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- Path: sparky!uunet!gatech!darwin.sura.net!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!not-for-mail
- From: amiller@almaden.ibm.com (Alex Miller)
- Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
- Subject: (w) 83 Rabbit almost scorched by dip-stick shorting alternator
- Date: 25 Jan 1993 12:40:54 -0600
- Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
- Lines: 29
- Sender: daemon@cs.utexas.edu
- Message-ID: <930125.104057.amiller@almaden.ibm.com>
- NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu
-
- On Thursday evening I got my car back from the shop -- I had just gotten
- my 90K-mile major service and everything was supposed to fine for the
- next 15K miles. Driving to work on Friday morning, my engine dies.
- I try to start it again, but nothing happens. My voltmeter doesn't
- register at all. "Maybe a battery connection came loose?" I thought.
-
- I opened the hood and notice my DIP-STICK was ON FIRE. Well, actually
- some oil and grease on and around my dip-stick was on fire.
-
- I blew-out the fire within seconds using an old jacket, then found a
- stick to separate the still glowing dip-stick from an uninsulated
- bolt on the side of my alternator. I'm really glad I caught this
- in time, because this fire would have destroyed my water hoses, then
- spread to the fuel lines, etc...
-
- After I calmed down, I was happy that I could still start and drive
- the car back to the shop (where I planned on doing some major damage.)
- Actually, I calmed down and the shop straightened out the dip-stick
- and said that no damage had been done. I think I'll get a second
- opinion on this, because it would be in this shops interest that
- nothing be wrong.
-
- The shop didn't have a insulator to put on the alternator, but I
- found a plastic bottle cap that does the job well enough.
-
- ***see my next note: "There's a hole in my intake manfold"
-
- Alex
- amiller@almaden.ibm.com
-