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Old 04-09-2021, 12:19 PM   #1
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Angry I Had a fire in my bus.

So, I've got a 2000 GMC Express bus (van), diesel - 4 windows - small. It runs great, except...

After not having driven it for about 3 weeks, the fuse box above the driver seat caught fire. Everything within that contained space was lit aflame, and the entire bus smells like burnt wires and is covered with soot. The fuse box that does to the actual motor is ok, and I honestly think If I stuck the batteries back in it would start, but I took them out for safety.

I'm not an electrician. I don't know where to start. I'm in Wichita, Kansas now and I would love any kind of advice. I know that many folks just take out that fuse box...

please advise.

link to video of damage: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMsnqhahsfL/

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Old 04-09-2021, 12:26 PM   #2
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Spoon lady

I am in Topeka. Would you please telephone me. I could write for a couple of hours. And give you the same information in 30 minutes.

William 785 207 7600
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Old 04-09-2021, 12:28 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by magnakansas View Post
I am in Topeka. Would you please telephone me. I could write for a couple of hours. And give you the same information in 30 minutes.

William 785 207 7600
Yes, this evening when I'm home! I appreciate it very much.
I feel very confused right now.
Abby

Link to video of damage: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMsnqhahsfL/
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Old 04-09-2021, 03:16 PM   #4
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Wow, that is crazy. Electrical gremlins can appear out of nowhere, and leave lasting scars.
Hopefully the toasty wiring was nothing too important?

Post close up pics if you can and might be able to tell where the main power lead to the affected fuse box comes in. Then you can disconnect it. Hopefully it's not burnt too badly?
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Old 04-09-2021, 05:08 PM   #5
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Hmm. I wonder if it is possible to determine the origin of the fire, sounds like an unprotected run went red hot and then lit up some flammable material up there. That origin needs to be addressed, and the damage assessed.



I'd be happy to help however I'm a little far away in KY.
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Old 04-09-2021, 05:28 PM   #6
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what bus body?
my 2004 chevy 3500 with the collins body.
that is mainly the power connections for the underskirt condensor and other accessories which i can verify what tomorrow.
i have cleaned that area up some but most wires are still connected.
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Old 04-09-2021, 09:23 PM   #7
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Rodents chewing wires is very possible. A few years ago at work one of our old pickup trucks had been parked for several minutes when it burst in flames and burnt to a crisp - very dramatic! Our fire chief determined that a battery cable had been chewed by some little critter. This is why I always open the hood of my car when dry-camping in the desert, then the rats there don't crawl up onto the warm engine - they prefer dark spaces. Some vehicles' wiring now use soy-based insulation, especially tasty to hungry squirrels.

I hope you have a fire extinguisher or two in your bus, and a smoke alarm. I suggest you check every inch of your bus's wiring with a fine toothcomb to make sure no other wiring is damaged. Also, are all the fuses the correct amperage, or has someone used a wrong fuse somewhere? Fuses protect the wiring, not the loads, and need to be sized according to each wire's ampacity.

John
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Old 04-09-2021, 10:47 PM   #8
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Sorry to hear about your fire. I know this must be really unsettling. I want to echo discovering why this happened so you can address the issue, inspecting as much of the electrical as you can, smoke detectors, extinguishers and a battery disconnect switch for both your starter and house batteries for when you are not using the bus.

Per the soot in the bus, I had a small stove top fire in my trailer. I used a soft brush to knock down the soot onto the floor then swept it up. Any remaining came off pretty easily with hot soapy water or cleaning spray solution.

This too shall pass...be safe.
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Old 04-10-2021, 11:19 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SpoonLady View Post
So, I've got a 2000 GMC Express bus (van), diesel - 4 windows - small. It runs great, except...

After not having driven it for about 3 weeks, the fuse box above the driver seat caught fire. Everything within that contained space was lit aflame, and the entire bus smells like burnt wires and is covered with soot. The fuse box that does to the actual motor is ok, and I honestly think If I stuck the batteries back in it would start, but I took them out for safety.

I'm not an electrician. I don't know where to start. I'm in Wichita, Kansas now and I would love any kind of advice. I know that many folks just take out that fuse box...

please advise.

link to video of damage: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMsnqhahsfL/
It doesn’t look like you can make anything out of the fuse box now, but a good possibility that the wrong size of fuse may have been on the circuit. Wished you were closer, I could check it out for you.

Bobby

PS. Love your music !!
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Old 04-11-2021, 12:45 AM   #10
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I'm sorry to hear about the fire! That's a scary situation and must be really unnerving.

If the smoke smell persists after you clean up, you may want to look into ozone. That's what restoration companies use to remove smoke smell (or any other smell, for that matter). My brief stint in the restoration business left me pretty impressed with ozone's deodorizing power. I have no personal experience with the small, inexpensive ozone generators on Amazon, but they have pretty good reviews.
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Old 04-11-2021, 06:55 AM   #11
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It seems to me that if the damage is minimal and contained to that area of the electrical system over the driver, that it should be perfectly recoverable. We actually purchased a bus knowing it had once had a small electrical fire. But it was shortly after it had been built and had been in service for 12 years since the fire so it didn’t seem like an issue. When we were recently removing excess wiring - including that over-the-driver fuse box - we discovered where the fire had been - a couple of remaining electrical lines we pulled out of the wall still had soot on them all these years later.

If my shortie is anything like yours, that fuse box has very little in it that is actually being used. We gutted ours and moved the couple of remaining wires and one relay to a wall behind the driver’s seat. So you may get lucky in that there is little in that box that you actually need to fix.

Good luck with the smoke damage!
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Old 04-11-2021, 01:53 PM   #12
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for mine 04 chevy 3500 midbus body all of the main wiring works the underskirt condensor for the A/C. including the dash A/C.
i have that area completely opened up and any extra stuff deleted right now.
text me with with skoolie like skoolie/jake. and i can give you pics.
new phone so i lost all of my delete pics but i can show you where i am at now including the entire area of your problem.
910-581-7210
going to go take pictures now so that i have them again
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Old 04-11-2021, 02:58 PM   #13
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fire in my bus

this is my bus and what i have 04 chevy 3500 midbus body
Attached Thumbnails
IMG_2844.jpg   IMG_2845.jpg   IMG_2846.jpg  
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Old 04-11-2021, 03:09 PM   #14
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more pics but just now learning how to post them?
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Old 04-14-2021, 07:31 PM   #15
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Insurance refused to insure my bus for the previous owner because it had a fire. That’s how I got it super cheap and it turned out to work fine with only a couple little wiring gremlins. I would suggest to NOT volunteer that there was a fire to your insurance.
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Old 04-14-2021, 08:46 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Iceni John View Post
Rodents chewing wires is very possible. A few years ago at work one of our old pickup trucks had been parked for several minutes when it burst in flames and burnt to a crisp - very dramatic! Our fire chief determined that a battery cable had been chewed by some little critter. This is why I always open the hood of my car when dry-camping in the desert, then the rats there don't crawl up onto the warm engine - they prefer dark spaces. Some vehicles' wiring now use soy-based insulation, especially tasty to hungry squirrels.

I hope you have a fire extinguisher or two in your bus, and a smoke alarm. I suggest you check every inch of your bus's wiring with a fine toothcomb to make sure no other wiring is damaged. Also, are all the fuses the correct amperage, or has someone used a wrong fuse somewhere? Fuses protect the wiring, not the loads, and need to be sized according to each wire's ampacity.

John
My brother lived in Palmdale, Ca., they have a massive squirrel issue. They got in my brothers Ferrari and ate the wiring harness. Rendered the car worthless.
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