[Arcadia335]

I would like to post this topic as being informative and nothing but an attempt to figure out what the heck happen to my car so it doesn't happen to me or anyone else.


Here are the facts. Five laps into a race and my car begins to produce light smoke through the vents; starts to smell like an electrical fire. I immediately pull over to pop the hood and sure enough there is a small fire under the valve cover cover. Fire crew is right there and he puts it out with a water extinguisher. The fire returns so i rip off the cover and the fire is knocked down for good.

Looking at the burn patterns, the fire started from the firewall area then towards the front. It looks like it started at the coil and ran across the cover.

Valve cover seems to be in tact, but the coil closest to the firewall took the most damage and seems like that was the point of origin due to the amount of fire it took and the burn pattern. Has anyone ever heard of this type of accident?

Yes I have a meth kit but was not running it at the time. BMS Ww kit but that was untouched by the fire.

Checked the laptop with BT and it said DME Failure, obviously! 30BB

No I am not going to take it to the dealer and say my car caught on fire fix it. It is fully modded so I realize there is a risk when racing.

Any ideas?

[Arcadia335]

[Arcadia335]

[dbjb]

Meth. That's why. Get your post count up and PM me. I'll go into more detail.

EDIT: Seeing that you're "new," I'll assume you have at least visited here before. I know you say you weren't running meth but I would still challenge that it was in your WW tank. Something probably spilled out either through the cap if it wasn't secure or perhaps vapor somehow. Either way, it probably touched the exhaust manifold and lit up. Once a fire exists, it will get under your engine cover that contains a sound proof foam. That foam will cause a slow burn damaging everything beneath (harness, coils, injectors, valve cover, etc.) I say you have about $25-3000 worth in part damage, hopefully nothing more. If you're mechanically inclined, you can do it yourself sans the injector coding. If not, expect to I dunno 8-10 labor hours I guess.

Now, if you're absolutely positive it wasn't meth (or can't be linked to it), you can pull all your mods and put in an insurance claim. Most will cover fire especially if unknown what caused it. For example, although unlikely, it could've been a short. Who knows. It's worth a try and might save you thousands.

Good luck.

[Beemw335]

Your lucky nothing happened to you, good luck with the repair, I would claim insurance if I were you.
Only a mechanic could potentially tell how it started after examining it.

[Arcadia335]

Meth tube was untouched...I'm not saying I disagree with you but...all meth lines were untouched and I'm thinking if my Meth caught, my whole care would be toast...

[Arcadia335]

Originally Posted by Beemw335

Your lucky nothing happened to you, good luck with the repair, I would claim insurance if I were you.
Only a mechanic could potentially tell how it started after examining it.

I'm not going to claim insurance. I gotta sleep at night. It's at a mechanic right now.

[skinrock]

Originally Posted by Arcadia335

Meth tube was untouched...I'm not saying I disagree with you but...all meth lines were untouched and I'm thinking if my Meth caught, my whole care would be toast...

Could have splashed out, no? Was the WW cap loose when you checked everything out after the fire?

[Dr. G]

Spoke to someone today who had an underhood fire as well... he was not running meth and never had a meth kit installed. Kind of scary.

[Beemw335]

Meth could have easily been the issue, the reservoir cap is a joke and never properly closes. Lines might have had small leaks.
Jeff warned people not switch to trunk kits a while ago.
Good luck op keep us posted.

[Arcadia335]

Originally Posted by skinrock

Could have splashed out, no? Was the WW cap loose when you checked everything out after the fire?

No, cap was tight. And my meth was really low.

The first coil by the firewall which is was under the cover took the most damage and heat. The entire fire was under the valve cover COVER.

[Arcadia335]

Originally Posted by Beemw335

Meth could have easily been the issue, the reservoir cap is a joke and never properly closes. Lines might have had small leaks.
Jeff warned people not switch to trunk kits a while ago.
Good luck op keep us posted.

Again, I'm not trying just argue here but,

meth lines are fine (first thing we checked) and the cap was on tight. If you look at the pictures, the meth tube has no damage. I normally run 100% meth so I'm thinking if my meth caught fire it would have all flashed right away. Just thinking out loud.

[Arcadia335]

Agree on the reservoir cap being a joke.

[Arcadia335]

Originally Posted by Dr. G

Spoke to someone today who had an underhood fire as well... he was not running meth and never had a meth kit installed. Kind of scary.

Yes. I was not running meth. Nor was my Meth tank full. My fire originated at the coil by the firewall IMO. After the fire, the first coil by the fire wall was ash white while the fire extended towards the bumper. Ash white kinda like charcoal thats been burning a long time.

[Arcadia335]

Originally Posted by Dr. G

Spoke to someone today who had an underhood fire as well... he was not running meth and never had a meth kit installed. Kind of scary.

Maybe you can have him jump in on this awesome discussion!

[dbjb]

How are you so sure where it started? You have any pics of the engine cover? I bet it shows fire (flame) damage on the side of the exhaust manifold.

[Arcadia335]

I have the cover and its in the car which isn't at my house

The exhaust manifold is fine. The only damage was done to the area where the coils sit and the cover. I'm sure underneath the debris we will find out more. The fire was localized to under the cover.

No way am I sure that the fire was originated from the coil, but if you look at the picture thats where the most damage is.

The coils toward the firewall has less charring. What do you think?

[dbjb]

Originally Posted by Arcadia335

I have the cover and its in the car which isn't at my house

The exhaust manifold is fine. The only damage was done to the area where the coils sit and the cover. I'm sure underneath the debris we will find out more. The fire was localized to under the cover.

No way am I sure that the fire was originated from the coil, but if you look at the picture thats where the most damage is.

The coils toward the firewall has less charring. What do you think?

I think it looks very similiar to this image...
Let me tell you what this poor guy went through. Felt bad for the guy but he has since removed his meth kit and is satisfied with simply FBO.

First, let me find the image he sent...

[Arcadia335]

Holy shit that looks fn identical!!!!!! Looks like they used a dry chemical extinguisher

[dbjb]

Because I'm lazy, I'll just quote myself from another thread...

Originally Posted by dsbj

Oh there's something to it for sure. An open flame on the manifold in itself doesn't necessarily cause the damage. But if that flame touches the sound deadening foam under the cover, shit will smolder. An extinguisher will not take it out. You'll have to unscrew or forcibly rip off the cover. By that time, count on replacing the engine cover and wire harness. More than likely all the coils, and injectors as they have plastic components. Then the valve cover will get warped. Hopefully, that doesn't burn through. If not, cool. Oh and those fuel lines and fuel rail might need replacing unless you can live with charred components. I'm probably near $3k in parts now. Better know how to DIY otherwise double the cost.

[dbjb]

Here's his engine cover. Notice where the fire appeared to be? Opposite the WW reservoir (which isn't damaged) and just above the exhaust manifold. Guess what, he was running low on meth at the time too. Perhaps it's safer to run full. Perhaps meth vapor can catch fire easily. Who knows.

[Arcadia335]

Originally Posted by dsbj

Meth. That's why. Get your post count up and PM me. I'll go into more detail.

EDIT: Seeing that you're "new," I'll assume you have at least visited here before. I know you say you weren't running meth but I would still challenge that it was in your WW tank. Something probably spilled out either through the cap if it wasn't secure or perhaps vapor somehow. Either way, it probably touched the exhaust manifold and lit up. Once a fire exists, it will get under your engine cover that contains a sound proof foam. That foam will cause a slow burn damaging everything beneath (harness, coils, injectors, valve cover, etc.) I say you have about $25-3000 worth in part damage, hopefully nothing more. If you're mechanically inclined, you can do it yourself sans the injector coding. If not, expect to I dunno 8-10 labor hours I guess.

Now, if you're absolutely positive it wasn't meth (or can't be linked to it), you can pull all your mods and put in an insurance claim. Most will cover fire especially if unknown what caused it. For example, although unlikely, it could've been a short. Who knows. It's worth a try and might save you thousands.

Good luck.

I'm contemplating fixing it and selling it. I can't do an insurance claim. I'm sure it was related to my racing somehow someway. I think I'm done with the N54. Kick ass motor but geez, too much drama It's been a great car!