Any help or information on other possible fires

[Bilsonbats.]

Hi all, 

My car caught fire yesterday, after the insurance guy came last night he seema to think its a central lock motor that caused it.

Just wondering is anyone has had or know of central locking faults that has caused a fire. 

 

[TomsFocus]

I didn't realise sun visors were made of chewing gum!

Seriously though, I haven't seen any fire risks with the Focus, that's pretty worrying tbh!

The central locking motor is at the back of the door though, where it meets the pillar, that area is more likely the window motor to me, but the insurance should know what they're talking about.

[Tdci-Peter]

14 hours ago, Bilsonbats. said:

My car caught fire yesterday,

Yeek, that is a bit of a mess. At least it looks localised, did not all go up. Though the smell of burnt plastic, & smoke damage must be pretty bad. I guess it was unoccupied, and locked up, or did you have to beat a hasty retreat?

Shows what a 12v system can do, there is a 20A fuse, usually, feeding the door module, for the window motor & c/l motor etc.

From that view, it could be a motor overheating (though another failure would be needed first to energise the motor), a failed electronic component, or wiring insulation worn through.

You havn't got any Marders in your area have you?

See:

 

PS: When I said "I hope your car wiring is eaten by Marders" in the post, I did not mean YOUR car! (See the post above the photo for explanation)

[Bilsonbats.]

Once I could get a door open and look inside the chemical smell and smoke was horrific. Fortunatly it was unoccupied on my driveway and being locked up for the night the fire burnt itself out.

Had a call today and they seem to think it was the window motor but still investigating further.

Skeptical now to get another focus, i do love that car though! 

[Tdci-Peter]

8 hours ago, Bilsonbats. said:

Skeptical now to get another focus, i do love that car though! 

I have been looking around this site some a few months now, and have not come across any other electrical fires. And Tom has been here a lot longer.

It looks like a one off. As I said, electrical systems of any power can always fail with something getting hot enough to start a fire, and with the ever increasing number of heavy duty systems in all modern cars, many of which remain powered up with the ignition off, it is a wonder fires (in all makes & models) do not happen more often.

When you look at a Ford wiring harness, it has lots of protection, extra layers in critical areas, is fastened down in lots of places, and is protected from sharp edges. They put a lot of effort into it. There will always be weak points in any design, and careless or pressurised garage mechanics not putting bits back exactly as they were intended will always be a problem.

If that photo is as found after the fire, the amount of heat generated destroyed most of the door panel, and melted the visor, but it is a testament to the design & choice of materials that the fire did not spread, and went out of its own accord. Which is what was intended.

There is a message here to all diy mechanics and modifiers: Any wiring carrying the 12v power from the battery must be fused to the lowest practical value at source, must be sized to match the fuse that protects it, and must be protected from damage to the same standard as the original wiring! (or better!)

My "marder" comment is not entirely frivolous! In Austria, where these creatures are a problem, they can fit protection systems against attack. If anyone keeps a car in a mouse infested garage, then that might cause a problem, too!

I would say stick with the Focus, it is a good car.

 

 

[jeebowhite]

I wonder if the window regulator has trapped and shorted out a wire?