So I bought my 3rd Fiero yesterday, 1986 GT, and while I was pulling it onto the trailer, something electrical up front near the blower motor caught fire. By the time I got it out, it had melted through to the floor under the dash, and the housing for the blower motor is a puddle of plastic. Has anyone ever had this happen? Can the damaged panels be replaced?
The type of fire you describe is about the most common nowadays, from rodents building nests in the front HVAC ductwork, or leaves getting in there. Everyone should pull the blower motor every spring and check for leaves, nests, etc. Many cars have been total losses because of this type of fire.
As far as repairs, sounds like the HVAC housing may need to be pulled to repair it, which pretty much means taking apart the dash and front compartment.
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10:49 PM
DavidM Member
Posts: 73 From: Arlington TX USA Registered: Oct 2009
A resistor only gets hot when the fan is on something other than 'High'. Each resistor is for a different fan speed. It's a cheap (and it turns out dangerous) way to get a multi-speed fan.
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09:36 AM
rivebug86 Member
Posts: 32 From: Rochester, NY Registered: May 2011
On low the fan motor resistor element can glow red hot. This will easily ignite dried leave or a rodent nest. It takes 15 minutes to get the motor out and to vacuum out the duct. Simple maintenance to keep your Fiero from burning up.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Yep... All owners need to check or you could the next victim.
Easy way to check is just pull the resistor. Even if they look clean, stick your fingers inside to see what's behind the plastic. With cars with AC, allot of trash will be there just to the right (toward the passenger side) of the hole. A piece of bent wire will help to reach all of the crap.
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Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua: On low the fan motor resistor element can glow red hot. This will easily ignite dried leave or a rodent nest.
normally, air from the blower will cool the resistor assm but anything which messes with airflow can cause problems and maybe fires. Not cleaning can cause heating and air-conditioning performance problems to.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
I can echo the concern. I recently bought an '88 that had a mysterious melted out section in the plastic cover right next to the A/C evaporator. This explains what happened, as it was very near the resistor elements.
AC evaporator or heater is rarely "square" to the housing and Airflow will force trash to one section of evaporator or heater.
In Fiero's AC case, Trash is collected on the same side as the resistor assm.
recently I did my car... 1 maple seed was caught in the resistor (1 of middle speeds) w/ some toasting action. Otherwise the hole "looked" clean... Then I reach in and result in 3/4 cup of Very dry dirt, seeds, and pieces of leaves. The pile just reach the hole...
Note that my car has all of hood latch "gasket" intact... Many of you have piece missing or broken parts keeping leaves etc out of heater box and your trash pile could be much bigger. Heater box inlet is under right side wiper pivot and is easy to suck down any trash that get in from latch.
Mice problem... yes mice love to move into the heater box. If the car is been sitting, like Winter storage, then it's a good idea to remove the resistor assembly to check for the mouse problem before starting the the car or even turn the to Run. Remember that the blower is on most settings and Some car's the blower is always on even when the controls are off.
[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 06-12-2012).]
