Seems like a daily car fire out there locally.
Is this just an Atlanta local thing?
I'm listening to local radio these days and I swear I hear about a car-fire at least once every 2 days. Usually, it seems like daily. Sometimes twice a day.
If the local ambient temps were running around 100+ I might could buy into that. This year I don't think we busted 90 but a few times - nowhere near 100 that I recall. Not this year anyhow. When I was up in southern IL this summer it was waaaayyy hotter than here in GA. My joke there was "ain't it funny I would have to travel back down south to cool off". Even their humidity was blowing away our [in]famous GA humidity levels then.
So, what's up with all these car fires?
Or is it just because I hear traffic reports all day.
I don't recall this when I lived here before back in the 80s and into the late 90s.
E
It may be something to do with the electric fuel pumps now being in the gas tank. If the gas line gets ruptured anywhere between the tank and the engine, the fuel pump will continue to push fuel out of the tank.
Well, my theory would be that they started packing electrical components into cars about 20-25 years ago (seats, mirrors, etc). The wiring and components are now corroding and wearing out. You didn't have all that stuff back in the 70's and 80's. Lots of wiring packed into confined spaces.
> It may be something to do with the electric fuel pumps now being in the gas tank. If the gas line gets ruptured anywhere between the tank and the engine, the fuel pump will continue to push fuel out of the tank.
I never thought of that Perry! You might be exactly right. My Mustang did indeed have an internal electric fuel pump. It happened to me once back when I still lived down here and had that 27 mile nasty commute on I-285 to my corporate job one morning (circa 1995). I got pulled over one morning and the first thing said to me was "sir, you are leaking fluid out the back end". I had a cig lit and immediately threw it out, shut the car off, and jumped out of the car and had a smell. Sure enough it was gas coming out of the tank due to a dry-rotted nylon bushing. After receiving my ticket the officer offered to escort me to the nearest service station to get it fixed. At first she followed me to be sure no one followed too close. Then on the exit, she passed me and signaled to follow. Apparently she knew of a nearby station. 45 cents later I was good and headed on to work.
Then I got excoriated for being late. Me and the boss had some heated exchanges about it. The company policy was that car problems are not an excuse. What a bunch of crap! They were total a$$es about it. My response was "what if I run over a nail on the way in and my tire goes flat? Should I leave at 0400 hours to be sure I'm here when you think I should be?". That was pretty much the end of it.
Thanks for reminding me of that Perry.
E.
I had a car to catch fire in the late 70s
It was had a slant six that was tucked in the motor compartment very tight on an AMC Pacer. It weighed 4,400 lbs, had solid lifters and plastic needle valves that dissolved when gasohol came out.
Fire started where a lot of road buildup gathered in a bowl created by the spider like exhaust manifold it had up under the cowling between the firewall and the hood.
Sorta the same problem the Pontiac Fiero had.
When I lived in LA 2002-2005 there was nearly the same thing, Car on fire 405 freeway, car on fire on the 110. They have a great traffic mapping system so it was always popping up somewhere in the concrete jungle.
Since 2008.... there are a WHOLE LOT more older cars out there that are not getting the love and attention they deserve (need) to stay in good shape and safe.
Deferred maintenance always bites one in the posterior at some point (or catches it on fire it seems).
It would be an interesting set of factoids to put together (if the fire departments don't have it already) a list of year, make, model of car fires. I'm sure some insurance actuarial has this at their fingertips though.... 🙂
The Pacers were known to be prone to car fires.
A friend had one that caught fire. The FD pried up the hood (at the windshield end) to get to the fire. He tried to find a new hood at the junkyard but they were all damaged at the windshield end so he figured it must be a common pacer problem.
