cabin. What triggers the front condenser fan?

The console mounted temperature switch,
and the A/C relay mounted on the fuse panel.