My Fiero caught on fire! (Page 1/4)
Zentaury JUN 09, 09:21 AM
Hello everyone,

Yesterday I failed as a Fiero owner(or basically any car owner with a sense of safety)...

1) I didn’t have an extinguisher with me.
2) I didn’t use the parking brake correctly.

In my first 1985 GT Fiero I never had the habit to use the parking brake until I learned that it adjusts the rear brakes...

Yesterday I was driving my 1986GT that I recently got, testing how good or bad it was. I had my wife following me on another car just in case... the very first time that she sees me driving one of the Fieros. She doesn’t like them but understands they are important for me.

I tried to setup the brake and remove it before start driving, I didn’t have a brake light, so I thought it was released.

After driving a while, nothing wrong, we got to an area where I could drive 80km/hr so I tested the car... after that my wife pointed that I had a lot of smoke coming from my left tire.

I jump out of the car and left the door open to check and the calliper was bright yellow-orange-red.

Then I came back to close the door and a big flame came from under the car, it got my legs, face and hair.

I jumped out of the flame that covered me and at that moment I thought I had lost the car: there was fire coming from under the hood. I imagined everything: the tank exploding, the car being melted plastic, my wife not trusting me to buy old cars to restore them haha!

It was fire from the calliper.

I only had water with me and I thought “it may save the car or completely destroyed increasing the fire”. So I threw it to the calliper.

Hopefully, the calliper got cold.

I was like 2 blocks from home so I took the car in his own power. Of course no rear brakes.

I am fine, just stinking to hair burned.

Now the brake light is ON.
theogre JUN 09, 11:10 AM
You "boiled" the fluid and cooked rubber line etc. and lost line pressure so you "trip" the balance spool in combi valve to switch on the B-light.
B-light will auto reset when you fix the calipers.

See my Cave, Brake Service and rest of section.

Check/clean ac/heat resistor pack too.
http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/141959.html etc.

------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

87_FieroGT JUN 09, 11:24 AM
Wow, scary stuff. Glad to hear you're okay.

------------------

1988 Pontiac Fiero GT, Black w/Beechwood interior
2018 Volkswagen Golf GTI S

dremu JUN 09, 11:29 AM
In addition / further detail to Ogre's points, as I went through something similar recently:

Misadjusted parking brake or frozen rear calipers will make the pads ride down on the rotors, leading to excess heat and then smoke. In my case the pads were contaminated with brake fluid from leaky piston seals, so the pads expanded and dragged the rotors enough to bring me from 50+ MPH to no more than 20 even at WOT =)) The brake fluid started boiling out of the pads, which is really quite a nasty stink, and made quite a lot of smoke. I thought I'd blown the tranny at first.

Also, given that (1) you had flames and (2) you used water, I'd bet the rotors are warped. They're relatively inexpensive, so rather than turning them I'd just replace them outright.

You have your work cut out for you, but patience (plus a manual, Ogre's Cave and the occasional forum search) and you'll be back on the road in no time.

Oh, and yeah ...



Peace of mind. Oddly I have one in all of my cars, which with the exception of the Fiero are MUCH newer (2012+), but maybe I'll need to help out the guy next to me, especially if he's in a Fiero

-- A

[This message has been edited by dremu (edited 06-09-2020).]

cvxjet JUN 09, 11:53 AM
I recently installed a small extinguisher up front......I have had a VERY small one in the footwell (Held there with velcro) and it still has proper weight but...it is 30 years old.....

[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 06-09-2020).]

theogre JUN 09, 06:44 PM
Plastic valve FE are not ideal for vehicle use. No matter how rated for DOT uses.
Cabin get hot covered in http://www.fiero.nl/forum/F...HTML/141784.html#p23
But Trunk and front areas for Fiero and others get hotter then many think for many different reasons to easily cover here.
Many are missing heat shield etc making more heat in trunk.
Sun and IR from pavement heats both too.
Then in winter often gets frozen often in same day.

Many of them have Green "stems" on top to show pressure... Don't just look at them because can stick and look full. Push the stem in. Should pop up again quickly. If not the unit is junk. But Don't assume has no pressure when the stem fails. Stem fail units can still have full pressure to nothing cold. "Empty" but Hot can "generate" enough pressure to have a mess if you release the valve.
theogre JUN 10, 01:13 AM
And check brake fluid is above is your car...
Fluid looks low.
Fill to top, "flatten" the rubber under cap before reinstalling it.
Check rubber is good too. Damage that and fluid will suck water right from air and cause problems.
See my Cave, Brake Fluid
Zentaury JUN 10, 10:10 AM


The rubber hose is melted. I was planning to replace them anyways but now is the first thing to do.
dremu JUN 10, 12:59 PM
Pull the caliper and look at the piston seals. Suspect you'll be replacing the calipers as well.

-- A
cvxjet JUN 10, 02:16 PM

quote
Originally posted by theogre:

And check brake fluid is above is your car...
Fluid looks low.
Fill to top, "flatten" the rubber under cap before reinstalling it.
Check rubber is good too. Damage that and fluid will suck water right from air and cause problems.
See my Cave, Brake Fluid



Ogre, thank you for suggestions; I checked my fluid- it is twice as high as the full mark so I am good there, and also on my extinguisher I pushed the green pin in and it popped back out so good there.....As far as plastic nozzle/handle...I had one of the recalled FEs in my boat, which did have problems with plastic nozzle, but this is a newer one that is different in design...That being said, I would like to find a small Metal-handle one that doesn't cost two arms and one leg........