[ghodlur]

There was an news article in today's Times of India (Mumbai) about an Mercedes Benz catching fire on Mumbai-Pune Expressway near Khandala at 5 pm yesterday. The reason stated was a short circuit and within minutes the entire car was charred. Luckily there were no casualities. The merc belonged to Andheri resident Mr Deepak Vora.
Thats strange - Nano effect rubbing off to Mercs.
Which brings to a question - Are most of the vehicles sold in India prone to such short circuits, what protection needs to be taken to ensure that the cables/wiring are properly insulated/protected in Indian Cars
I had in my earlier Santro the entire wiring coverd with insulation coating as a part of the AMC, can this be done in most of the Indian cars.

[Ravindra M]

I think most likely cause of short-circuits the the new cars is the shoddy cabling done while installing aftermarket accessories.

Some of the commen problems and causes :

- underrated wires ( e.g. 5 A cable for 100W bulb )
- improper solder joints ( loose connections create sparks )
- exposed joints
- wiring running very close or touching hot engine parts
- Fuses are not used

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Thats strange - Nano effect rubbing off to Mercs.
.

In case you are not aware more Mercs have burned down on Indian roads then Nano , So it should be other way round . Only that humble nano gets more negative publicity.

[ghodlur]

Surely the above suggested reason wiould not be applicable for Mercs. Do they allow after market accessories to be installed. I thought the Germans had this immpeccable neat & clean attitude, cant think of the wiring going haywire inside Merc bonnet.

[.anshuman]

Shocked to hear a premium car caught fire. There was one more instance of a fellow Bhpian's Merc catching Fire.

@Ghodhlur: All cars come with adequate protection for wiring as OE. For Safety reasons avoid any kind of modifications to the wiring and if it is necessary get it done from an experienced person. For Example: Before upgrading the from OE bulbs to high wattage bulbs, the wiring and relays need to be upgraded. The other downside of high wattage halogens is they produce lot more heat than the OE bulbs which eventually fade the reflectors.

[nairrk]

This cause may not be a problem from the manufacturing fault. But we have a tendency to fit many accessories after taking delivery and if some accessory shop guys are not well trained or specialist in such jobs, it is always risk of having similar problem. Every car uses different technology and a roadside accessory shop guy may not be necessary to take training for all make/model of cars. He may be using the same technology for all the cars which he is attending and may not be doing proper packing or insulating of wires etc..?

[_raVan_]

Wasnt there a similar problem reported with BMW getting charred down (i also remember in that case, everyone inside the car was also charred to dearth). Besides the wiring properly insulated, arent the bodies of these luxury sedans fire resistant to some levels?

[McLaren Rulez]

This is interesting to note: The Merc C-Class is one of the few cars that comes with a fire extinguisher as part of the standard equipment.

[smann]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

This is interesting to note: The Merc C-Class is one of the few cars that comes with a fire extinguisher as part of the standard equipment.

That is very interesting indeed.... do merc guys think that their cars are so "hot" that they have a tendency to ingnite?

However for a premium car (going on the label, thats it), added fittings may be the reason more often than not for fires.

[designersf]

Originally Posted by _raVan_

Wasnt there a similar problem reported with BMW getting charred down (i also remember in that case, everyone inside the car was also charred to dearth). Besides the wiring properly insulated, arent the bodies of these luxury sedans fire resistant to some levels?

The body will remain unaffected to an extent. What will be burnt down are the trims

[amit_mechengg]

i saw the car. but apart from fire i think it had collision with some vehicle.

the only remains are the rear with trunk open, fully charred front bonnet with collision type bends, doors opened and the front of the car was resting on the road with no tyres.

[vtecker]

i passed by when this was on fire heard a very minor blast like sound just as i passed by.

It was just after the ghat section in Lonavala at the end of the winding bridge near Kamats restaurant. (Towards Pune side of the lane)

my first impression was something must have overheated, but for a Merc is quite surprising.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by designersf

The body will remain unaffected to an extent. What will be burnt down are the trims

Unaffected? No. The burning paint on the body panels produces enough heat to warp the panels into ripples, like corrugated sheets. These can be hammered back into shape but not to the original finish, especially around the edges and near weld joints. Also they will be prone to rusting very fast afterwards.

[airbender]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Thats strange - Nano effect rubbing off to Mercs.

Found this related link:

A Mercedes Benz Burns Beyond Recognition on the Mumbai Pune Expressway | Indian Cars & Motorcycles Blog

[shwir]

Yes The link is fine but the pic is not that clear.