Team Time Car Delorean catches fire!!

[vwdmc16]

That could have gone so much more badly, glad the damage was limited.

[Ryan King]

I've been texting Paul off and on all day. It looks to me like it was an electrical fire. If it was fuel it would've burned up entirely and been centered around the middle of the car. This only burned on the far back end.

[88KPH]

I've mentioned it before on other threads, but after also suffering an electrical/engine fire on an old VW which took 2 fire extinguishers and still kept re-igniting, you must fit a way of isolating the battery.

[john 05141]

Engine fires are not uncommon for DeLoreans.The Fuellines are under a lot of pressure. Resting on those black lines are NOT A GOOD IDEA.
It will create little cracks, with a leak as a result.
That is why I made a reasonable investment in SS fuellines. Not cheap, but it makes me feel a lot more secure. Not just a possible fire but also less risk for an engine failure.
It is a small bonus, but those SS fuellines look a lot better too.


Jan

[DMCVegas]

Engine fires are not uncommon for DeLoreans.

Ok now, lets stop right there. Because that is grossly incorrect and absolutely not true.

Engine fires are not inherent problems for the DeLorean DMC-12. Other cars may have design and engineering flaws that may make them prone to engine fires, but again, the DeLorean has no such problem.

Engine fires have a potential to occur when incompetent mechanics perform poor quality service work. Because the Crush Washers used on the Banjo Fittings are NOT reusable. Those are disposable parts. I seriously cannot stress this enough, and will say it again:

FUEL LINE CRUSH WASHERS ARE NOT REUSABLE!

They will deform to form a tight seal. But once that seal is broken, the washers must be thrown away because they can never create as good of a seal again. If it is reused there is an extremely high risk of an improper seal that can cause leaking fuel.

Stainless Steel Braided Fuel Lines are also no safer than OEM fuel lines. Both are plastic fuel lines that carry the fuel to and fro. The only difference is the covering. So instead of cushioning foam, you're just using a braided stainless webbing. Which the cracks you see in the lines are on that foam sheath, not the real lines underneath. Most importantly is the fact that no matter what type of fuel line you use, a bad seal on those crush washers is still going to cause a leak and start a fire.

High Fluid Pressures also have nothing at all to do with this. Not only has K-Jetronic alone been used in many other cars without inherent problems, but many modern motorcycles also use these same fittings with flammable hydraulic fluid in their brake lines. And they can run pressures many times higher in the 1,000 PSI range.

Gasoline is flammable no matter what pressure it is under. So it doesn't matter if you've got a leaking fuel hose, or a stuck float in a carburetor. Once gasoline escapes t's confines and hits the exhaust manifolds, or even back fires, you've got an engine fire.

If there is any common dangerous problem with DeLoreans, it would be untold numbers of unqualified mechanics that perform terrible work that risks the integrity of the car. Which in reality, isn't all that different than what any other car ever encounters.

Now I'm not trying to troll or start a fight. Hell, even I too was once under the same misgivings as to that Stainless was somehow better or safer than OEM fuel lines. But I don't want you, nor anyone else to have that false sense of security, let alone have any bad information that can seriously hurt or even kill you later on down the road. I want everyone to be educated about their cars.

[88KPH]

it would be untold numbers of unqualified mechanics that perform terrible work that risks the integrity of the car.

Rob, I think that it's really unfair to talk about those Belfast workers like that! lol


I hear you, but I guess that the idea of switching out old fuel lines, with unknown histories, that may have sat in garages and parking bays for years/decades, for the newer stainless ones, isn't a bad idea.

[Chris Burns]

Write up from Paul's page.

http://www.deloreantimemachine.online

[SamHill]

Ok now, lets stop right there. Because that is grossly incorrect and absolutely not true.

http://deloreanwiki.wikidot.com/wiki:858

[Chris Burns]

One more pic close up.

[Jonathan]

Whether it be fuel, copper seal washers, electrical, or electrical related to time machine components, I don't think there is a lesson to learn here until we know exactly what caused the fire.

Sure, we can speculate or guess, but that doesn't help anyone at home trying to prevent a similar scene with their own car.

To me, it does look electrical and not fuel related. I have not seen pictures underneath the engine cover though. If it was electrical, then was it related to the time machine stuff added to the car?

"Go do this" or "go do that" or else because someone "confidently" guesses what might have led to this only makes for more unnecessary worry (like with replacing TABs for example, or needing car club insurance like we saw here in Ontario).