In the previous message I reported that my 308 caught fire. This is the up date. It appears that mice got into the engine room. They ate two things. First of all, they ate a spark plug wire on the front bank, and then they ate one of the fuel hoses that went between two carbs. When I put pressure on the fuel system the hose leaked and the plug wire arced between the wire and the valve cover which sparked off the fumes from the fuel leak. The damage amounts to plug wires and fuel hoses. Also the choke wire needs to be replaced. The carbs were not harmed, but there's soot everywhere. I'll get new armored fuel lines and plug wires and the fire suppression system recharged. The insurance company, USAA, is going to pick up the bill. I got the fire suppression system from Summit in January of 2005, and I'll go back there for the recharge. If they sell it, then I'm going to assume that it's legal. As I understand it, the old halon, number 206 or something like that, is still legal on airplanes. Whatever it was that I got from Summit in 2005 worked like a charm. I believe in the onboard system because you don't have to open the rear bonnet to put the fire out, and it's quick. I was talking with a law enforcement aquaintance of mine and he told me that the hand held halon extinguisher works just as well. He says to just crack the hood and spray it underneath hood for best results. He's done it several times now, so he's a halon believer too. If you open the bonnet all the way then you risk getting burned by the flames billowing out. While I was in the shop I saw a really nice Porsche that had an alarm installed. The owner opened the front bonnet and the result was that the entire electrical system has burned up. I saw the wires coming off the instrument panel and all of the insulation was burned off. That is going to be a very expensive fix. I expect an alarm shop somewhere is going out of business on that mistake. As I get my car fixed and cleaned up, I will give a further update. Thanks for all your support. I appreciate it. Bob Wassam,
It also makes sense because oxygen is an accelerant. Keeping the hood as closed as possible, suppresses the oxygen. Wow- Mice! That's something I would have never guessed as the cause.
Bob, glad to hear that you got out pretty cheap. Friggin mice are seriously bad. I take no prisoners when it comes to cars and mice. Kill them dead by any means necessary. What a number they have done on cars of people I know. My dad's Corvette was basically ruined by them in one winter. Birdman
We have repaired many Subarus attatcked by rodents. It seems that some of the rubber insulation is a favorite chewy substance for them. We have actually had the opportunity to check the size of the teeth marks on various rubber componants to determine what the heck is doing the damage. It is not little furry mousies its da big bad rats. Rats have no skeletel structure and they can get into an openings less that 1/2 inch They love red rubber parts, rubber fuel lines and spark plug wires. The last car we repaired took a new main harness as they ate thu the bulkhead boot and got under the dash and ran amuk. Dash removed to replace the main harness and then out under the hood to replace the normal spark plug wires, fuel injector hoses plus the hoses leading to the fuel filter. They seem to like crawling up under the hood with a warm motor for a siesta and then waking up hungry and going after the rubber goods. We have found a couple of things thwart the little devils away from you car. One is mothballs hung in a bag under the hood near the motor. By suspending the moth balls in a bag it seems to get more of the odor out under the hood. Cayanne powder is another deterant. Spread out in powder form it also deters those little buggers. We know that because once we have repaired the cars and adding the afore mentioned the customers have not had any more issues with their furry friends. Keep in mind both the moth balls and cayanne powder need to be replenished from time to time. hope this information helps. Howard tr0768
