VX Astra engine caught fire - need advise

kluivert

2005 VX Astra 135k miles 1.7 CDTI Weekly mileage is 500-600 miles. Serviced every 10k.

Last service 19th December 2011

Drove to Dublin airport yesterday morning from Monaghan.

Parked up in the short term. Started to unpack bags and baby. Wifey and I could smell this really bad burning smell. Thought nothing of it, then wifey copped that there smoke pouring out of the bonnet.

I opened the bonnet and there was a small fire on the bottom left hand corner at the bottom on the engine bay, went and got the Gardai and when I got back 5 mins later, the fire was out.

Car was serviced by an Opel dealer two weeks ago, but was very annoyed when I got the bill. E.g. It said Lights Checked yet the blown Fog Light had not been changed.

I am not convinced that the car was properly serviced or checked. Wifey did report that she thought there waa a small oil leak to them when she left the car in for the service.

Anyway any advice.

1 Is the car safe to drive home on Saturday when we return.
2 What could be the cause of this, what should I look for on Saturday.

Thank you in advance.

Gophur

kluivert wrote: »

2005 VX Astra 135k miles 1.7 CDTI Weekly mileage is 500-600 miles. Serviced every 10k.

Last service 19th December 2011

Drove to Dublin airport yesterday morning from Monaghan.

Parked up in the short term. Started to unpack bags and baby. Wifey and I could smell this really bad burning smell. Thought nothing of it, then wifey copped that there smoke pouring out of the bonnet.

I opened the bonnet and there was a small fire on the bottom left hand corner at the bottom on the engine bay, went and got the Gardai and when I got back 5 mins later, the fire was out.

Car was serviced by an Opel dealer two weeks ago, but was very annoyed when I got the bill. E.g. It said Lights Checked yet the blown Fog Light had not been changed.

I am not convinced that the car was properly serviced or checked. Wifey did report that she thought there waa a small oil leak to them when she left the car in for the service.

Anyway any advice.

1 Is the car safe to drive home on Saturday when we return.
2 What could be the cause of this, what should I look for on Saturday.

Thank you in advance.

In fairness, nobody can answer your questions based on what you posted.

You need to identify the source of the fire and you need to be satisfied it will not reoccurr. Do not rely on people on an Internet forum to decide if your car is safe to drive.

kluivert

Ok so i will rephrase that.

What do I need to inspect to enable me to draw a conclusion on the ability to drive it OK.

Obviously I will make the decision at the end of day and not simple take the word of the another person

I am just looking for ideas.

Gophur

kluivert wrote: »

Ok so i will rephrase that.

What do I need to inspect to enable me to draw a conclusion on the ability to drive it OK.

Obviously I will make the decision at the end of day and not simple take the word of the another person

I am just looking for ideas.

You need to see if the fire is due to electrical source or mechanical friction. You need to see if it's due to a loose belt or a seized bearing. The list of possibilities is long and you need to get someone who knows his/her way around the engine bay to assist you.

I'd be more wary of the cost of parking in the short term park for that length of time. Now that's a way to lighten your wallet!

kluivert

Cheers Gophur,

Spoke to the Dublin airport parking, they said they would arrange for no additional fees over what i have prepaid already.

I suppose it will just have to be a case of getting a mechanic down to access the roadworthiness of the car, then arrange a tow if required.

Roll on New Years Eve haha!!.

.... there was a small fire in your engine bay and you are asking on an internet forum is it safe to drive? The best definition of insanity I ever heard is 'doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results'. You mention a wife and baby, you'd be completely and utterly off your rocker mad to drive that car on your return from your week away, looney, completely paralysed from the ears up, its quite likely for it to go on fire again if nothing has been done to fix it, for the sake of your family, yourself and other road users:........ do not drive it anywhere

MugMugs

RoverJames wrote: »

.... there was a small fire in your engine bay and you are asking on an internet forum is it safe to drive? The best definition of insanity I ever heard is 'doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results'. You mention a wife and baby, you'd be completely and utterly off your rocker mad to drive that car on your return from your week away, looney, completely paralysed from the ears up, its quite likely for it to go on fire again if nothing has been done to fix it, for the sake of your family, yourself and other road users:...[SIZE="7"]..... [SIZE="7"]do [/SIZE]n[/SIZE][SIZE="7"]ot drive it anywhere [/SIZE]

I think he already got the gist of that RJ

kluivert

Jesus christ, people wants wrong with ye.

Do you honest think I would put the wifey and baby in that car again until its certified safe.

What I am thinking of doing, was getting wifeys father to collect them, and he can take the mechanic down to the airport. Mechanic checks it over. If says OK to drive, I will drive it.

If he says no, I call a tow truck.

Wifey and baby goes home with her father and the mechanic.

Thanks.

Terrontress

kluivert wrote: »

Jesus christ, people wants wrong with ye.

Do you honest think I would put the wifey and baby in that car again until its certified safe.

What I am thinking of doing, was getting wifeys father to collect them, and he can take the mechanic down to the airport. Mechanic checks it over. If says OK to drive, I will drive it.

If he says no, I call a tow truck.

Wifey and baby goes home with her father and the mechanic.

Thanks.

I would just wait and see what your mechanic says. Don't take advice off anyone else.

Jimdagym

kluivert wrote: »

Jesus christ, people wants wrong with ye.

Do you honest think I would put the wifey and baby in that car again until its certified safe.

What I am thinking of doing, was getting wifeys father to collect them, and he can take the mechanic down to the airport. Mechanic checks it over. If says OK to drive, I will drive it.

If he says no, I call a tow truck.

Wifey and baby goes home with her father and the mechanic.

Thanks.

To be fair Kluivert, if you are doing all that anyway, then I dont think you really needed this thread. It sounds like you have it covered.

shamwari

Most insurance policies now provide a breakdown / rescue service. if you have this, get the car towed to a competent workshop (other than the one who last repaired it) and ask them if they can identify the cause, and what its going to cost to repair. If they cannot determine with anything other than great deal of certainty that poor previous maintenance was the cause of the fire, then unfortunately you will have to take the hit and get it repaired at your expense. To be honest, I would doubt they will find poor maintenance as the cause.

Looking at this from another perspective, you and your family are unharmed.

MugMugs

MugMugs wrote: »

I think he already got the gist of that RJ

I wouldn't be so sure of that at all to be honest, he seems to be thinking if a mechanic says its ok he will be driving it home. Fingers crossed the mechanic isn't a gnome.
I don't see it being sufficient to have a mechanic inspect the car on the spot, conceptually pipes, hoses or wiring may well have been damaged by the heat or the flame, that's not even considering looking for root cause of the fire. THat car should be towed to a garage, full stop. I reckon leaving it parked up in the airport was a bit risky to be honest. I wouldn't like to be parked next to it.

dharn

does anybody know what is in the left hand corner of the engine bay in those cars, could oil have leaked on to the exaust and just burned itself off when the car came to a halt, maybe thats the sort of clue the op is looking for

Nissan doctor

The left hand front corner, behind the headlight has litle or no electrical items, the airbox and ducting are there, next over, moving towards the middle is the AC pump(if fitted).

The rear left is the shock mount.

Perhaps a bulb fitted incorrectly and touching some plastic or other wires?

Lucifer

You mentioned in the OP that it was at the bottom of the engine bay. The alternator is at the bottom of the engine bay at the front left corner of the engine.

kluivert

Lucifer wrote: »

You mentioned in the OP that it was at the bottom of the engine bay. The alternator is at the bottom of the engine bay at the front left corner of the engine.

Alternator changed during the summer and also AC not working fixed twice by same dealer, first time they said radiator needed to be changed done that, collected the car next day it stopped working took it back and they there was something wrong with the pump so they fixed it then it stopped working again in Sept.

Thanks guys I was wondering what was on that side that could be problematic

PaulKK

kluivert wrote: »

Anyway any advice.

Please stop saying "wifey"? Whats wrong with wife/the missus/herself?

-Chris-

PaulKK wrote: »

Please stop saying "wifey"? Whats wrong with wife/the missus/herself?

Maybe it's a pet name between them, who cares? It hardly materially affects the thread or the advice required...

Guy:Incognito

-Chris- wrote: »

Maybe it's a pet name between them, who cares? It hardly materially affects the thread or the advice required...

I think we shoul dban the use of couples pet names for each other. We could end up in very dark places