Vehicle fire prevention

[Scalf77]

Viva,
I think you pretty much nailed it, In general the fusing SMB installs to/from the batteries it totally inadequate in my mind.


-greg

[charlie56]

Originally Posted by Scalf77

Viva,
I think you pretty much nailed it, In general the fusing SMB installs to/from the batteries it totally inadequate in my mind.


-greg

Along that same line.
I was driving in the Blackrock desert and had a rock catch on the underside and forced itself (like a cam) up under the house battery tray, forcing the battery lugs tight to the underside of the body. SMB had a thin piece of plastic there that did stop a short which would have been catastrophic as there was no quick way to un-short it.

More of the story is here.
viewtopic.php?p=47058#p47058

I would give serious thought to beefing up the separation between the house battery and the chassis.

[MadScience]

This is what my house battery box looks like:

There's clearly one run that's not on a breaker from that direction. Considering the discussion here, I'll go chase down where it goes sometime soon.

Fwiw, the wiring that's left over from the news van days is by far the best aftermarket wiring I've ever seen in a vehicle. Honestly, even when I take my time, I can't duplicate it myself. Having taken a look what a new ENG conversion goes for, it's not a cost effective way to get a van.

Edit: I'm not looking at this tonight, or likely even tomorrow (busy day), but that black cable that appears to loop back onto itself (but probably doesn't) needs to be explained as well.

[joey2cool]

Originally Posted by BajaSportsmobile

My SMB fire was an electrical fire started by a short in the factory van wiring harness - the wire for the dome lights and the back door switch. It had been blowing the fuse from time to time (same fuse as the radio) and caught on fire while we were camped and out of the van.

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/vie...p?f=14&t=12449

Just experienced first dead van battery after five years on OEM Motorcraft 65 amp-hour unit. Wierd thing is, I always turn everything in the van off yet the radio buzz on jump starting via house battery (thank-you SMB) suggested otherwise. Could it be the beginings of a short in the wiring harness you mention? Or just an old (and sub par) battery?

Couldn'nt use remote keylock controller and had to reset tire pressure monitor, clock, and radio stations on account of total power outage. Drove around for a couple hours to recharge. It's been two weeks now without incident.

Any thoughts on this?

[joey2cool]

Originally Posted by joey2cool

Just experienced first dead van battery after five years on OEM Motorcraft 65 amp-hour unit. Wierd thing is, I always turn everything in the van off yet the radio buzz on jump starting via house battery (thank-you SMB) suggested otherwise. Could it be the beginnings of a short in the wiring harness you mention? Or just an old (and sub par) battery?

Could'nt use remote keylock controller and had to reset tire pressure monitor, clock, and radio stations on account of total power outage. Drove around for a couple hours to recharge. It's been two weeks now without incident.

Any thoughts on this?

[joey2cool]

General fire prevention notes:

Propane system and appliance inspection with cleaning/servicing as needed. Use a qualified service rep. Annual periodicity recommended, but certainly after lots of rigorous driving and use. Watch for signs of soot, poor burner flame shape and color, and start-up delays or failures.

Repeatedly blowing a fuse is also a good signal for servicing.

Change smoke detector battery annually.

Replace fire extinguishers annually (man does this get expensive). Some on this forum (Jage) have provided ample evidence of the need for this at least every few years or so. Perhaps using rechargeable ones would save some.

Be on the lookout for leaking fluids (e.g., oil, tranny, brake, and God forbid gas) and get repairs as needed.

[MadScience]

Originally Posted by joey2cool

Replace fire extinguishers annually (man does this get expensive). Some on this forum (Jag) have provided ample evidence of the need for this at least every few years or so. Perhaps using rechargeable ones would save some.

Annually? I thought it was anytime the needle moved out of the green or every 12 years. I'd certainly move to a higher quality extinguisher rather than replacing them every year. I have a bunch of different ones around the house, that would get super expensive.

Currently we have cheap ABCs in all the cars (that'll make a corrosive mess if used). I've been thinking of replacing the ones in the nice cars (not the van) with halon ones (yes, you can still get them, they use recycled gas). No way I'd replace those every year.

I also have a water extinguisher (obviously A only) that I've considered sanitizing and throwing in the van as either back-up water (in case I break my main tank) and fire safety on trips in dry areas. I've not done this so far though.

[joey2cool]

Originally Posted by joey2cool

Replace fire extinguishers annually (man does this get expensive).

Sounds like this depends on specs for particular extinguisher. A good thing to check also.

[JWA]

Another hint offered by another SMB member has us turning our ABC dry chemical extinguishers upside down or 180* from their normal stowed position to assure the powder inside has not turned into a solid chunk.

Its a bit comforting feeling the powder flowing when the bottle is turned upright.

[daveb]

Most boaters know to mount their extinguishers sideways so they don't pack the chemical as easily as when mounting vertically.