[sagsaw]

Originally Posted by aim120

No matter how small the electrical accessory is, it can cause a short which is hot enough to melt steel.
All it takes is one poorly tapped wire to touch the body ground or the poor quality accessories which has a poor choice of pcb design or poor choice of wires.

Remember the wires used in cars have a different type of insulation, for the same cross section of wire diameter, the ones rated for cars have higher amp rating because their insulation can handle higher temperature.

Accessory dealers may skip using copper wires or use regular house hold wires. Even the product may have a poor wires.

A 120watt house bulb consumes 0.5amp of current but a automotive bulb will consume 10amps of current since it runs on 12v. If one used the same household wire it will burn out before you blink.

Totally agree and well said.

Usually low quality wires and using under rated wires and short due to faulty wiring can cause catastrophic fires.

[Vikram Arya]

Some very insightful input here on this unfortunate accident in which thankfully no one was hurt.

As we all know cars being manufactured nowadays are becoming increasingly complicated and the amount of electronics jammed into these machines is just mind-boggling.

I for the life of me cannot understand why would anyone fiddle with what’s (electricals) already so complicated/temperamental and (not so reliable) piece of a larger puzzle which is plugged into every major sub-system of the vehicle.

I had the opportunity to test drive the XUV7OO (AX7L Petrol) on my last trip to India and was impressed by the vehicle in the first instance. It comes fully loaded and any such addition that involves fiddling with the vehicle's electrical system in my limited opinion is mostly avoidable which will fail in the long run in addition to causing complications adding to the ones already happening (or so I’m told) to a number of these vehicles.

So far in my life, I have owned 9 vehicles (3 in India and 6 out here in the last 18 years, 4 of which I still have), and barring the addition of a basic music system & upgrading the tires (radials in place of cross-ply tires while keeping the same rolling diameter) on M-800 & Gypsy King, I have never added any accessories nor have I felt the necessity. Now these were bare-bone vehicles and these additions could be rationalized somewhat however the XUV7OO on the other hand comes with so much more that there is hardly any need to add these so-called accessories.

As has already been suggested by many contributors, if any such accessory (barring the ones that do not connect with the electrical system) has to be installed then it should be done by the subject dealer (although personally I would avoid even that).

I’m sorry to say and my experience might well be out of date but a large majority of these aftermarket installers in tier 2/3 cities are fly-by-night operators who have barely enough idea as to what they are doing. Even if the accessory is of reasonable quality the wires/fuses etc. that these chaps use are of questionable quality thus increasing the chances of such a mishap.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by ashis89

In case of an incident, wouldn't the company find presence of accessories and deny a warranty/insurance claim?

If you:

- Bought the accessory from Mahindra's official catalogue

- Installed it at their authorised dealership

They won't point the blame at the accessory, as it will make their own product & their own service quality look bad. Plus, their lawyers won't let them blame the accessory either.

[wooka]

Yeah, but then they don't have:
1. Fog lights in stock anywhere.
2. Door clips anywhere. Esp for the scorpio N. I tried Chandigarh, Dehradun and Noida. But Karol Bagh had them.this is after I got the panel opened in dehradun.
3. Multiple parts like chrome door latches, chrome gearshifter surrounds, etc.


They don't have basic accessories like a leatherette wrap for the scorpio N but they do for the Thar (nicely affordable, just 300 bucks may I add.)

They are a bit of a mess 2 years removed from the pandemic.

And they're exporting the 6S variants globally when they cannot get it together in India.

Heck, where is my android? On a 2023 car?
My steering still wobbles. Nothing is sorted.
90% of scorpio N buyers have insane wobbling with an electric power steering. I have had two Thars before this. 2015 and 2022. Still, both are much better than the scorpio. The SN has issues. I wish people did something about it.


The scorpio N doesn't have a reverse camera accessory for whatever reason in a long 7 seater car with a sunroof. Can't buy it anywhere from a dealer. Fabulous.


Of course someone will go 'accessory' shopping.
How does one get a dashcam?

[Piyush Kanthak]

Letting people with Little to no knowledge working on the electricals of a car is a recipe for disaster. Using quality wires, fuses, good ground connection and fuse taps and quality aftermarket accessories are the best way to install.

If someone really wants to install these accessories, one can watch quality videos of ChrisFix, he has made everything simple and given tips on how the installation has to be done using common hand tools.

If someone doesn't want to do it themselves, please keep the vehicle stock.

[raptor_diwan]

This incident makes me hesitant to install a dashcam (Why don't cars come with dashcams as standard fitment?)in my car. Officially, they don't allow dashcams, and if I install one anyway, it voids the warranty. Moreover, incidents like this fire make me fearful.

Official accessories should be more accommodating, providing a certified product list or compatibility list so that customers can install them on their own.

It's disheartening to see the condition of the XUV 700, and I feel sorry for the owner. I hope they can recover from the financial burden caused by this incident.

[singh.b86]

Originally Posted by TusharK

According to the owner of the vehicle, the XUV700 was purchased 6 months ago and was completely stock. However, Mahindra's investigation found that the owner had fitted aftermarket illuminated scuff plates and ambient lighting. The additional wiring used for these parts is said to have caused a short circuit resulting in the fire.

Speaking purely from the technical point of view and whatever experience i have garnered over the years by doing various mods on my cars.

1. Illuminated scuff plates draw power from the individual door sensors which trigger the room light on/off when doors are opened or closed. They never are put on any other circuit or have a fuse of their own, plus being LEDs they hardly draw more than 1~1.5A of current that too when all 4 are lit at the same time. which is way below the standard fuse amperage which is installed by the factory on the said circuit.

2. I have so far come across 2 kinds of ambient lights, one runs on the 12v cigarette lighter socket which is installed using double tape and/or cable tie's and the other has a dedicated wiring kit, requires opening of various panels where it's being fit and comes along with a dedicated fuse and gets plugged into the fuse box inside the car cabin (either on driver side or the co-driver side) Both of these draw power less than 5A (cigarette lighter) and much less than 10A (dedicated circuit) when in use.

Both these accessories draw power from inside the cabin (direct/fuse box) and have no direct wiring connection to the engine bay.

My question being, how is it that the engine bay caught fire but no fire seems to be emanating from inside the cabin of the car or near the scuff plate or near the ambient light installation or near the fuse box which is inside the cabin?

From my knowledge, a fire emanating from the engine bay is a matter of greave concern for the manufacturer IF there has been no tampering inside the engine bay area.

Being a diesel vehicle, diesel doesn't catch fire so easily lest certain conditions are met and then it catches fire.

This one is purely a hunch and my own guess on the basis of the experience i have with air-conditioning (family business); the AC Refrigerant could be a one off probable reason for this to happen, but then again, that too is quite rare!

Also, if someone has seen the video in which the fire can be seen emanating from the engine bay, the flames seems to be the kinds where in the flammable material is being release under pressure. (

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0BeVAY_bIM

)

[Kln]

There is a very serious discussion to be had about after market mods here. When is the last time you remember a Maruti going up in flames for after market mods? I personally believe that a car maker should factor in all possible scenarios from a safety perspective and make a car that is likely to withstand most of the abuse thrown its way. Of course, the customer cannot install dangerous mods and hope for the best after tampering with the circuitry of the car.

[ike]

Originally Posted by GTO

If you:

They won't point the blame at the accessory, as it will make their own product & their own service quality look bad. Plus, their lawyers won't let them blame the accessory either.

That is besides the point. You could install aftermarket stuff from the dealership and still end up with a charred car.


The problem as I see it:

• Cars these days are very complex whether the engine or the electricals or any other component for that matter.
  
• The dealership staff haven't evolved along with the cars, I'd say that most dealership staff have no thorough understanding of the vehicle systems. If the scanner tells them there's a problem, they will do the required troubleshooting. No thinking outside of this framework. I see this in my organization too, the system shows an error message, no effort to understand what it says. Click "OK" and raise IT ticket.
  
• The accessories department is most likely to employ migrant labor on bare minimum wage and may have a supervisor who is familiar with electricals. They are good enough to install mudflaps, mats etc but anything beyond that remains a gamble.
  
• Install accessories only if you as the owner have the required knowledge to guide and supervise any such installations if at all you plan on getting something.

[funkydude]

I had a similar experience with my Scorpio. Had installed after-market illuminated scuff plates and the wiring was routed through the C pillar.

Within a week, I was able to notice a burning smell inside the car. Immediately investigated, and the burning smell was from the after-market wires fitted for the scuff plates. Removed the wires as well as the scuff plates. It was a narrow escape for me and my car.

Since then, a big NO to after-market add-ons/MODS. The fitter had probably used poor-quality wires or maybe the wiring was not done in a proper way.

Car dealers do have some accessories, but the quality of the product they provide might not be as per the requirements/expectations. I had once installed speakers in my Alto from the car dealership, but the sound quality was below average.

However, have seen a few mod videos on YouTube, wherein the after-market products are fitted with utmost care.

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by Kln

..a car maker should factor in all possible scenarios from a safety perspective and make a car that is likely to withstand most of the abuse thrown its way...

It may end up looking like a H1 or the BBC-Hilux.

[Slushmaster]

How are the manufacturers going to perceive accessories using USB ports and cigarette lighter ports? It is a unit provided by the manufacturer to provide an option for accessories. What if in an unfortunate incident, a phone charger or other accessory is found attached to the USB or cigarette lighter port? Any ideas?

Thanks,
Slushmaster

[sagsaw]

Originally Posted by Slushmaster

How are the manufacturers going to perceive accessories using USB ports and cigarette lighter ports? It is a unit provided by the manufacturer to provide an option for accessories. What if in an unfortunate incident, a phone charger or other accessory is found attached to the USB or cigarette lighter port? Any ideas?

Thanks,
Slushmaster

Obviously it will be denied free repair primarily because if the accessory connected to the USB port draws more current or has a short then its not manufacturers fault.

The problems is how many customers actually check the current rating before plugging accessory into the USB port let alone before buying it.

I see something fancy I want it I buy it I plug it in ... that's the attitude

[Goandiaries]

One should be very careful while installing electrical accessories no matter how small or big the power it utilizes. This is from my own recent experience! I believe whatever the stuff that comes from the factory should be kept as it is unless you know what exactly the dealer / aftermarket guys are tampering with, especially the wirings.

Originally Posted by GTO

Just because the car had an aftermarket part or two sure doesn't mean that the fire was caused due to it. But it does give the manufacturer an open opportunity to wash their hands off the fire incident shouting "electrical modifications".

Frankly, it's just best to get such accessories installed from the authorised dealer itself. A close contact recently got an XUV700 home & we got the scuff plates from Mahindra's official accessory list & fitment from the dealer. In my Thar, I have about 20 modifications, but not for a single one have we even touched the electrical circuitry.

I installed the official LED scuff plates installed by the dealer while purchasing my XUV300. This is the only accessory which involves fiddling with the wiring. The stuff worked fine, I never bothered to understand how the wiring has been done to power it up and on what mechanism the scuff plates work. I just ASSUMED that they might have connected it with the door switch. I was wrong. END RESULT: One day it just killed my stock battery (just over 28 months old). While digging deep, I understood the wiring was in fact done with cabin lamps (and not the door switches), and now even the cabin lamps do not work as it is supposed to work. I have written down the complete issue in the Technical Stuffs page here (Cabin lamp issue in my XUV300). I have not received the solution for this yet (didn't get many responses about what could possibly be wrong), and the service has promised to figure it out during the next service.

Originally Posted by singh.b86

Speaking purely from the technical point of view and whatever experience i have garnered over the years by doing various mods on my cars.

1. Illuminated scuff plates draw power from the individual door sensors which trigger the room light on/off when doors are opened or closed. They never are put on any other circuit or have a fuse of their own, plus being LEDs they hardly draw more than 1~1.5A of current that too when all 4 are lit at the same time. which is way below the standard fuse amperage which is installed by the factory on the said circuit.

There was a separate 5A fuse for the LED scuffs - which I have removed temporarily till the cabin lamp issue is fixed.

Another instance from an aftermarket shop – The Automotive Lighting Experts in Bangalore, which is recommended with positive reviews even in here! These guys replaced the original 10 A fuse with a 15 A fuse – while testing my car with their FE-retrofit branded HID kits in my fog lamp. Since I was present along with them, I forced them to remove it, refused to install any HID kit from them. And arranged a friend to purchase the LED lights since the owner was quite rude after refusing their recommendation! I have mentioned my experience here (Auto Lighting thread : Post all queries about automobile lighting here).

So, while it may come across as a minor alteration which cannot possibly cause any issues down the line, it still has the potential to break the system.

[GhostGrid]

Originally Posted by raptor_diwan

they don't allow dashcams, and if I install one anyway, it voids the warranty.

What if we use the simple single USB car charger dashcams? Will it void the warranty as well?*