Date: Tue, 3 May 2016 17:48:59 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Rear heater motor caught on fire
In-Reply-To: <CAN483vcRmdHinqEpv2W85dmvpJyHptunOx_WuCq2BH6DuN3SCw@mail.gmail.com>
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The next event may likely be the heater fan under the dash board. If it has been oiled in an attempt to extend its life you increased the chances. These motors are hard to protect with fuses as the speed reducing resistors lower the current to prevent a fuse from opening but can still allow enough current for a seizing motor or bad brushes-windings to make enough heat to start the insulation of housing burning. As for disconnecting the ground turning off the fan and especially the ignition will stop the power supply.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Mike South
Sent: Tuesday, May 3, 2016 11:29 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Rear heater motor caught on fire
85 westy bostig conversion, auto->manual conversion
Thinking of rolling it off a cliff into a quarry, but maybe there's another fix?
It was a little cool this morning as I was taking the kids to school, so I turned on the rear blower fan to warm up the van.
I heard something when the fan started turning (like it was hitting a leaf or something), and, as is obvious now in hindsight, should have turned it off right then. But I turned it on all the way and the sound stopped (I assumed it had cleared the obstruction on its own) and it did fine, van was warm.
Stopped at the elementary school for "morning time" (I drop her brother off at another school that starts 1/2 hour earlier, so we sit in the car and I read to her or do some other activity). It was plenty warm by now so I had turned off the fan. I later realized I had only turned it down, not off.
My daughter complained about a smell. I could smell something, but it was pretty faint. Fan hadn't been used in a while, it's not that unusual for a heater-type thing to smell a little when it hasn't been used, I am thinking.
I let her out early, didn't seem like the smell was getting stronger, no smoke, so I drove home. Smell was still definitely there, though, debated pulling over, but almost home so I just drove on. Got to the driveway and started pulling out tools to try to get to the heater box and see what's up.
Then, smoke. I continued frantically working to disconnect the ground strap thinking that cutting off current would be best thing to stop it getting worse. I'd forgotten that I had bought a different ground strap and lost some time because I didn't know what size the nut on it was.
Ended up breaking the connector, but got it off.
Next, flames! I had already gotten the extinguisher out of its bracket, pulled the pin, couldn't remember how to shoot it. Figured that out eventually and put the fire out.
I went through the expense and effort of the Bostig conversion so that I wouldn't have to deal with the age of all those parts. I'm happy no one was hurt, and that this didn't happen on the road, and that no one was in the car, etc, etc. But now I wonder where the next fire is going to come from, who's going to be in it, and where they will be when it happens.
This is our third car breakdown this week, too. We're hoping the fourth
one doesn't spontaneously combust.
mike
