Fire!

[oxymoron]

Just a note before the Ike gets us. I had a fire in my 6.9 last week. My FI wiring harness was pretty brittle and apparently some bare wires found each other.

I was driving to work and smoke started pouring out the AC vents.
It's pretty humid in Houston and I thought it might just be fog from the AC, but it became clear pretty quickly that wasn't it. Smoke came from the defrost ducts and from beneath the dash from side to side.

I was on an 8 lane, but was able to pull off the main road pretty quickly and kill the ignition.
Grabbed the extinguisher from the trunk and popped the hood.
There was smoke coming from the fusebox and from the place at the firewall behind the servo where the wires enter the interior.

No actual flames, I guess it was smoldering insulation.
I'd never given much thought to the harness, but it seems to me now that the wire to the temp gauge runs the length of the underdash harness.

I spoke to some joker in Maryland who wanted a credit card number before he would give me a firm quote on the part which evidently must come from Germany. Also, I had sort of thought that the FI harness might just plug in to a junction box on the firewall, but that ain't it.

The wiring harness if it to be replaced with a new part is for the entire body!

The closest I could get to a quote from Mr. Wiseacre in Maryland was "between $1500 and $2500". I pointed out to him that this was a pretty wide variance and he said, well just assume the higher amount. So I won't be dealing with him.

At these prices, I decided to get the insurance company involved since I have this car fully insured. It is my daily driver. The adjuster wanted to total it. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I asked him what he meant and he said Farmers Insurance's threshhold for payout is 80% of the car's value and he already had figured $4000 in repair costs.

Needless to say we are in vigorous disagreement over the value of this car which has just been painted, and the engine and transmission completely rebuilt.

So I started inundating the company with invoices for repairs, photos of the rebuilding and painting processes, etc.

This seemed to get their attention and they are ordering an appraisal. I don't fault the adjuster, I am sure he referred to something that doesn't factor the difference that a 6.9 is.

So, now I have to worry if my mechanic's shop has a good roof to withstand the storm, etc.

Anyway. Rant over I hear thunder and the wind is picking up.

Please look at your wiring and avoid all this trouble if you can.

Ken

[69coupe]

Ken ,
With the circumstance you have been dealt lately, you have the right to rant as long as you need to. I was just watching TV coverage of the Galveston coast getting hit pretty hard and yet still in the early stages of the projected storm. Good luck and please report back when the storm passes ....

I have to admit , I've never given my wiring harnesses any thought or needed to . I will pay more attention from now on....

As for the car , good luck with that episode too !!!

[JMela]

Good luck w the storm. Here's a sticky for 2 6.9's being parted out from another section here:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=199869

[oxymoron]

Thanks for the good wishes.
I have been watching the storm on TV for a few hours today.
I am only about 50 miles inland from Galveston and it is not even raining here.

By the pictures of Galveston, it looks like a killer storm but it's merely breezy here at my place.