Viking funeral

Eric was T-boned in his 2001 Jetta in the spring, totaling the car.

He purchased a 99.5 Jetta from a customer who upgraded his TDI. He moved all his performance stuff to the new car, and we even found him a RC3 ECU to complete the mods. Just put all new speakers in the car last weekend.

His sister borrowed the car this evening to run an errand for both of them. I just received a text and a photo from her..........



Apparently started under the hood. No clue what, and diesel burns hot. I suspect a fuel leak.

Another one bites the dust.

Oh, my! Bruce I sure hope no one was injured!

Sorry to hear it. Thank God she's OK!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdIehpPDfX4

I should have said all ok.

Just heard back. Engine compartment burned and engine on ground. Huge hole burned in New Circle Road in LEXINGTON. Passenger compartment and trunk unburned. Fire investigator on the way for some reason.

Really sounds like a fuel fire. Perhaps an injector hard line cracked, or interinjector line leaking despite being brand new.

Did someone install an electric pusher-fuel pump on this?

Have you guys thought about a Toyota? Or a Ford? Or literally any other brand of car?

Glad nobody was hurt. Sucks about the car though. One more gone forever.

Prairieview said:

Did someone install an electric pusher-fuel pump on this?

Click to expand...

Nope. Bone stock other than T4s and chip.

Not sure what I am looking at in the picture (headlights and fire in the middle?)
but it can't be good.

good lord. has to be electrical fire. diesel does NOT burn this bad. i have never seen a diesel fuel leak lead to a fire. EVER. heck i have to use a OPEN FLAME TORCH to get it to burn if i use it to start fires for wood burning.

Alls I’ve got to say is DAMN!!!
Glad no one was hurt.

JETaah said:

Not sure what I am looking at in the picture (headlights and fire in the middle?)
but it can't be good.

Click to expand...

It was dead by this point. All fire in picture.

Witness flashed lights before smoke filled cabin. Said they were leaving a trail if little fireballs as they drove along.

A fine, atomized diesel spray will light easily. One little arc from alternator and......?

well dang, i had to see for my self.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjapJVcdI5s
i have my droughts that a spark would ignite it though, maybe a very hot exhaust, i think you need it hotter.
so why then have many owners had cracked injector lines but no fires?

maybe this was an electrical fire that caused a fuel leak on the IP's lines? im sure interested into the findings of what started it!

Was there a fire extinguisher in the car? Maybe too late to use it though based on the sounds of it, opening a hood with a raging fire under it can be hazardous to your health :-/

paramedick said:

I should have said all ok.

Just heard back. Engine compartment burned and engine on ground. Huge hole burned in New Circle Road in LEXINGTON. Passenger compartment and trunk unburned. Fire investigator on the way for some reason.

Really sounds like a fuel fire. Perhaps an injector hard line cracked, or interinjector line leaking despite being brand new.

Click to expand...

Not one of my brightest moves, but years ago one of the injector hard lines cracked right at the injector end on my 01 Jetta. I was in the midst of a trip and on a schedule to get to Kentucky for a job... I drove close to 800 miles while washing down the engine with diesel. I tried a couple different ways to fix it, and surprisingly brass ferrules from Home Depot would hold against the pressure at highway speed for a couple hours or so before they started bleeding.

When I arrived, I opened the hood and put a pan under the bottom corners of the hood blanket... I got back almost 2 gallons of fuel.

Could be that I was lucky b/c I was running a high concentration of biodiesel at the time, but more than half that trip was on pump fuel b/c I was getting a blistering 18mpg with that leak. Diesel is dang hard to ignite except under pressure.

I'd wager something happened with the battery cables - I watched a semi truck burn to the pavement at a truckstop, (everyone OK) - drivers from the nearby units said all of a sudden they heard the starter sound like it was stuck on for about a minute, then it just lit up from the battery compartment area. There was no driver in the unit... Seems he was at a hotel with his girlfriend, while his wife who lived in the town thought he was in Miami. Oopsie. Not the best way to spend Valentines day.....

Wow. That's nutz

This is my very first post here, but when I read the title- I knew what it had to be! I've had at least two car fires that I can think of, but none of them burned it down.

99.5, eh? Maybe that fuse block on top of the battery, in which case the little dropping fireballs were burning battery acid?

When the one on my '02 started melting, I only discovered it because the guy doing something else on it spotted it, told me, and replaced it. Said he was surprised it didn't burn the car to the ground.

Glad your daughter's OK.

just did a stereo system?
electrical fire for sure!