Electrical Fire

[El Guapo]

Hi All, Went to the boat to start the engines. Port started fine. Stbd was sluggish, as is the battery was low. After about a minute of continuous trying, the engine started. 15 minutes later, black smoke coming from underneath the gunnel in the cockpit. I shut down the engines and opened the engine room hatch to see flames concentrated on the battery box cover for the stbd engine. By the time I got the extinguisher, the salon was filled with black smoke. Marina personel in Mexico rushed in with 5 large extingushers and needless to say, they emptied al five into the salon. When the smoke cleared, a cursory inspection revealed that the damage was located in the battery compartment. Battery cables burnt and the battery box cover (which caused the flames) was also burnt. No other damage was visible. What appears to be the worst is the extiguisher powder that has covered the entire interior of the boat, including inside drawersm cabinets, etc. Obviously I learned a hard lesson in that attempting to start the engine continuously, heated the cables to the point of ignition. I would like to know if this could have caused damage to other elctrical components like the starter, altenator, etc. Insurance will cover the damage and clean-up and hopefully I will get rid of the extinguisher smell (there is no smell of smoke)

Thank you for any advice

[Glory]

I wouldn't worry about the alternator, unless touched by flames, I would remove the starter and have it tested or just replace to and be safe. Also replace any wires and connections that have been compromised.

As for the smell, if the typical detergents don't work, you might want to after a good clean up, sprinkle coffee around the boat and let it sit a day then vacuume it up. I've sen this work in several cases...JM

[Genesis]

There's a decent probability the slow cranking was due to a bad connection at the battery in the cables. The high resistance started the fire while you were cranking, and it took a few minutes to get going to where you noticed it.

I concur with Glory that I'd have the starter checked and check ALL the high-current cables on BOTH engines, although odds are the problem was confined to the battery end of the cable on that bank.

Keep the forum posted on what you discover; that sucks and I'm glad you didn't lose the boat!

[bostonhatteras]

seriously look at all battery cables. the heat originated in a spot on the cable that had a poor connection or bottleneck so to speak...all that current trying to get through a small space ie bad/small contact area. this is where the heat came from, not lenghts of cable that are in 'off the spool' condition. unless of course you have a modified boat with significantly undersize cables. 4/0 minimum size awg class. while your looking keep in mind the return path for electricity is as important, if not more so, for many reason including electrolysis.

[Genevatexan]

Thought I would second BostonHatteras on the return path. Bad grounds have been an issue for us more than once. I would trace the hot side wiring, check the starter, and then follow ground side. Loose fitting on either leg or starter sounds like good troubleshooting to start with.

[Boatsb]

Since my first post seems to have been deleted


Condolences of the damage to your Hatt. And please send a sense of humor to the allpowerful mods.

If we cant make fun of ourselves we need to look at who we really are.

[Boatnut]

Just to add my 2 cents FWIF, a close inspection of the wiring might give you a good idea whether the problem occured in the positive or negative side of the circuit. It is also possible the terminal in the battery went defective. Check everything real good, as I am sure you will. If possible when you replace the cable or cable end, have them professionally terminated using a quailty crimper, the terminals that use bolts to hold the cable in place are famous for this type of failure.

I'm glad the damage was minimal, good luck.

[jim rosenthal]

No posts were deleted in this thread, by myself or anyone else.

[Boatsb]

No posts were deleted in this thread, by myself or anyone else.

I could have had a bad senior moment but i swear I posted condolences.

[rsmith]

I could have had a bad senior moment but i swear I posted condolences.

I saw it too.This is getting to be like the x files.