Electrical fire

[dualquadpete]

Hi, new to here, RBQ1853 went up in smoke in the garage on Jan 20th. of this yr. Luckily I was in the shop when the Alternator shorted out internally & got the batt. disconnected but the wiring harness took a BIG hit. Insurance co. was called & Adjuster came to assess the damage!!! 1st. comment was "maybe I should have let it "burn MORE" as NO FLAME NO CLAIM!!!! Long story short, had it towed to Collector car shop & they fought the Insurance Co. by getting a 3rd. party adjuster in & finally they 'coughed up on claim" Major re-wire on engine & under dash wiring, but hoping to get the car back sometime this week [shooting for may15th] Very disappointed in my "collector car" Insurance Broker, + the Insurance Co. & the subletted Adjuster Co. here in Ontario Canada, as they just brushed me off & seemed to not care at all just "saved a claim" !!!!

[boogieman]

Sorry to hear this. In all my years of insuring specialty cars I have only filed one claim

and the insurer stepped right up and took care of the repairs, no undue questions asked.

[dualquadpete]

Thanks, this was my 1st claim EVER since the 1970's, never had a problem, but never claimed either, on the 6 or 7 vehicles I've had insured with them, This Canadian Co, was bought out by Major US Insurer, & think the problem is the Co. up here that underwrites the policy!!!! Going to ph. US head office once everything is settled & let them know what the hell's going on up here. Tried to post a picture but every time it says too big??? Have no idea how to rectify this??? Pete

[boogieman]

The picture problem is systemic. I have reduced my pictures to the smallest size possible and the system here still tells

me they are too large to download.

Others manage but I have no clue how.

Good luck with the insurance issue.

[WayneC]

I had a harness short some years back while on the road. I pulled off the freeway immediately, parked, and disconnected the battery as quickly as I could (turning off the ignition key did nothing). Several of my plastic engine harness tie-downs had deteriorated, broken, and allowed the harness to move forward.
The main engine harness shorted where it passes behind the right hood hold-down lock, apparently from abrading against the hood lock housing until wires were bared and shorted to ground. Luckily I disconnected the battery before it fried anything beyond the firewall into the under-dash area. I was able to make repairs myself, but I now have a lot of splices in the wiring very near to where the harness exits from the firewall.

I subsequently put a "green knob" switch on the negative battery cable (I think that's sufficient, but a cutoff switch on the positive terminal might be an even better precaution).

So, warning to Avanti owners: check to see that your engine wiring harness is well-secured in areas where it passes near metal.

[dualquadpete]

I got the car back Friday, have a few things not working,ie. 4 ways, trunk light & after mkt. radio, other than that everything is working,!!!! Will get into those after car show today!!! felt great driving it home after a 4 1/2 months. Will be calling the Insurance Co. head office in Mich. on Monday to relate to the "crap" I had to go through to get this fixed!!! & the poor attitude up here on Broker, Insurance Co. & sublet Adjuster Pete

[Avanti83]

Glad it's back on the road and calling them is the appropriate response but I'll bet they'll just apologize to beat heck and change nothing. I would find a company with a better rep and just move on. I gave up thinking they care years ago. It's now just a business decision on my/their part.

BTW, I had the same issue with pictures so I just post from photobucket. Works every time. Bob

Edited May 17, 2015 by Avanti83

[dualquadpete]

Stereo, & pwr. Ant. working, Tiny fuse was missing from back of unit, must have fell out when Radio removed?? Found 1 tiny wire that shop 'missed", for 'cruise, re connected, still nothing, then found the "black box" way up under dash, 1 amp glass fuse "Blown" Cruise WORKS!! 4 ways are next, but unable to find pwr. source so far , looks like fog lights are some how tied in with 4 ways for pwr. Will also "fix" a "boo boo" they have high beam socket in speedo head ?? & dash socket [guess where]???? Trunk light was "bad" connection at the mercury switch, easy fix there!!! Follow up!!! removed the speedo & swapped out the sockets, not an easy job, found a pwr. source for 4 ways & fogs, got that job done. Road test on Sun. 200 mile trip, everything is A OK cruise is 'erratic" at 50 MPH but smooth, above or below that!!! Still waiting for phone call???

Edited May 25, 2015 by dualquadpete