one less nsx on the road

[ckarate2]

i took my 92 nsx red over ivory to work friday morning. live in ky just outside of louisville. had her detailed and pampered. filled up with petro.
ready to takae to my dads for winter storage. about 60 deg. sunny and around 5pm left work had a buddy follow me in my truck to pick me up and take me home. about 8 miles from my dads house the stereo started cutting in and out very wierd.( custom stereo and amp installed in right rear of car.)
so anyways come up to a stop light and no one coming and my buddy following. i gunned her and off we went down this winding road and my phone rings. i answer it and its my buddy behind me and hes yelling pull over pull over theres flames coming out of you lisc. plate. i said shut up and laughed. hung up the phone and turn and looked ( for shits and giggles.) and dam i locked her up slid to the side of the road opend the drivers door and flames were 10 ft high i took off running called 911 ruined my fav. golf jacket trying to put it out and relized shes gone and the fire department was there with water on her in 4 min. i looked at my phone when it was all over doing the police report and i called 911 at 5.36pm and 5.40 the fire department had water on her. a complete loss.acording to nsx records acura built 11 red over ivory autos in 92 and 6 are in bone yards. leaving 5. now theres only 4 left.
i have pics ill try to upload them. or email me and ill send some one them and they can up load them for every one to see what fire does to alum.
not a pretty sight.
meet with the insurance to day. i can work out keeping the car if someone wants a salvage nsx auto let me know.
ky chris

 

[ckarate2]

i can not for the life of me upload any pics on here some one email me at [email protected] so i can send them 6 pics and you upload them for me please. i wnat e1 to see my baby.

ky chris

 

[MLmotorsport]

Holy nuts! So sorry to hear about this! Any idea what the cause could have been? Was it bone stock?
PM'd my addy. I can have them up later this eve.

 

[kmrumedy]

What caused the fire? Could any of the "pampering" that was performed have caused the fire?

I'm so sorry. I had my favourite ride die on me. It was like losing a good friend.

 

[ckarate2]

the fire department said it looks like the amp or wiring shorted out. the main battery feed was the size of your thumb. causing a fire on the right rear leading to a fuel fire.
sobbing uncontrolably
ky chris

 

[MLmotorsport]

Heartbreaking

*click for larger version*
(see my gallery for extra large versions)

 

[Chromatose]

What is that silver, rectangular unit in the passenger side of the engine compartment? Please tell me it's not a car stereo amplifier.

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

the fire department said it looks like the amp or wiring shorted out. the main battery feed was the size of your thumb. causing a fire on the right rear leading to a fuel fire.
sobbing uncontrolably
ky chris

Curious. It is very unlikely for a proper installation to cause all that. Perhaps the exact cause can be identified. I see the amp thrown back there. Where was the aftermarket audio equipment originally installed? Who did the work? What gauge was used for the amplifier for power, ground, and remote? How was the aftermarket power wiring ran- front to rear off the battery directly or in parallel off the rear fuse box? Was cable routed through the engine bay by the fuel filter? Did it have flex loom over it? Was there an external fuse of the proper size, an internal one in the amplifier, or did the installation attempt to rely on the factory main fuse?

 

[ckarate2]

it is the amp/. it was installed in the trunk on the right rear quater.
a company did the install in cincinatti ohio 2 years ago before i got the car.
i have all the reciepts .
i dont have a clue as to the guage of wiring or the routing of the wiring.
from what i can tell it was ran down the side by the fuel filter and as you can all see the fire was all on the right rear side and the wiring is all bare and burnt. the amp was on the ground behind the rr tire and we picked it up and threw it on the engine to get it flatbeded to my dads house.
as you can all see lost if flames.
sobbing uncontrolably.

ky chris

 

[ckarate2]

i meet with my insurance today and there going to give me a chance to keep the car so if anyone nows of or wants this let me know before i settle what ever salvage price is i will let any of my fellow nsx prime members have the car for salvage price
ky chris

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

Whatever the details, sorry to hear of your loss. Obviously once the fuel fire started burning uncontrollably in the engine bay, the damage was very extensive very quickly. Judging by the damage all around; you may wish to let them take it and just wipe your hands completely in this instance... unless perhaps you or another member feel it to be worth wile to try and part the front out. Save the tears, let it go to rest, thank your friend with the phone you didn't get burned or otherwise hurt, and just move on- the NSX can be replaced.

 

[Arshad]

Wow, that's horrible! Thank God for your friend calling or it could have been MUCH worse. Glad to hear that you made it out without any injuries. Must be tough to see your baby in that condition, but like John said it's probably best to wipe your hands and move on and find a replacement.

 

[Scin]

i meet with my insurance today and there going to give me a chance to keep the car so if anyone nows of or wants this let me know before i settle what ever salvage price is i will let any of my fellow nsx prime members have the car for salvage price
ky chris

The damage is too extensive. Unless you can get it really cheap and want to part it out at a profit, I would suggest just letting it go.

 

[MiamiMermaid]

Wow, that's horrible! Thank God for your friend calling or it could have been MUCH worse. Glad to hear that you made it out without any injuries. Must be tough to see your baby in that condition, but like John said it's probably best to wipe your hands and move on and find a replacement.

This must hurt like crazy. I'm so sorry for your loss. It is like losing a best friend. But, as Arshad, said, thank God your friend alerted this to you before it became out of control with your life inside.

Time to start looking for another NSX**

 

[mickeylex]

I'm glad you were not hurt. It's hard to look at that damage, but your 2nd NSX will bring you as much joy as this one did.

 

[DocL]

Yikes....Fire is the one thing that scares me the most. Glad that you didn't get cooked crispy fried along with the car. It sucks that this happened, but hopefully you'll get a good settelment and find another NSX. As others have said, just walk away from this one.

Good luck.

 

[heySkippy]

Wow, sorry to hear about your loss. Bitter dregs indeed.

 

[martin]

Hi

Sorry for your loss. That is just horrible.

I would like smoked taillights..but not that kind

Regards

 

[clr1024]

That is one crazy story Sorry to hear the bad news. Have they figured out definitely what it was besides speculation on the stereo yet?

 

[01blacks4]

WOW glad your alright...it is just a car,,,now you can go find one of the other 4 left

FWIW...I have worked in the car audio industry for over 15 years now.... I have NEVER seen a car burn up because of a stereo installation. People have always pointed fingers and said it was the reason but after the investigation, if the people take there time they will find it is something else.
Just something to think about....if it was the wire for the amp, and it did short; it would have to be next to a carpet or something else to start the fire that would then light the tank. Since it looks like the fire was all from the engine bay, not the trunk or behind the seats it probably wasn’t that. Also the wire will not have a coating on it because the fire burned it off..

if it was a short, of any sort, car stereo or factory you will be able to find it EASY.... look at each strand of each wire....when you find some that are not connected or "broken" if the are balled up on the end...like the head on a pin... that’s your short, that is 99% where the problem started. When copper wire shorts to ground, but continues to feed current, it will ball like this on the ends.

The reason most fire marshals always say "it’s the stereo" is because they see a large wire or a large fuse and assume that it is too big for the task. A 100 amp fuse will blow INSTANTLY when shorted to ground...even with only 1/2 an amp of current. This is not enough to start a fire. Unless your trying to and you help it.

Also you stand a chance of fire using a small wire more than a large wire. Both wires will carry the same amount of current. The small one will heat up sooner and start to burn. (Think heat soak on an intercooler) a larger wire will carry that current for a longer run (length of wire) with less heat build up. There is a formula for this....

Again, sorry for your loss, if you really care why it burned up it should be easy to see..........my first guess would be the #1 reason for car fires. Leaking fuel injector O rings, which are right above your headers. Just my .02

Again, sorry for your loss.

 

[Hugh]

it is the amp/. it was installed in the trunk on the right rear quater.
a company did the install in cincinatti ohio 2 years ago before i got the car.
i have all the reciepts

You need to have the fire marshall or another independent expert inspect the wiring. I suspect negligence on the part of the installer. ANY power wire run from the battery or the fuse block in the engine bay should have had a seperate fuse installed inline with the main power cable as close to possible as the power source. I'll bet they ran an unfused power line. If that's the case, you, or your insurance company have a case for negligence. If there was a fuse in there and it didn't blow the fuse manufacturer can be liable. Hire a lawyer immediately and have him read this post.

That fire should NEVER have happened with a properly installed amplifier.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[AdnanVCS]

Oh my god that really got to suck.

Are you going to get a other NSX?

 

[NSXLuvr]

WOW!!! - That's just crazy. Sorry for your loss.

 

[4AU4LIFE]

Sorry for the loss also.
For all the stereo gurus. If the audio system was to blame, why would it have taken so long (2yrs) for that to happen? I would also think that since that much time has passed then I wouldn't think the installer can't be held liable.
These are questions moreso than statements.

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

WOW glad your alright...it is just a car,,,now you can go find one of the other 4 left

FWIW...I have worked in the car audio industry for over 15 years now.... I have NEVER seen a car burn up because of a stereo installation. People have always pointed fingers and said it was the reason but after the investigation, if the people take there time they will find it is something else.
Just something to think about....if it was the wire for the amp, and it did short; it would have to be next to a carpet or something else to start the fire that would then light the tank. Since it looks like the fire was all from the engine bay, not the trunk or behind the seats it probably wasn’t that. Also the wire will not have a coating on it because the fire burned it off..

if it was a short, of any sort, car stereo or factory you will be able to find it EASY.... look at each strand of each wire....when you find some that are not connected or "broken" if the are balled up on the end...like the head on a pin... that’s your short, that is 99% where the problem started. When copper wire shorts to ground, but continues to feed current, it will ball like this on the ends.

The reason most fire marshals always say "it’s the stereo" is because they see a large wire or a large fuse and assume that it is too big for the task. A 100 amp fuse will blow INSTANTLY when shorted to ground...even with only 1/2 an amp of current. This is not enough to start a fire. Unless your trying to and you help it.

Also you stand a chance of fire using a small wire more than a large wire. Both wires will carry the same amount of current. The small one will heat up sooner and start to burn. (Think heat soak on an intercooler) a larger wire will carry that current for a longer run (length of wire) with less heat build up. There is a formula for this....

Again, sorry for your loss, if you really care why it burned up it should be easy to see..........my first guess would be the #1 reason for car fires. Leaking fuel injector O rings, which are right above your headers. Just my .02

Again, sorry for your loss.

It's impossible to speculate on a cause or negligence without the benefit of inspecting everthing up close and personal and having all the facts. Very rare, but I once had a parked demo vehicle catch on fire due with a dual battery setup because a cheap battery isolator suddenly failed internally and caused a direct short between the dry cells sparking a fire on the MDF. Luckily due to quick thinking, the damage turned out to be minor. In cases like this, I'd put litigation on the back burner, let them flat bed it away, and just move on.