Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: stevenw on 20 January 2007, 11:51:58
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Hello everyone, haven't posted for ages, haven't visited for a while. The reasons, the Elite has been faultless, an absolute pleasure to drive, and there are people on here who know much more than I do.
But, yesterday morning while driving to town, smoke came pouring out from under the bonnet, followed by flames. Opened the bonnet to find the wiring leading to the ECU on fire. Put out the fire but the damage is done. Some of the wires have turned to dust!
So the insurance company are involved now and I think it's a write off. :'(
Just like to thank everyone for their help when I first got the car and had a few problems.
Great forum, always plenty of help.
If someone can tell me how, and anyones interested, I have 2 photos of the damage but don't know how to post them.
TO SAY I'M GUTTED IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT!
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F*cking hell! Could've been a lot worse though.
Any idea how it started?
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No. I thought it might have had something to do with the LPG relay which is in the same place. On looking closer though, the only signs of burning on the relay wiring are the wires that were next to the wiring loom. The damage to the wiring loom goes quite deep. Also, where the wiring joins the black plastic cover that runs across the rockerbox is burned and melted. Strangely thre are no blown fuses.
And you are right, it could have been much, much worse.
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I guess it must have been a short or something.
I've been in a car with an engine fire and it's not nice. Especially when I was in a petrol station at the time :-[
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I guess it must have been a short or something.
I've been in a car with an engine fire and it's not nice. Especially when I was in a petrol station at the time :-[
I tried to extinguish an under-bonnet fire on a car once (not my car), if the fire is serious it can't really be done with a small exinguisher.... in the end the fire brigade came and put it out with foam.
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Hope I've done this right. Thanks BigCat.
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r295/gasiton/IMAGE_030.jpg
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r295/gasiton/IMAGE_029.jpg
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Sorry about your car mate
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Unless it's quite a new Elite (meaning still worth a fair bit) then it probably will be written off :(. Too much work to replace the loom so it'll cost a fair whack. Pity something so small can spell the death knell for an otherwise perfectly good car.
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Out of curiosity, does anyone know what's involved in replacing the loom? Does the whole dash panel have to come out, or can it be worked out through the slots and grooves?
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Oh dear - not nice, with my refit I fused the LPG wires just in case something similar happened - on the original install the LPG loom was melted through
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man , that is both heartbreaking and terrifying....
our sincerest condolences on the potential total loss of the omega....
on the bright side.. at least YOU are okay and not fried to a crisp, wrapped up under a lorry, or something else too horrible to contemplate.....
Here's hoping the insurance pays out enough for you to replace your meega with a newer, nicer one....
best of luck.
regards
Max
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In the photo showing the main relay box the 10 amp fuse in the top corner is for the LPG wiring.
Thanks to everyone for their sympathy and support. You have be philosphical I guess and say to yourself, it's just a lump of metal and can be replaced. (Easier than it sounds).
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well upsetting m8.
i had my mondeo fill up with smoke a couple of years ago , managed to pull over straight away and shut it all down and open all the windows. it turned out to be a heater motor relay burn out. i managed to isolate the damage only to the relay itself.
unfortunately being in a bigger wiring loom you were totally unlucky. hope you get a good deal from the ins company.
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Unless it's quite a new Elite (meaning still worth a fair bit) then it probably will be written off :(. Too much work to replace the loom so it'll cost a fair whack. Pity something so small can spell the death knell for an otherwise perfectly good car.
100%.
See my other thread re the Prius...
This whole car is going into a landfill just because it is too much work to replace the loom... what the government should be doing is not encourage us to bin old cars and buy new ('less-polluting') ones, what they should do is make sure garages don't charge £50 per hour - this is what kills cars that could have otherwise been repaired and driven on for years and years... and sure enough, it one car goes out of circulation another one will be built to take it's place... what a waste.
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Unless it's quite a new Elite (meaning still worth a fair bit) then it probably will be written off :(. Too much work to replace the loom so it'll cost a fair whack. Pity something so small can spell the death knell for an otherwise perfectly good car.
100%.
See my other thread re the Prius...
This whole car is going into a landfill just because it is too much work to replace the loom... what the government should be doing is not encourage us to bin old cars and buy new ('less-polluting') ones, what they should do is make sure garages don't charge £50 per hour - this is what kills cars that could have otherwise been repaired and driven on for years and years... and sure enough, it one car goes out of circulation another one will be built to take it's place... what a waste.
Well said Markjay :y
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Sorry to hear your news Steven - I was quoted £700 to fit a new loom some years back in a Cav - but that hadn't been on fire :-/
Keep us posted with Insurance wrangle - some one here may have a better offer if they fancy a project.
Scary though eh?