Quad caught on fire

[northernblue]

I was riding on Saturday with my father-in-law. We were widening a trail on their property and stopped to cut some trees and clear some brush. I had shut off my quad while we were working. When I started the quad to head back to the house for supper, flames started coming out of the headlight pod. I have a windshield that I was able to pull free from the quad and then pried open the pod and doused it with water from a water bottle. We managed to get the fire out but not before it melted both plastic pieces from the pod, some of the wiring, headlamp, throttle cable housing and the back of the instrument cluster.

It was a pretty scary moment. We were out in the bush and only had the one small water bottle left with any water in it. If we had not got that fire out I could have lost my whole quad and probably started a forest fire at the same time.

After getting the fire out, the quad still ran (can't kill a Polaris) no problem. I drove it back to the house to have a better look at what caused the fire. It looks to me like fuel was coming out of the vent tube in the pod and when I started the engine, either something shorted or there was a static charge that ignited the fuel/fumes.

Has anyone else heard of this happening? Is this a design flaw? What can be done to prevent something like this from happening again? I know that the next time I'm out there, I'm going to have one of those small fire extinguishers with me.

Now I have to decide whether to fix the quad myself or make an insurance claim thru MPIC.

[The Chef]

I always have an extinguiser with me on the bike. Went off once in the seat compartment, what a mess. Sorry to hear about the bike. I have had the swamp moss start smoldering after I stoppped for a break once.Started out as wet but dries and could start up to a fire so be careful.

[FrogX]

Damn sorry to hear about your bike, usually after swamping and mudding I"ll take a walk around my bike and take off the weeds off my exhaust and anything that looks like it will get to hot. I had a few peices start on fire before but did no damage so I'm a bit careful now.

[HOUSEHUNTER]

Pm Sent To Ya !!!

[ssphunter]

After getting the fire out, the quad still ran (can't kill a Polaris) no problem. I drove it back to the house to have a better look at what caused the fire. It looks to me like fuel was coming out of the vent tube in the pod and when I started the engine, either something shorted or there was a static charge that ignited the fuel/fumes.

.

I don't know if it's normal or not but my quad was doing the same thing on the weekend. It didn't light up though. It sounded like it was sucking for air after I turned it off. I checked the vent tube and cap but air was running freely so I didn't pay it much concern but it also looked like it was letting a bit of fuel out the vent tube.Oh yeah, my quad is a Honda so could be a different problem.
Mike

[Grtwhthntr]

Sorry to hear about your bike, that reallly sucks. I would consider putting in a claim if your deductible is reasonable, wasn't a collision so won't affect your licence, if a shop does the repairs it should get a new harness, pod, etc. rather than repairing the wiring, and, this way if any future problems arise from it you will have something to fall back on to.

[northernblue]

I called MPIC and they told me that because this would be my first comprehensive claim involving this "vehicle", I would only have to pay my deductible. If I make a second claim within 3 years, there will be a 50% surcharge. The surcharge will increase with any further claims.

I contacted the dealer and priced out the parts. If I replace all the pieces that were melted or even slightly melted along with the wiring harnesses, I'm looking at $1150.00. That could go up or down depending on what MPIC assess as well as any labour the dealer charges to do the repairs.

I was worried that MPIC might write it off if the damage was too much. The girl I spoke to on the phone said they will only write it off if the damage exceeds the value of the quad.

I think in the end it's better to make the claim. If I'm not satisfied with the results from MPIC, I can always withdraw my claim.

I also plan to send an email to Polaris. It just seems to me that to vent fuel into an area where there is electricity is a bad idea and a disaster waiting to happen. I'm not sure if the new quads use this same design, but if they do, Polaris should reconsider this design.

[northernblue]

I went out to my in-laws today and picked up the bike. When I got home I gave the bike a good inspection. It looks like the instrument cluster, bezel and gasket are salvagable. The cluster is a little melted on the back but it seems to be working fine. The two clips for the wiring harnesses are melted but still plug into the back of the cluster and hold in place. Only a few wires were melted. The casing of the headlight is melted a bit but it still works and looks like it is still sealed. About an inch of the plastic outer casing on the throttle cable melted but the cable is still moving freely. It looks like the only parts that aren't salvageable or repairable are the upper and lower pieces of the headlight pod. The cost of those two parts is about $110.00 so now I think I will repair it instead of making the claim.

As for the cause of the fire, I took the headlight pod apart on my wifes '02 SP 500. There are two vent lines that run into the headlight pod on her quad. Both loop over the handlebar block and then down the inside of the steering post approx 6-8 inches. It looks like the fuel tank vent hose on my quad should have been routed the same way but for some reason wasn't and was either filling the pod with liquid gas or fumes which ignited when I started the engine.

A good reminder for all Polaris owners to take the top cover off of their headlight pods and verify any fuel vent lines are routed down the inside of the steering posts or out the bottom of the pod all together.

[charger]

50 percent of the value of the quad and mpic will write it off,if the quads worth lets say $12000.00, $6000.00 worth of damage and they`ll write it off.