Just in case it goes unsaid the disconnect should never be opened with the engine running. You might or might not get away with no resultant damage.

I was under the impression that most american cars somewhere in the mid fifties had more electirical protection from random shorts built into their systems. That may have resulted in less chance of burning from an electrical short forward. Carrying a fire extinguisher makes a lot of sense to me. A nice halon type if they still can be found.

Just a question on the quality / warranty side of this whole very messy issue.

Is this not covered by an MB recall or dealer safety bulletin ? I would sure think that a firm of the stature of MB would not want to be leaving their legal hinney hanging out in the breeze so blatantly.

Something like this a 1st yr law student would have a field day with from just the reports Ive read here.

Being a new again MB owner after many yrs it would sure be nice to have a 'sticky' on different models known catastrophic failures. Im sure I wouldnt be the only one who would greatly benefit from such knowledge.

This thread made me go buy an extinguisher today. No joke.

No response to my MB question
BUT
it is heading into summer and this deserves a .... bump

never seen a benz in such a bad fire! sorry to hear.

"Lost my Coco mats, my Real Sheep skins, my Ipod stereo and Ipod and even my G27 Glock in the glove box. "

if you have an NRA membership, you get about $1,000 worth of gun insurance.

quick, go to NRA.com, join, and then...???

Recycled
 

for new members.

Better yet, get a remote battery disconnect (rallye-style) and mount a pull knob inside the car. I'd also wire it to cut off the alternator field to make the car electrically dead -- I could see a worst-case fire melting through the engine stop vacuum plumbing. Engine would keep chugging along and producing power via the alternator.

http://www.jegs.com/images/photos/55510373.jpg

Every time I see this thread I get a chill up my spine... I have an extinguisher in my car now because of this.

I am so on this!

Just saw this.

I had a real scare on my 83 300D years ago, because before the blower fuse mod was performed, I had a small fire in the fusebox. The fuse got really hot and burned up the paper inside the fusebox and melted the box completely.

It is a very helpless feeling seeing smoke and trying to kill loads with no ide what the issue was.

Fortunately for mine, the damage was recoverable.

So to me, the lessons learned from this and mine are:

1) Do the blower fuse mod with the OE MB kit.

2) Install an aux pump fuse kit (I know there are a few threads on this - I did it on my old 83).

3) Keep a fire extinguisher in the car.

So now the questions:

-What is the best kind of fuse holder and splice to do it "right"? I just used crimp-ons and wrapped in electrical tape last time I did it.

-What is the best fire extinguisher to keep in a car?

Answer
 

Here is the 55 amp fuse holder I like to use for the blower motor.
http://www.vteworld.com/content/electromech/fuse/html/maxi/maxifuse.php


car fire extinguisher
http://www.google.com/search?q=car+fire+extinguisher&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&rlz=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1280&bih=863

I haven't read the entire thread, just the first page with the pics. My opinion is that the aux water pump, drawing only 1 amp or so, is not the cause of the fire. It is simply too low in current. It does not hurt to put a fuse in series with it however. The high current device that is also switched by the PBU (the alleged unit that causes the fire), is the blower. You want to make sure that the connections from the fuse box to the PBU to the blower is clean so they do not heat up (cause of the fire). Adding a fuse at the PBU for the blower wouldn't hurt either. Last I checked, the blower draws about 16 amps on high.

Check your fire extinguishers regularly folks - if they have a best before date junk 'em if they are too old - on pressurised powder ones make sure the pressure is still OK => on mine the needle needs to be in the little green bit.

I was meaning the underhood fuse to be put near the aux pump. But you put an additional fuse near the blower? I add the OE fuse relocation kit from MB for the fusebox.

As far as extinguishers, I was looking for a good brand/model/type to buy. The google link just shows pictures. Was that on purpose?

I used a five lb aluminum tank horn type CO2 fire extinguisher for years in my shop... it does not produce any mess when you have to use it... I would hate to shoot one of the powder types up under a dash and then have to clean it out... I do not think you would ever get it all out...
The powder types do not re seal... use once, refill if they can be..
The CO2 ones do reseal..... so you can use them for anything you need to without having to ' rebuy ' them... You need one with a gauge on it so you do not have to weigh them to tell how much CO2 you have left...
You can direct a CO2 type up... into spaces you can not use other types.... to keep things cool and oxygen free .. like inside panels of cars if you need to weld on them...
I loved mine.. still have it.. but the store that I got it from closed..I am going to replace it soon...