| Components - Details | |
|---|---|
| NHTSA Complaint Number: 997045429 | Incident Date: Aug, 31 1997 |
| Consumer's City: SIERRA VISTA | Consumer's State: AZ |
| Vehicle Transmission Type: | Manufacturers Name: Ford Motor Company |
| Model Name: BRONCO II | Model Year: 1989 |
| Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No | Component's Description: Electrical system:12v/24v/48v battery |
| Vehicle Involved in a Fire: Yes | Persons Injured: 0 |
| Vehicle's VIN#: 1FMCU14T4KU | Date added to File: May, 25 2021 |
| Date Complaint Received: Aug, 14 2000 | Complaint Type: IVOQ |
| Incident Reported To Police: No | Purchase Date: Mar, 31 1990 |
| Was Original Owner: No | Anti-lock Brakes: Yes |
| Number of Cylinders: 0 | Date of Manufacturer: - |
| Was Vehicle Towed: - | Description of the Complaints: The battery is located in the engine compartment on the passenger side of the vehicle. the battery is held in place by a small ineffective retainer that only covers an edge of the battery on the bottom of the battery. in addition, this retainer does not often fit replacement batteries properly. the positive lead on the battery is connected to the battery on the side of the battery that is directly adjacent to the fender on the passenger side of the vehicle. these two design flaws work together to cause a situation which can easily cause a fire in the engine compartment of the vehicle. in my particular case, which should be very typical, the battery hold down bracket did not hold the battery in place. due to this problem, the battery shifted just a few inches toward the fender on the passenger side of the vehicle. this caused the positive terminal of the battery to come in contact with the fender, thus causing the battery to "short to ground". the result of this occurance was that my entire wiring harness was shorted, burned and destroyed. the cables that release my emergency brake and hood were shorted and the exterior coating began to burn. other plastic parts of the vehicle began to burn and flames "shot out" from under the engine compatment area. when i attempted to pull the hood release lever to try and contain the fire, the cable pulled loose due to the immediate damage caused by the "short to ground" and the resultant fire. i was able to release the hood from underneath the front of the car, then i pulled the battery from the fender to stop the cause of the fire. finally, i was able to extinguish the fire with dirt and sand from the surrounding area. the fire and short caused $4000 to $5000 in actual damage to include fire damage to the paint on my hood and fender. this could have been much worse however. imagine if this occured while a parent was outside the vehicle and a short distance from the vehicle with their child or pet inside. |
