20-01-2020, 05:18 PM
(This post was last modified: 20-01-2020, 05:19 PM by Steve Jones.)
Charles' comment, above, explains things perfectly. I've had two fires in Sevens, both electrical and not needing the services of an extinguisher but that doesn't mean I don't carry one in my cars. The first was the 2011 VSCC Herefordshire Trial. With one to go Malcolm and I had cleaned every hill over the two days of the trial. As we left our penultimate hill we started to realise we might be on for a good result if our last hill could be a good one. However, as we drove towards the gate to re-join the main road the car filled up with smoke. The Master Switch is located in a very handy place and Malcolm reached over and turned it off. Transpired that the power lead from the switch panel to the rear mounted fuel pump had shorted out burning all the insulation off along its full length. The copper wire was still there, however, so we wrapped the entire length in gaffer tape and carried on. We didn't clean our last hill - nobody did but 3 crews outscored us there by 1 point so we ended 4th overall.
Fast forward to the VSCC Welsh Trial last year. On the Saturday morning, driving up the steep hill past Cwm Whitton Farm on our way over from Presteigne to scrutineering at Little Stretton my passenger (not Malcolm this time) uttered those dreaded words 'this things pulling well this morning'! Immediately the car coughed, misfired and stopped with smoke and an impressive shower of sparks from under the dashboard. The switch panel had become loose letting the panel drop and one of the connections shorted out. Again, Master Switch quickly off. This time the insulation to the LT side of the coil was burned away. Same repair as before and off we went on our way.
Steve
Fast forward to the VSCC Welsh Trial last year. On the Saturday morning, driving up the steep hill past Cwm Whitton Farm on our way over from Presteigne to scrutineering at Little Stretton my passenger (not Malcolm this time) uttered those dreaded words 'this things pulling well this morning'! Immediately the car coughed, misfired and stopped with smoke and an impressive shower of sparks from under the dashboard. The switch panel had become loose letting the panel drop and one of the connections shorted out. Again, Master Switch quickly off. This time the insulation to the LT side of the coil was burned away. Same repair as before and off we went on our way.
Steve