Ok, i drive an 88 couple, with a 2.5l engine. it was running fine today, then, unexplicably, I lost alot of power, and could barely chug along. I get to a place where i can stop, open up the decklid and see smoke, but cant tell where it is. because I was parked in a bad spot, I move my car less then 100 feet, and opwen the decklid again, only to see the damn DIS ON FIRE!!! I quickley put the fire out, now i dont know what the heck to do. I'm 90% sure it was the ignition setup (stock), but it was dark and the intake manifold was in the way, I had a hard time seeing. Does this happen to anyone else? any ideas what caused it? my only guess is because it was raining today maybe something shorted out. will I need to check the crankshaft? or should I be fine with replacing the DIS?

Avery sorry to hear of the fire but it sounds like your Fiero at least survived the ordeal. A fire in the Fiero engine compartment can originate from many sources but I've never heard of the coil pack going up in flames. I think that you need to do a very close inspection to locate the precise origin of the fire and insure that it is fixed properly before driving the car again. Most often, trapped dry leaves, parking over high grass,leaky hoses or lines, electrical shorts and /or a glowing hot exhaust manifold will trigger a fire. Since there are many possible causes, I don't believe that we can help you on the forum but if it will make you feel better; you are not the first to expereince a Fiero fire. Just ask Phil from VA. I think that he lost four or five Fieros this way and I knicknamed him "The Torch".

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87GT 3.4 Turbo Best 0-60 5.2 seconds
http://www.turbochargerpower.com/turbo.htm

I think the major part of the problem, regarding nearly all Fiero Fires, is directly related to the owner not replacing the 'age-old' equipment before a problem arises. These cars have plenty of years on them, if you're still running the parts the car was built with, you can expect things to get real exciting. The other part of the equation is repairs that were not done properly. As far as leaves go, that's car maintaince that every Fiero owner should be advised of.

[This message has been edited by California Kid (edited 12-11-2003).]

Well at least I am not alone with this. The exact same thing happened to me about 8 months ago. I still do not know why, but my best assumption is that one of the coils shorted out. You can read about my ordeal here. https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Archives/Archive-000001/HTML/20030819-2-035244.html

I replaced the PIM [Pimary ignition module, was burned up, literally.] and both coil packs, and my car has been running fine since. And just a word of advice, go with A/C Delco parts on this one. And if you have not done so recently it would hurt to replace your plugs, making sure they are gapped right and wires as well.

Hope that helped.

Eric

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88 Coupe, Duke I4, 5 Speed

THE TORCH HAS ARRIVED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fortunately, or unfortunately all my fires have been on V6's and started mostly from debris or an oil leak on the side nearest the firewall.

The coils on the DIS are notorious for leaking spark when dirty or wet, especially if the plug wires are questionable. It's easier for the spark to travel the path of least resistance....like the coil itself or wiring or oily or dirty motor. I'd spray down the coils with a cleaner and clean the entire engine, then replace the wires with PREMIUM wires. Good luck.

Phil

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87 FIERO GT 2.8 5spd

If you found my advice helpful, please take the time to give me a positive rating. Thanks

the wires and plugs are new (<500 mi anyway) I did a tune up just before winter. I replaced the DIS with a spare I had and sure enough, the old one was TOAST. lower coil pack is melted all to hell. Put in the spare, and she runs fine, no flare up. thanks for everyones help

[This message has been edited by Avery Montembeault (edited 12-12-2003).]

Had an 87 4 cyl do the same thing, the water hose that connects under the intake manifold dripped anti-freeze onto the coil packs igniting
engine compartment. Replaced the plastic connector, the wiring harness
and coil packs and drove it another 2 years.

quote Originally posted by California Kid: These cars have plenty of years on them.

What.?? They look new anyway's..

Avery...
Sorry to hear about your troubles... Keep us posted on what you find out!

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Custom Made WIDEBODY GT!!

"Water Pump" Hey i have a iron duke too and one day i way going down the highway and i noticed a total lose in power so i stop and looked behind me cuz i don't have a internal mirror and i noticed a shitload of smoke coming from the engine bay so i opened it up only to notice that all my wires were on fire i quickly grab some beer that i had in my trunk and put it out with some help of a car passing by which put my spare cloths on it which i was mad about. i was told it was because of a water pump failure and my sensors don't work in my dash so now i am trying to find out how to do a 3.1 L swap

I seem to recall a thread or two about the O-ring underneath the distributor leaking and oil getting places where it's not healthy for it to be... might this have contributed to your problem?

I might be misremembering, but I figured I'd offer it as a thought.

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Patrick W. Heinske -- LZeitgeist@aol.com -- 1988 Red Fiero Formula
- 1st Place - Stock Coupe - FOCOSEVA 2000
- 3rd Place - Stock Formula - FOCOA Nat'l 2001
- Class Winner - 1982 to Present - Tarheel Tigers All-Pontiac Show 2001
- Class Winner - Fiero: All Years - Tarheel Tigers All-Pontiac Show 2002
- Class Winner - Fiero: All Years - Tarheel Tigers All-Pontiac Show 2003
(working on an Automoda convertible conversion...)

So FireBugs ... Are all of you in agreement that 90%+ of Fiero fires can be prevented by preventive maintainence cleaning under the hood?

[This message has been edited by RTNmsds (edited 12-14-2003).]

Anyone have any Idea where I can get this "plastic connector" for under the intake manifold?

quote Originally posted by LZeitgeist: I seem to recall a thread or two about the O-ring underneath the distributor leaking and oil getting places where it's not healthy for it to be... might this have contributed to your problem? I might be misremembering, but I figured I'd offer it as a thought.

the 87-88 duke have the DIS,no distributor.
i'd bet it was a short

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84 coupe-rough looking but runs great
87 coupe-undergoing heart transplant

84 database info to mankins@earthlink.net
2400 so far,only 134,000 to go!

quote Originally posted by GTDude: THE TORCH HAS ARRIVED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fortunately, or unfortunately all my fires have been on V6's and started mostly from debris or an oil leak on the side nearest the firewall. The coils on the DIS are notorious for leaking spark when dirty or wet, especially if the plug wires are questionable. It's easier for the spark to travel the path of least resistance....like the coil itself or wiring or oily or dirty motor. I'd spray down the coils with a cleaner and clean the entire engine, then replace the wires with PREMIUM wires. Good luck. Phil

GT Dude SHOULD know.... He's had, what 30 cars catch on fire?

Rob

CUTE ROB........LOL. ACTUALLY I THINK IT WAS 5.........BUT I'M ON A ROLL NOW. IT'S BEEN A YEAR SINCE I TORCHED ONE.........YEA!!!!!!!

I AM EXTREMELY CAREFUL NOW TO BE SURE OF NO OIL LEAKS OR BUILD UP OF LEAVES OR DEBRIS..........

Besides..........This car and I made an agreement. I'd keep it nice and make it all pretty and maybe put a new engine in it and in agreement it wouldn't catch fire...........LOL. God the things I do to justify myself.......LOL.

Phil

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87 FIERO GT 2.8 5spd

GM auto tech for 27 years. Specializing in electrical and computer problems. Now on workers comp. and it looks like I will be unable to return to work as a tech.