Up in Flames

[Smokin Joe67]

I thought you guys might find this interesting. 2005 Yanmar CBL 40 backhoe with 700hr parked 3 days in one spot and on the 4th day while out of town (of course) the machine caught fire. I've been doing this for 35 years and have never ever had a machine just catch fire. We did no electric work to it and can't see how anyone could torch this in a locked gate at 6 am. Just strange.

 

[92U 3406]

I remember reading an incident report a couple years ago from one of the mines about a D9 or D10 that burnt up while parked in an empty pit. They determined that it was struck by lightning and caught fire. Seems a bit far-fetched but that was what they ruled as the cause.

 

[Smokin Joe67]

I asked the same thing but there were no storms that night. Now what i do is park all my older units in one spot close together so if one goes they all go.

 

[alrman]

I have seen something similar occur.
An operator washed his backhoe in the morning & parked it in a shed. I was working alone in the same shed all that day, during the afternoon I came out from under a machine to see the roof of the shed filled with smoke.
The smoke was coming from the washed backhoe. I disconnected the battery, & put the fire out. The +ve battery cable had shorted out where it runs over the engine bellhousing.
This shed had another 6 machines & about 6 trucks parked in it. If I wasn't there, the whole lot probably would have gone up in smoke.
How it happened without any movement or vibration - I don't know.
If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I probably wouldn't believe it.

 

[hookedondiesel]

Were there any "reported" problems on it before.

 

[Hobbytime]

on most of my older equipment if parked inside the shop or barn, I disconnect the battery cables just for that reason.. it may be a little of a pain, but much easier than dealing with the fire and damaged equipment and building..I have seen ford cars burn up because of defective wiring in the steering columns or ignition switch...better safe than sorry..

 

[Plongson]

Now you have me thinking...I have a battery cutoff switch I'll have to trace out. It is factory installed and if it truly isolates the system, I'm gonna start using it. Good information guys...

 

[Billrog]

A few years back my fork lifts starter started going on it's own after it had been sitting a few days. Fortunately I was handy and ran over to it lifted the hood ( which the seat is on top of) sparks were shooting out between the battery post and cable which I immediately pried off. Turned out the push button for the starter shorted. If the shut off hadn't been pulled out it would have started. This could have possibly started a fire and burnt my machine 24 volt with 2 battery's things could get fairly hot.

 

[92U 3406]

Due to safety rules, all of our equipment have battery master disconnects installed. I always turn off the power for that reason (and to stop parasitic draw on the batteries while it sits).

 

[diver]

Boy, that would make me wanna cry. What a shame . On a new machine like that im hopping you had insurance...

 

[old-iron-habit]

Same thing happened to a neighbor/friend with a Cat loader used for feeding on his dairy farm. Just last Friday morning it caught fire as he was working close by and was about to start it up to warm up. Lucky he was near it and was able to extinguish it with it only needing a complete wiring harness and some paint. Many insurance companies state in there equipment policies that the disconnect must be in the off position when the machine is parked or the insurance is invalid. More than one big tractor has burned when the electronics kick in for a minute and start dry chaff dust on fire. His is a fairly new high lift and has a bit of electronics on it.

 

[Smokin Joe67]

The Yanmar was a 2005 with 700 hours and we have done nothing to it except routine service. Never any electrical issues or anything and for once i used my insurance and they were great. Very surprised about that. They paid full replacement cost so i really made out on that one.

 

[Billrog]

Nice to hear the insurance came through for you .

 

[Deon]

i've also installed a master cutoff switch on the negative battery cable purposely for this reason.
You often see photos of burnt machines for sale. Fire almost always seems to start in the cab.
I shut it off anytime i'm away from the machine.

 

[Billrog]

I also have them installed on the negative side as recommended for what ever reason ?

 

[92U 3406]

If the master disconnect switch ever grounds out internally and it is on the positive side, you've basically shorted the battery directly to ground.

 

[Billrog]

Thank you now I know the reasoning.