I believe it's a throwover from race cars that are required to have battery kill switches to turn off the fuel pumps and kill the engine. The new Mini Cooper has a fuel shut off built into the airbag system.

I chose halon extinguishers since it's a gas that doesn't leave a residue that might hurt circuit boards. It was the extinguisher of choice for computer equipment and race cars. The downside is that it can't be used in large closed room applications since it knocks out the fire by replacing the oxygen, so the idea is to get out of the car first in case of a cabin fire.

Re: Dry Powder Type
 

2 1/2lb halonite, a halon substitute that is less toxic to people (halon is no longer available). Leaves no residue and won't affect electrical components.

A word of caution re dry chemical extinguishers, they don't work too well on class A fires (materials such as upholstery or your underhood pad) and the residue can ruin an engine!

In several countries an extinguisher is mandatory on every car. In Mexico as an example since 1992 every new car must have one as standard equipment. They even request that the extinguisher must be handy to the driver and not at the trunk.

Since I moved to the United States I've been thinking about getting the OEM one that fits beneath the drivers seat.

Ricardo ( member from this forum ) posted some pictures from the one that came stock in his 500E. Personally I think it's a very good idea to have one.

Yea I was looking at the thread about burned down MBZ on eBay and that prompted me to get one. I'll go by the stealership today and see what they got.

This is the extinguisher from Ricardo's 500E. I hope he don't mind I used his picture.

Switch in the works
 

Well,
Looks like I will start looking for the Halon or Halon substitute type units now then. Makes sense about the elec boards etc. Will halon etc work out in the open, I thought they needed closed spaces to work.

Thanks for this heads up.

Some observations from a guy who has made his living fighting fires for 25 yrs.

If you are going to carry only one extinguisher get a dry chem. (ABC) This will work on all of the fires in your car. Except for Metal fires.

ABC Dry chem extinguishers are filled with a powder that flows better than H2O. It goes EVERYWHERE. It is very corosive and WILL ruin all circuit boards it comes into contact with.

A CO2 extinguisher will work on many fires in you car. It is not rated for Calss A fires but will work if you have a large enough extinguisher and a small fire.

Cars that have fires that are of any size are almost always totaled by the insurance. Carry very good Compresensive Insurance, it is cheap it pays for fire loss. If you have a car fire you want the cash not the car.

Battery disconect is a good idea if the the fires is limited to just electrical arcing and nothing else, it will stop the fire from getting larger.

Car fires are the most under rated and some of the most dagerous fires we go to. Be very careful when fighting them. Do not breath the smoke it is full of many chemicals that will kill you or give you cancer.

If the fire is growing get everything out you can without breathing the smoke and getting burned, get away form the car ( at least 200 feet) and call the fire department, stay away from the car.

If the fire involves the interior of the car stay away, many of the new safety devices are powered by pyrotecnic devices. If they go off they WILL hurt you. They may discharge from an electrical only fire being as that is how they are normally triggered.

Many things that you would not think of will cause injury in a fire. Example, Lift struts on a hatch back can fail and go through the rear window and travel 150-200 feet. They have enough force to take your head off. really.

I carry very good insurance and no fire extinguisher. I have been thinking about starting to carry one though after I saw a car fire where soem folks were not able to get out and burned to death. This is most likely to happen after an accident. I like the looks for the drivers seat mounted extinguisher for this purpose.

A dry chem extinguisher would be a great start in saving your self if you could not get out. It is large enough to fight a fairly large fire, I have seen burn pits 20'x20' full of burning gasoline put out with smaller extinguishers. This was done by folks who were very good at running a fire extinguishers.

In all honesty,,, if the fire isn't a threat to any others or property,,, I'll let her burn. To begin with, a fire is almost as hard to get fixed correctly as a flood. And on the bright side,,, in these economic times, you will probably get top book for the car thru the insurance company,,, something you'll never get in the open market. JMO

Another point against dry chem extinguishers is that the powder will pack in the canister from the vibration of driving.Regular maintenance should also include shaking a dry chem weekly or monthly to get the powder flowing inside it.Store dry chem's horizontally as well,hope you never need to use it though.BTW I don't carry an extinguisher in my cars just fire insurance.

Ok well my dad said what nogas said and some other. Basically: let it burn. Get yer money and mod the car again :)

My dad had a 69 rolls cornice right hand drive that caught on fire on the passenger side, under the passenger seat. the floor under the seat was gone, and the muffler heat ignited the carpet or somethign ot that effect. The passenger seat burned the bottom cushion, but the car was otherwise fine. He had ti repaired, and all was well.

I think that it all depends ont he fire. you have ot try to picture though, that my uncle was sitting int he passenger seat when it caught fire. he didnt get burned, but he said it was quite an experience.

Overall, if I can put it out without too much damage, then its worth it to keep one, otherwise, let it burn, stay back, and dont get yourself hurt too. the car can be replaced. you can't


Alon

You don't get a fire extinguisher to save the car....you get one to save yourself! ;)

I used to carry a small one in my old Camaro...but now that I drive a diesel MB, I'm much less concerned about fires.

Mike

Fire extinguisher pictures
 

My 500E came from factory with a fire extinguisher under the seat. I have several pictures here http://www.imagestation.com/members/MBricardo and you can also search other posts form other 500E members about this subject!!

Ernesto… I don't mind at all you used the picture!! Ahh… te envié un mensaje privado aquí, para pedirte un gran favor…. Espero tu respuesta y puedes escribirme a mi correo personal ricardo@quilsa.com

Best

Ricardo

I and most Ferrari owners carry a Halon FE. Couple of reasons- separate ignition systems for each engine bank and high hp can mean cruising with only one bank operating whereby raw gas pours into the hot cat on the dead bank, starting a fire, also gas attendants spilling gas onto hot headers. I had a wiring problem once and had to use mine.

Having a FE in the trunk is as bad as not having one. Best is an engine installation, second best is having the FE within reach of the driver. Mine is mounted at my side, easily accessible from driving position and from the outside when the driver's door is opened or reaching into an open driver's window. If you wish I can supply mounting pictures which are availaible on several Ferrari web sites. The case with MB is undoubtedly different but in the trunk is rediculous.

Also don't expect to get satisfaction out of anything short of halon. Halon extinguishes flames leaving everything as it was, and cost about $100 for 3 lbs. A cheapo $20 FE can get you $1000+ of cleanup. If you want protection, do it right! Halon is somewhat difficult to get because of shipping restrictions but can be found at aviation supply houses. Minimum size recommended is 2.5 lbs, good for probably 20 seconds which is adequate in an emergency. If you need it, use is all, and buy another one. Don't expect to use a little now and again.