| [GMCnet] Cockpit Vents -- A Good Idea? [message #334259] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 14:23 |
Ken Henderson
Messages: 8726
Registered: March 2004
Location: Americus, GA
Karma: 9
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Friends recently lost their GMC to a fire which started in the batteries at
the right front of the coach. They were caught in an accident traffic
jam. Just as they crept past the site, steam, then smoke, then flames
erupted in front of the passenger. Immediately steering to the shoulder
and shutting down, they evacuated with the clothes on their backs.
Fortunately, the accident had involved fire trucks which immediately came
on up to their location and extinguished the fire quickly -- as well as
wetting down and ruining everything inside the coach.
The insurance company gave them a fair payment and sold them the hulk
cheap. Last Tuesday, I went to their daughter's home, 130 miles from the
accident and 120 miles from me, to help extract the undamaged good
drivetrain. I'll go more into that exercise in another posting. This one
is to discuss the fire's effects.
That coach, like quite a few others, had been modified with round flexible
ductwork from the HVAC box to the passenger's firewall (I didn't notice the
driver's side). The fire apparently started with a bad cell in one of the
batteries and resulted in a "geyser" of flame straight up from the top of
the battery. All of the fiberglass at that area, up to the bottom of the
windshield, was consumed by the flames. Both windshields and the passenger
side windows (cockpit and ahead of entry door) were shattered.
The surprising part, the reason for this posting, is that even more damaged
than the "hood" or passenger side access hatch, was the glove compartment
and dashboard! How can that be? Because the flames immediately consumed
that flexible hose and went into the cockpit, that being an easier route
than through the hood! Thus the question: Is that modification a good
idea?
This was an unusual situation and the flame was so hot that it would soon
have consumed the fiberglass heater duct that is also in that area. But,
the fact is that the added flexible plastic duct was far too delicate to
resist any heat. With the flame roaring up into the cockpit, the entire
coach was immediately filled with smoke -- everything up high was seriously
smoke damaged; lower equipment, the carpet and floor, not too badly (except
from the water). With both sides of the firewall exposed to flame, the
damage to it was impressive -- even the heavy aluminum ground plate, to
which the isolator is ordinarily attached, was so damaged that it looked
like plastic, all crazed and broken away.
I won't be making non-heat-resistant holes in my firewall!
Ken H.
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Ken Henderson
Americus, GA
www.gmcwipersetc.com
Large Wiring Diagrams
76 X-Birchaven
76 X-Palm Beach
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