some dash fire damage = ignition problems

[Juarez88]

I feel embarrassed saying this but I don't want to take any chances. The other day I was removing old vents and hoses so I can plug up the holes in the firewall to help avoid engine fumes. Anyway A couple of the hoses were attached to a metal box (behind the center console which holds some vents in the dash) and the nuts were held on tightly. I used wd40 to loosen the nuts and was able to remove them with no problem.

As I attempted to remove the box It was caught between something and I was unable to see what it was (night time). I didn't notice that it was bare metal and the surface it was held on to was metal and as I wiggled it out it ignited the remaining wd40 residue. Being an old car dust/cobwebs were around and before I had any time to react it had spread to the remaining plastic vents in the dash and was nearly out of control.I tried franticly to put it out using everything I could find and was finally able to with a fire extinguisher my roommate has.

during the time the car was on fire, the lights turned on and off, the horn went off(though not connected correctly) and basically the entire car was acting out of control. I was nearly loosing control of the situation and my buddy disconnected the battery which shut off the lights and electrical stuff and we continued use water and a fire extinguisher to put off the fire.

The aftermath of the entire situation was my rpm gauge, oil/amp,fuel and clock gauges were all fried. A few fuses in my fuse box were fried but amazingly enough the wiring to the fuse box was intact with a few plastic drops on them but they appeared to be in great shape. The ignition wiring looks very good and has no signs of any fire damage to it but most of the wiring from the gauges are fried. I waited a couple of days for the wiring to dry on its own and during that time I cleaned up the car and inspected the damages before thinking of reconnecting the battery.

So I reconnected the battery and it was dead (deka etx14) and had it charged. After reconnecting the battery with a good charge the windshield wipers were on and stay on. I can not turn them off and there is a clicking noise from the passenger side. The lights turn on, the turn signals work and the emergency lights work but the windshield wiper will not turn off. Whenever I tried to start the car, I hear nothing. The fire did not reach the engine and most of the wiring looks intact and fine.

Have any of you dealt with fire damage and wiring? I let my friend who is a electrician check a few of the wires and most of them were fine. His meter needles were to large to check the smaller connections, but those went to the cd player and choke light. We replaced the fuses in the fuse box and tried to start the car but it still wouldn't crank. The fuel pump will not turn on when the key is in the on position like it would before the accident either. I did some searching and would like to know a few answers before I disassemble the dash tomorrow.

Could the fusible links have fried during the short?

Could my starter solenoid have gone bad?

Are there any ignition solenoids located in the dash?

Any other parts aside from fried wiring that I should look for?

Finally, could fried gauges be the reason the car will not start? (read in the other thread above and some suggested that gauges not being will cause this)

The car is a 73 240z with roundtop carbs and appears to be stock. No aftermarket fusebox and there is no cd player, ac or heater. It has a new starter, alternator and voltage regulator. tomorrow would be my first day that I'll have time to work on the car, and I would like any input advice/suggestions to make the repairs quicker and safer.

Thanks for your time!

[ktm]

Didn't you ask this question over at Hybridz? I know that Ron Tyler recommended that you find a replacement harness instead of trying to piece together your damaged one.

I fully support Ron's recommendations. Also, you really need to pull your old harness completely out of the car and inspect it. Otherwise you are just shooting in the dark.

[kenyaman]

yep...

i ve dealt with a similar issue partaking to another make and model...

at the end of the day you will need to rip out that dash, take out the harness, inspect it (although to be fair your better of with a new one), repair any other fire damage and replace it...

seems easy but you will run into loads of lil tricky prollems...

good luck!

[Juarez88]

yes i did but i wanted to ask here to get more feedback. I am planning on removing the dash but after searching a bit it seems like there might have been more to it. anyway ill go with the original recommendation.

thanks

[EScanlon]

Jonathan:

By the time you remove the dash, pull out the burnt portion of the wiring harness, unwrap what's left, and try to decipher what wires were melted and therefore now shorting out....you'll have so much more time and energy involved into it than simply finding a replacement harness for the dash.

Look at the right hand side of the dash, near where the connectors to the rest of the car are. You should be able to find a label with some numbering on it. Then post those numbers here. Arne did a lot of research on dash harnesses and he should be able to answer questions on what (if any) alternatives you have.

Then, with that information, you should be able to locate a replacement quickly enough that will work correctly and not have you second-guessing and making poor connections that may cause even more problems.

2¢

E

[Go240Zags]

I have the dash out of my '72 parts car and it has the wiring harness as well as the gauges. I believe it was a late build, but can't remember. If the harness numbers match we could probably work out a deal if you need the whole thing or just harness and maybe the gauges you lost.

[Juarez88]

pm sent.

[Juarez88]

I found 24013 N3321 and 24013 N3322 underneath the passenger side behind the top of the dash. I hope those are it.

[Go240Zags]

I found 24013 N3321 and 24013 N3322 underneath the passenger side behind the top of the dash. I hope those are it.

Juarez88, I'll check these against the numbers on my spare dash harness and see whether they are the same. I believe the gauges will be same, whether the harness matches or not. Give me some time to check on it tomorrow or Wednesday when I can get to it in storage. Gary