DeLorean Catches On Fire

[bytes311]

Just posted today. https://youtu.be/dGAOJ5aH1rs

[Timeless]

Shit! At least it looks like the driver is ok and the LF fender is in tact. Hopefully the damage is concentrated to the rear and it can be salvaged.

[L3V3L1]

Gut wrenching.😐

[Mark D]

Man that's tough to watch. Hope everyone was OK.

Obviously engine fire, but I wonder what the root cause was. Fuel lines? Electrical?

[Jonathan]

Shit! At least it looks like the driver is ok and the LF fender is in tact. Hopefully the damage is concentrated to the rear and it can be salvaged.

You can add a driver's door to that. Dude went to town with the prybar trying to get it open (to no avail.... at least we know our cars aren't vulnerable to getting broken into that way).

Gut wrenching is right. I'd love to learn the context and cause (without just blaming it automatically on old fuel lines).

[DMC5180]

Theres not enough left of the engine compartment to determine a cause since everything plastic was consumed by the fire. You can only speculate as to the most probable cause.

Sadly this is a Total loss. Only a person with skill and a stock pile of donor parts would be able to repair it. You would effectively need another donor car with a severe front end damage then create one car from two.


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[Jonathan]

Theres not enough left of the engine compartment to determine a cause since everything plastic was consumed by the fire. You can only speculate as to the most probable cause.

Unless the owner or someone familiar with what happens comes along and tells us. Like it was set deliberately (unlikely of course, was thinking more of that donkey in the 7-11 parking lot that blamed the cashier for not giving him their fire extinguisher).

Of course the owner could chime in and tell us it was the first shake down drive after fuel system work and then at least the guesses are within a certain window. But ya, only guessing to say what really happened.

[Jimmyvonviggle]

Is it me or is that a very slow reaction time to put out the fire. No one had an extinguisher? And why would they need to screw up the door with the prybar?

Oh and bring on the comments about rough reentry, flux capacitor exploding etc etc

[Parzival]

Is it me or is that a very slow reaction time to put out the fire. No one had an extinguisher? And why would they need to screw up the door with the prybar?

Oh and bring on the comments about rough reentry, flux capacitor exploding etc etc

Looks like the fire had made its way into the cabin, after he failed to pry the door open he broke the window to get the water into the cab. It's there job to put out the fire completely after all.
Very sad indeed, the original injector lines are past their prime, change em out guys! use new copper washers and torque them to spec! I'm not an expert but I don't think a fire like this is likely to happen without an abundant fuel source, and our fuel pumps run continually while the cars are running, any leak will provide an unlimited fuel source for a fire. If you do find your self in this situation, step one is to turn the car off, you can do this as you start to pull off the road even while you're still moving. You need to kill the fuel pump as soon as possible, turning the car off accomplishes this. You don't want to try extinguishing the flames with that pump still running, if you have a small fire extinguisher you have one real shot, don't wast it with a test shot while getting into position. then and only then will you have a slight chance at putting the fire out and reducing the damage... optimistically... I hope.

[Ethan Rode]

Does this mean someone has a hood to spare?

[r00b]

Looks like the fire had made its way into the cabin, after he failed to pry the door open he broke the window to get the water into the cab. It's there job to put out the fire completely after all.
Very sad indeed, the original injector lines are past their prime, change em out guys! use new copper washers and torque them to spec! I'm not an expert but I don't think a fire like this is likely to happen without an abundant fuel source, and our fuel pumps run continually while the cars are running, any leak will provide an unlimited fuel source for a fire. If you do find your self in this situation, step one is to turn the car off, you can do this as you start to pull off the road even while you're still moving. You need to kill the fuel pump as soon as possible, turning the car off accomplishes this. You don't want to try extinguishing the flames with that pump still running, if you have a small fire extinguisher you have one real shot, don't wast it with a test shot while getting into position. then and only then will you have a slight chance at putting the fire out and reducing the damage... optimistically... I hope.

The underbody is flammable, once a fire starts the underbody will burn up the whole car if you can't put it out.
I want a nonflammable underbody.

[Parzival]

The underbody is flammable, once a fire starts the underbody will burn up the whole car if you can't put it out.
I want a nonflammable underbody.

its not that easy to light fiberglass on fire, obviously if you dowse it in gasoline it will burn, but a simple spark, or even a pocket lighter would be tough to get it burning with.
suffice to say, if you were stranded on a deserted island with nothing to burn for warmth but Delorean Fiberglass underbody, you'd be in pretty bad shape. My guess is people don't notice the fire, and the fuel keeps on spraying because the car is running. and yeah then it burns. Best case is turn the car off fast and get to it before it gets to far. Maybe its not likely that someone would be fast enough to stop it, I don't know, but if it does happen, I still think this is the best course of action It still may be futile even then. Best you can do is get rid of the OG fuel lines. They are past their designed life cycle. Probably far past it. I still see a lot of cars running them however, so maybe I'm wrong... but why risk it, new lines is like two hundred and fifty bucks, just get em. lol

[eight8toy]

Sad to see the fireman bend the door trying to pry it open. My question is how does the fire start like this but the doors are closed? Like did it start and the driver jump out but then remembered to close the door before running away for help?

Sad in any case to see another Delorean go up like this...

[Silverbullet]

So sad to watch......The cost to repair will be too much.... I hope the owner was well covered...

[DMC-81]

Sad to see the fireman bend the door trying to pry it open. My question is how does the fire start like this but the doors are closed? Like did it start and the driver jump out but then remembered to close the door before running away for help?

Sad in any case to see another Delorean go up like this...

:( I agree with others.... That was tough to watch, and we will likely never know the cause of the fire unless the owner comes on with information.

I heard one witness off-camera say that the car was just sitting there. Perhaps the owner just parked there within a half hour or so. The engine would still be hot, and the fuel accumulator would be holding pressure. One rupture of one or the 13 lines is all it would take, like Parzival said.

But I'm speculating. It could have been electrical or something else.

[CFI]

Everyone should carry a fire extinguisher in every car they drive. The more accessible, the better. I’ve seen DeLoreans with fire extinguishers in the trunk. Ever have the trunk cable break? I have. Keep it in the cabin so you can grab it on your way out of the vehicle.

[eight8toy]

I heard one witness off-camera say that the car was just sitting there. Perhaps the owner just parked there within a half hour or so. The engine would still be hot, and the fuel accumulator would be holding pressure. One rupture of one or the 13 lines is all it would take, like Parzival said.

But I'm speculating. It could have been electrical or something else.

That makes more sense. I just ordered new fuel lines last week since I'm not 100% sure mine were ever replaced so this definitely will motivate me to get that job done sooner than later.

[Domi]

So sorry for the owner.
I don't know if he will be able to repair it, the cost will be probably too much...

[81dmc]

Electrical fires are definitely a possibility. Few years ago, I had the jump start wire melt and ground out on the engine. It started a fire and I had to run to grab an extinguisher. I was lucky this happened at home while testing the engine. Ever since that happened, I have always kept a fire extinguisher in the car.

Also, this is another reason I don't like V engines. You have hot exhaust on both sides with limited space...

[Jonathan]

Electrical fires are definitely a possibility. Few years ago, I had the jump start wire melt and ground out on the engine. It started a fire and I had to run to grab an extinguisher. I was lucky this happened at home while testing the engine. Ever since that happened, I have always kept a fire extinguisher in the car.

Also, this is another reason I don't like V engines. You have hot exhaust on both sides with limited space...

I've had a similar concern with the starter heatshield and how close the underside of it is to the positive battery cables on the starter. The originals were asbestos, but the replacements are stainless steel, and this direct path from positive battery connection to the engine block ground is a little too close for comfort for me. I don't know if it is a matter of the slightly different shape of the heatshield replacements, the positioning of the positive cables all on that one bolt, or a deteriorating rubber cap over those exposed cable ends, but it all looks like there's no more than one millimeter of wiggle room before things touch and the car goes up in smoke. My new heatshield stays in the box, thanks.

[SS Spoiler]

Had a battery cable short to the exhaust, filled
the car with smoke, melted the side post out of the
battery and put itself out. Dumb luck.....?

[Parzival]

I've had a similar concern with the starter heatshield and how close the underside of it is to the positive battery cables on the starter. The originals were asbestos, but the replacements are stainless steel, and this direct path from positive battery connection to the engine block ground is a little too close for comfort for me. I don't know if it is a matter of the slightly different shape of the heatshield replacements, the positioning of the positive cables all on that one bolt, or a deteriorating rubber cap over those exposed cable ends, but it all looks like there's no more than one millimeter of wiggle room before things touch and the car goes up in smoke. My new heatshield stays in the box, thanks.

Asbestos is a better material for the heat shield, its an amazing material for lots of things, sadly our lungs don't like it very much. Other wise I'd want it everywhere!

[David T]

There is no fusible link so if the brown wires going to the alternator or the wires to the starter get melted from the hot parts nearby you can get an electrical fire. One of the ways to figure out what caused the fire is to find out what, if any, service was last done. Or if anyone saw the area where the fire originated.

[81dmc]

Had a battery cable short to the exhaust, filled
the car with smoke, melted the side post out of the
battery and put itself out. Dumb luck.....?

Definitely dumb luck.

Found the picture of the remains of my cable.59854

Found the easiest remedy. https://www.amazon.com/Bussmann-CB185-100-Type-Circuit-Breaker/dp/B00139FQSS

[DMC-81]

There is no fusible link so if the brown wires going to the alternator or the wires to the starter get melted from the hot parts nearby you can get an electrical fire. One of the ways to figure out what caused the fire is to find out what, if any, service was last done. Or if anyone saw the area where the fire originated.

Yes, definitely. I took one look our set up and installed thermal shielding on the starter and alternator wires.

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=59855&d=1556237217

[81dmc]

There's a lot more clearance with factory exhaust manifolds. Now when you get headers....

[DMC-81]

There's a lot more clearance with factory exhaust manifolds. Now when you get headers....

:hihi2: Definitely. Even with the factory setup, there is a lot of heat happening in that area.

Glad you caught yours in time. Yikes!!