Ford Power Stroke Nation banner

What the hell caused this????

7K views 52 replies 31 participants last post by  mazdaparts 
#1 ·
I had a wedding to attend out of town this weekend and we took the car. I locked up the truck Sat. morning about 8am and took the keys in the house. We left and didn't return till Sun. evening about 5pm. Went to work this morning and when I got home about 5:30 it looked like my truck windows were blacked out. I rubbed the outside to see what it was. It wasn't on the outside, it was on the inside of all the windows. I yelled to the wife to get the keys and she did and hit the unlock on the remote. I opened the right front door and this is what I saw.


I almost fell over. I was speechless. I wanted to cry. I heard a clicking under the dash from a relay or module so I disconnected the batteries. Then I started looking at the rest of the interior.













I went inside to call the insurance and started a claim. I assume this is something electrical that shorted under the seat, but i don't know why it burned itself out. It didn't get very hot as the paint isn't bubbled anywhere and apparently no smoke escaped through the door seals. Has this happened to anyone else? Or does anyone have any thoughts?
 
See less See more
13
#2 ·
Holy crap that is nuts!!!!! Good thing it didn't take the whole truck........or maybe it would have been. That sucks man. Good luck with the insurance and hopefully everything works out.
 
#3 ·
I'm glad no one was hurt. Good thing you didn't have the windows cracked to just keep feeding it. Hope insurance takes care of you right!
 
#4 ·
Wow. Sucks to see that; glad it didn't take the truck and/or a garage or house. I'm surprised it burnt itself out.

Good luck with the insurance! Hope it all works out for the best!

I've only been on one interior vehicle fire that burnt itself out, it was in the dash of a Focus on the passenger's side. It obviously started in that seat, but all I can think would be under there is the motor(s) and maybe an airbag connector, but airbag systems very rarely give any wiring problems, and I can't imagine what would short in that motor?
 
#6 ·
Holy ####!
 
#7 ·
Did the truck have heated seats ? with the relay clicking i would guess that it feed power to the seat continuously till the foam started to burn . I've replaced the heater grids in seats that were burn out and didn't work and there was a small area where the short was in the seat foam that was burnt but nothing like what happened to you .
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the kind words. I don't think its totaled, but the entire interior might have to be replaced. Headliner and visors, seats, carpet, dash, door panel, ect.

More info on the truck. No heated seats, no power seats. I didn't hear the clicking until I opened the door. Don't know what it was for, I just knew disconnecting the battery would stop it.
 
#10 ·
Smoker by chance?
 
#11 ·
I'm the boring guy at a party, don't dance, drink, smoke, or do drugs. I do like to go fast though. Truck has not been driven since last Wed. I last opened the door on Sat. morning to lock it up before we left town and that was from the passenger side.
 
#12 ·
Just a shot in the dark...

Any word from insurance? Going to need a complete interior, everything.

AC will stink forever, doubt you will ever get that smell out.
 
#14 ·
IMHO yes... Without removing all the glass, all the interior and all the HVAC you will always smell it.
 
#17 ·
That is Nucking Futs! :eek:
 
#18 ·
Turns out the insurance adjuster is a guy that used to work for a local ford dealer and I have dealt with him a lot. Great guy and he remember who i was. So hopefully he will be very kind. He said that it will need to have a complete interior and is recommending servicemaster to clean the rest (like servpro). He didn't know for sure without looking up the parts but doesn't think it will total. I kind of want it to total, but at the same time this is the first truck I have had for more than 2 years because I love it.
 
#19 ·
How complete is the interior that he is offering?

In order to guarantee the smell doesn't come back, anything that he is not willing to replace, needs to be fully taken apart and cleaned individually, by hand. If soot is left anywhere on the inside of that truck, you will get a charred odor later on, no matter what deodorizing method your cleaner of choice uses.

Sorry for you loss. Good luck.
 
#20 ·
More info on the truck. No heated seats, no power seats. I didn't hear the clicking until I opened the door. Don't know what it was for, I just knew disconnecting the battery would stop it.
The only thing electrical near the seat would be the wires for the seat belt sensor. Thats the only thing I could imagine it being.
 
#24 ·
The new nacho burritos at taco bell are pretty dang good. Talked with the insurance today and had to have a recorded conversation and will have to sign some papers and get them notarized. I guess they are covering their butt. The adjuster is still looking up parts and will hopefully let me know something tomorrow.
 
#26 ·
Not as good as the beefy crunch one with the freetos in it... Damn them for stopping that one.

LOL
 
#25 ·
$7201.52 is the first estimate. He is pretty sure there will be some supplemental stuff needed. I haven't gone through it line by line but there is a lot of stuff there. Got the papers in the mail today and will get them sent back to the insurance tomorrow.
 
#27 ·
What saved the whole truck from going up in flames was the fact the windows were closed. The fire burned itself out when it ran out of oxygen. If it was still going when you returned to the truck and opened the door you would be in the hospital now with burns form the backdarft. I have seen a couple of car fires like this. They explode when they finally get oxygen.
 
#29 ·
i seen alot of stuff but that is weird like it didnt get anything on fire but the seats my uncle got a 02 & his truck clicks in the dash the entire time & it has that seat belt thing too & it power seats. kinda makes me glad to have a OBS yea it could happen still but i think it less likely. dude thats messed up infact i never have seen that . hope u get it straightened out. if not u can always gut it & make it a drag truck since u like to go fast always a slight possiblity
 
#30 ·
It will be fixed. Insurance company is gonna do an investigation into the cause of the fire. Which I agree with because I don't want it to happen again. They are interesting in blaming ford for a design flaw or something so ford foots the bill.
 
#31 ·
That sucks man...hope the best to you, makes me cringe looking at the pics...i just hope that never happens to me...let us know what it was so we know what to look for! I wonder if you are the only one that this has happened to?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top