FIRE! But under the dash, not the hood? Pics

[ppritchard]

Area to the left of the glovebox, looks like a finned metal piece -- that is the area where the fire was. Smoke started coming from the vents, then I saw the flames. Glovebox was out of the car, so you could see the flames to the left. Plastics were what was burning/melting.

What could have caused the fire?
Any idea what that finned piece is? Could it be the source.

Car had only been running maybe 5 min, so must have been electrical or something similar. Only recent work was a new ac compressor. No smoke under the hood, just here and through the vents.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff189/3031alatka/rx7fire4_zps8c0b13b6.jpg (http://s240.photobucket.com/user/3031alatka/media/rx7fire4_zps8c0b13b6.jpg.html)

[FerociousP]

Based on googling, it doesn't look like the blower motor resistor... AMP for the radio/speakers maybe???

Also, it might be a good idea to look in your fuse boxes for damaged or higher than spec fuses...

[ppritchard]

Picture of center speaker Bose amp looks like it could be the finned piece.

Not sure if a radio amp can catch fire, but I don't know what else is right there.

Radio was sounding funny the last couple of days, so maybe.

[ppritchard]

Video of fire "area". Thinking that it was the center speaker Amplifier that somehow caused the spark -- plastics became the fuel.

Any input would be appreciated.
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff189/3031alatka/th_rx7fire_zps35ab9894.mp4 (http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff189/3031alatka/rx7fire_zps35ab9894.mp4)

[djmtsu]

Looks like the amp overheated and started melting the plastic, igniting a fire!

Damn!

[Fendamonky]

Thats some crazy shit...

[ppritchard]

Pulled the center Bose amplifier and it appears that the "top" either got hot enough to melt or hot enough to catch fire. The flames also moved to the adjacent thin plastic which is to the left of the glovebox. Wiring is at the bottom and did not display any char or other damage. So, since this is the only real heat or electrical source in the immediate area, I believe the amp was the cause of the fire.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff189/3031alatka/018_zps709dce69.jpg (http://s240.photobucket.com/user/3031alatka/media/018_zps709dce69.jpg.html)

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff189/3031alatka/017_zpsd3c5af2f.jpg (http://s240.photobucket.com/user/3031alatka/media/017_zpsd3c5af2f.jpg.html)

[MolotovMan]

That's crazy. It was great that you were able to put it out right away!

[t_g_farrell]

I wonder if a short to that amp caused it to fry itself? It doesn't just happen. You need
to figure that out before replacing or it will do it again.

[ppritchard]

Good point. I am NOT planning on replacing the center amp, pretty sure I won't miss it.
But I will try and get a good look at the all the audio wiring.

[Pete_89T2]

Were any aftermarket audio mods done to the car? I'd bet that if a previous owner had something installed with a dorked up wiring job, either DIY or incompetent car audio shop. If speaker wires were shorted somewhere, it could cause the amp that drives the shorted speakers to overheat.

[ppritchard]

We've had the car since -06, radio wiring looks clean.

There's another thread on the other forum of someone else having a fire on this amp last year.