307 fire hazzards shown of BBC

The fire hazards of the 307 bursting into flame due to faulty ignition
switches, was screened tonight by BBC Watchdog prog.
The duff switch leaves itself in the ignition position, thereby causing the
starter motor to run constantly. Result - FIRE. Plus that luvly plastic
bonnet melts all over the engine. Write Off.
Resale value - nnnnnnnnnoooooo.
Resale value of an unaffected Pug 307 - Minus £3000 because general public
only remember That's the car that goes up in flames...

WOOOSH

 

The fire hazards of the 307 bursting into flame due to faulty ignition

If you heard the starter motor turning constantly wouldnt you just switch
the ignition off though and get it fixed? Or am i missing something?

 

didnt see the programme, but surely if it 'leaves itself in the ignition
position', then its gonna to be quite obvious that the starter is still
turning. even if your a complete nonce and only think 'what a strange
noise' and pull over!

 

sticks on you'd need to disconnect battery

 

Twas Tue, 2 Sep 2003 19:38:59 +0100 when "Carl Gibbs"

Not sure I'd hear the starter moror turning over the noise of the
engine, I've bench tested starter motors befoore and they are not very
noisy compared to an engine.

--
Regards.
Mark.(AKA, Mr.Nice.)
___________________________________________________________
"To know the character of a man, give him anonymity" - Mr.Nice.
http://www.mr-nice.rulestheweb.com mr.niceATsofthome.net
http://community.webshots.com/user/mrnice106
___________________________________________________________

 

Even Pug didn't try to reject claims for New Cars under that twaddle.
Engine noise, road noise, tyre noise, kids, radio, etc., Yep I sure listen
to my starter motor.

Whoosh

 

MMmm I don't think its the noise of the motor you'd notice, but surely you'd
hear all the din when the bendix gear engaged with the flywheel. Anyone
whoes ever tried starting a motor when its already running (ahem!) will know
its not a quiet business.

jim

 

Surely the point is, those who have already fallen victims of this PUG Know
Problem, had their lives threatened, and the other road users around them,
and their cars destroyed, let alone the mental health issues of being in a
speeding car that catches fire.
If it were not for the BBC program yesterday evening, I would not be any
the wiser either. May be I should have done like PUG and kept the news to
myself.

Whoosh

 

Hello,

I'd bet you won't.

Yes, but we are responsible people, we all know there may be a problem. The
fact is, Peugeot made a wide communication about it, proving they know, they
care and they cure (2-hours job). Having a look to sales will show it's all
right for them, having proven in the past that a known problem was often
cured.

Sure your 307 won't suffer of any depreciation, once fixed. Just show the
receipt, if the buyer wants to show it.

 

Ah GT glad you put in an appearance.
I missed the BBC show.
If you know, perhaps you could explain what this faulty switch is doing to
the starter?
Is it just the spring failing in the switch causing the possibility of it
drifting from ON to START while the engines is going?
or is it the contacts for start 'freezing' in leaving the starter connected
from startup.
(or what??)
There's a lot of emotive rhetoric flying around, but not much information.

jim

 

Hello,

Damn, when I visited the Sochaux plant, the guide told us the bonnet was
made of aluminium.

 

I do appreciate what you are saying GT, but my concern is that Joe Public
will not even bother to read my ad for 307, because "in his mind he only
remembers some bad news". Unfortunately This Is the Way the of the Myth.
So he is not going to turn up and see a great car, fixed and paperwork
complete, full history, loving owner, etc., he is just going to look for a
different Marque. Leaving only "educated few" and existing Peugeot
owners as potential buyers.

Whoosh
[ the sound my 307 makes when going past the lesser hatches]

 

AFAIK it is made of aluminium. And it was mentioned as such on
Watchdog.

 

Would it be possible for that to melt under the heat of the engine bay
fire? There was definitely something that had melted and draped all over
the engine. Could it be some sort of lining from the underside of the
bonnet?

W

 

Hello,

I was about to answer that. My brother (yes, the one with the DTurbo) was on
a training at an Audi main dealer when an A8 was stolen. It has been fired
by the thugs, and nothing remained of the car when it came back to
workshop... Wheels out, roof lowered at the dashboard's level... (the A8 is
fully made of alu).

 

aluminium melts at 660.32c or 1229.58f which is hotter than most 'open
fires' can produce. Your average gas oven can only make 250c. Central
heating boiler makes 400c in the flue (expelled gases).

 

Many years ago, when we didn't have electric kettles, I was always putting
our Aluminium Kettle onto the Gas Stove & then forgetting about it. When I
used to come back the kitchen was full of a bluish smoke & molten Aluminium
used to be running around on the top of the cooker (with very large holes in
the bottom of the kettle!!

I would suugest that direct flames, produced by Electric/Petrol fires can
exceed your figures.

Regards,
John

 

So in other words we would be just as well of with a plastic bonnet anyway
<g> Cheaper to replace, more people friendly in collisions, and less energy
to produce it, and it would melt a bit quicker and hopefully give vital
secs more notice to stop. <g>

Whoosh
[ the sound my 307 makes when going past the lesser hatches]

 

looked into it a bit further.
iron melts at 1500c
steel around 1500c also
aluminium 660c BUT lower grades as low as 520c.
Obviously it will begin to 'sag' below this temp and the confined space of a
engine bay must create a furnace effect and produce high enough temps to
melt the bonnet.
Bottom line is i may be wrong (not often someone on this NG says that!)

 

AFAIK the wings are made from plastic. I was chatting to a colleague the
other day whilst standing next to his 307 and leant back against the wing
and the bloody thing caved in under my weight. it popped back into shape ok
though.

Nick.