APS piggyback shorted & almost caught my car on fire!!
#1
APS piggyback shorted & almost caught my car on fire!!
I finally got my car running today on Christmas. I went down to the gas station, filled her up & went for a cruise. About 3 miles into the cruise & my car stalled, then the whole cabin filled with smoke. I opened the hood and disconnected the battery, then began to rip every plastic piece out where the smoke was coming from. I then unplugged the piggyback & found it melted on the side. I checked all the wires, & everything was pluged in right. Followed the crank angle sensor and found a short where the wires were melted. I was on PCH & Beach, so I called a buddy & told him to bring wire cutters & butt ends. I cut the melted piece out & rewired hoping for the best. The car still wouldn't start. I then called a tow truck and sat for an hour. Then I tried plugging in the stock ECU and the stock crank angle sensor plug & it started right up.
So now I'm happy it didn't fry my ECU but now I need to deal with replacing the piggyback. The messed up thing is when I first was checking out all the parts 5 months ago, I noticed that the piggyback had a few chunks out of it like someone dropped it. I thought it was no big deal untill now. I hope I can get this fixed soon!
Oh well, **** happens
Wes
So now I'm happy it didn't fry my ECU but now I need to deal with replacing the piggyback. The messed up thing is when I first was checking out all the parts 5 months ago, I noticed that the piggyback had a few chunks out of it like someone dropped it. I thought it was no big deal untill now. I hope I can get this fixed soon!
Oh well, **** happens
Wes
#6
I had it strapped(zip-tied) to the stock wire.
Yeah guys, it was smoking sooo bad that I couldn't see my navigation. I thought my car was DONE for. I delayed my insurance for the 6 month motor build/TT/install, so if it did go up in flames I would've been fugged.
Thanks for the help, I hope it will be back running this week. All these options/suggestions make me feel a little better.
And to think: at first it ran soooo good while I filled the fluids, washed it, & drove around the corner for about an hour. Right once I got on my regular sunday cruise route, **** hit the fan.
Tomorrow I'm buying a fire hydrant & heat wrap, re-instating my insurance, & over-nighting a piggyback from somewhere/somebody.
Wes
Yeah guys, it was smoking sooo bad that I couldn't see my navigation. I thought my car was DONE for. I delayed my insurance for the 6 month motor build/TT/install, so if it did go up in flames I would've been fugged.
Thanks for the help, I hope it will be back running this week. All these options/suggestions make me feel a little better.
And to think: at first it ran soooo good while I filled the fluids, washed it, & drove around the corner for about an hour. Right once I got on my regular sunday cruise route, **** hit the fan.
Tomorrow I'm buying a fire hydrant & heat wrap, re-instating my insurance, & over-nighting a piggyback from somewhere/somebody.
Wes
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#8
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Originally Posted by weslutes
...Tomorrow I'm buying a fire hydrant & heat wrap, re-instating my insurance, & over-nighting a piggyback from somewhere/somebody.
Wes
Wes
Sorry to hear about your incident. Make sure to call your ins. co. right away and tell them about your FI. Pay for a rider/floater or what ever they call it or you could get totally hosed if you ever have an accident. I did, so learn from my mistakes.
#16
Originally Posted by neffster
LOL, check into fire extinguishers. They're more portable, less weight and you won't have dogs pissing all over your Z.
Sorry to hear about your incident. Make sure to call your ins. co. right away and tell them about your FI. Pay for a rider/floater or what ever they call it or you could get totally hosed if you ever have an accident. I did, so learn from my mistakes.
Sorry to hear about your incident. Make sure to call your ins. co. right away and tell them about your FI. Pay for a rider/floater or what ever they call it or you could get totally hosed if you ever have an accident. I did, so learn from my mistakes.
Thanks for the insurance info.
I ran the wire to the drivers side compartment, then out to the tranny where I zip-tied(regular zip-ties) it to the stock wire. I thought it was routed good(away from the turbos), it was above the drivers side turbo about 6 inches. Maybe the wire got in the path of the heat rising from the turbo. There was no problem the first half hour when the hood was open, the underhood temps must have sky-rocketted when I shut the hood.
After looking at it & brainstorming for hours, I came to the conclusion that I should run it through the firewall towards the drivers side compartment(brake fluid area) but drill a hole in the middle(right behind the throttle body) using a rubber/plastic grommet to pull it through dropping it straight down to the plug. That way the wire will not be going under/over/around/by any exhaust portion of the car, & the small section of wire that is in the engine bay will be heat wrapped.
#19
You have a PM MRC.
tig488: That's a good idea, I'll scope it out & figure the best option. Please illiterate, I'm trying to picture your idea.
The piggyback is on the passenger's side, & the plug is on the driver's side. If I drilled the hole on the passenger's side, i'd have to pull it through the firewall & loop it around the tranny(which sounds O.K.).
If I drill the hole on the driver's side I'd have to run it through/around the center concil/dash, then out the hole(which sounds like a biatch).
I think my idea is best but i'll look into it & size it up to see which one is best.
tig488: That's a good idea, I'll scope it out & figure the best option. Please illiterate, I'm trying to picture your idea.
The piggyback is on the passenger's side, & the plug is on the driver's side. If I drilled the hole on the passenger's side, i'd have to pull it through the firewall & loop it around the tranny(which sounds O.K.).
If I drill the hole on the driver's side I'd have to run it through/around the center concil/dash, then out the hole(which sounds like a biatch).
I think my idea is best but i'll look into it & size it up to see which one is best.
#20
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take out the shifter plastic and center console out between the seats. i drilled a few spots to run several harnesses in that general area, just make sure you dont hit anything on the otherside, from underneath the car its in the center. run the wire thru the hole and up under all the dash panels over to the unichip, just have to make sure the hole is big enough for the plugs to go thru.