AFTERMATH OF FIRE
BURNT UP CONTROLLER
FIRE EXTINGUISHER RESIDUE
On Monday, the front battery module was disconnected from the cables going to the rear module. The rear module was then disconnected and since the fire had left blackening on the aluminum battery cell housings, I was a little worried about voltage tracking to ground, so took some of the connectors off of the module so the voltage would be lower if it was tracking. By Wednesday, the controller was removed and much of the burnt wire and loom was cut and removed. The engine compartment was a sooty mess, so I mixed up some detergent with water in a spray bottle and tried to remove it from the engine compartment. Then on Saturday, the charger, charger bracket, and motor base were removed from the car. I was still getting quite dirty from soot so went to AutoZone and purchased some engine de-greaser and Brake cleaner. The engine compartment was soaked with the de-greaser and the top of the battery module was sprayed down with the brake cleaner, scrubbed down with a brush, and wiped down with a rag to try to remove as much soot as possible. The soot on the aluminum sides was also cleaned and scrubbed with a brush and wiped down. Then the sides of the engine compartment was hosed down to wash off the de-greaser. It is much better but I still get a little soon on me when working. The contactor and emergency shut off switch was then removed along with the base it was mounted on.
On Sunday the motor brush cage was removed and there was quite a mess from the fire extinguisher that looked like it was corroding the communicator and brush wires. The communicator was sprayed down with brake cleaner and wiped out as much as possible. Then the top brush and connection post was removed from the motor. Not sure I can get to the remainder of the brushes but am hoping they can be removed without having to pull the motor. Even if they can be removed, I doubt the communicator will be able to be cleaned without removing the motor and the only way to remove the motor is to drop the entire cradle, so am going to need to remove the battery module. Basically, I am back to square one on the build and If the cradle is dropped and motor removed, will need to seriously consider going with an AC motor set up. Also if the motor cradle is dropped, I will probably purchase a new transaxle, as the one currently in the car has never shifted correctly.
I have been thinking about the lessons learned from the fire experience and will try to write about that in the next post.
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