Atv fire!

[bgmny]

Got done plowing my driveway Sat. morning and parked my 04 Polaris 700 in the garage like I always do and turned on the heat in the garage to melt off the snow. An hour later my wife screams fire!,fire! and I run upstairs to find my garage full of black smoke. I open the door to the garage and go to turn on the lights, only to find out that my lights are already on and the garage is completely black. Run out there in my socks and see that my atv is on fire! Meet my wife at the door and she hands me a fire extinguisher. This does nothing to put out the fire which by now is plastic and small amounts of gas from the melting tank. Panic sets in and I open one of the garage door openers, neighbors see the smoke coming from the garage and run over to help. With the help of the neighbors, I push the wheeler out to the driveway, and go back into the garage to see what else is on fire. Fire department shows up and puts out the fire. Garage has some fire damage and very extensive smoke damage.

[bgmny]

More pics of the wheeler and one of the garage door. The insulation from the door melted and dripped down, resulting in burns to my face and hands and to the top of the neighbors head.

[MuleShack]

Boy that is a downer.

Any idea what started it or what was shorted out?

Good thing the house didn't go up with it.

[Crm7290]

wow that is a crazy fire. What does insurance do about this kind of thing?

[bgmny]

No idea what started it, but would love to find out. Bone stock atv with the exception of the winch which was added when it was purchased in 2004.

[Crm7290]

Have you called polaris about it at all? It seems like it could be something they should know about...

[kupman]

Is your plow raise, lever or winch activated? I believe your year had a recall w/ignition parts causing occasional fires. Mines an '05 and was replaced last year. Can find out the part that was bad if you need to investigate..

[kupman]

http://www.atvsafety.gov/atvrecalls.html

Some info to look at

[Macgyver55]

There was a recall on some of the Warn winch solenoids a while back that were causing fires.

Here is the recall notice. Yours may not be involved but its worth checking.

"There were isolated reports of ATVs that experienced fires on units with Warn 2000 lb. winch kits that include a White-Rodgers manufactured solenoid.

These winch kits were sold between approximately November 1, 2000 and May 31, 2001. The fires occurred when the vehicles were parked and the winches were not in use.

Consumers identifying a White-Rodgers solenoid (see below) on their ATV should immediately disconnect the solenoid wires from their ATV and contact their local ATV dealer or Warn Industries to receive the free replacement solenoid and installation instructions. Consumers can call Warn Industries at (877) 277-0539 between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. PT Monday through Friday; contact Warn customer service by e-mail at [email protected]; or write to Warn Industries at 12900 S.E. Capps Road, Clackamas, OR 97015-8903."

This 2001 Notice Updated by WARN in August, 2006.

[mixxedbagg]

Man does that suck.

One of those, "Could have been better, but could have been much worse" kind of deals. Glad the only injuries were minor and the fire didn't involve the garage more. Or the ATV's fuel tank.

That would have been scary. I hope insurance takes care of you.

[aczr2k]

Your wheeler is model year 2004.5, I can tell by the Carlise tires and I bet you had a fuel gage? Depending on your serial number which still should be visible on the frame was very likely covered in the ECM recall for fires. I would really do some research and a call to Polaris and the dealer would be in order. That sucks for sure but it could have been much worse and taken your whole house. Good Luck!

[HooknHorns]

I have insurance on my wheeler, just wondering how many others do? The house should be covered but, would the company replace your wheeler under the home coverage? Never had any type of a claim so just curious more or less. Im glad to hear it wasn't worse and everyone is ok. Bummer.

[rundrave]

I had some info archived from the ECM recall as mentioned above. Here you go:

Name of Product: Polaris All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs)

Units: About 95,000 (45,000 units recalled in June 2005)

Manufacturer: Polaris Industries Inc., of Medina, Minn.

Hazard: The ATVs can have defective Electronic Control Modules (ECM) that overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to riders.

Incidents/Injuries: Since the original recall announced in June 2005, Polaris has received 372 additional reports of smoking and/or melted ECMs on the affected ATVs, and 20 reports of fires, nine of which involved property damage beyond the ATV. No injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall involves select 2005 through 2006 model Polaris Sportsman and Scrambler 500 ATVs. The model and serial numbers are printed on a decal attached to the front side of the radiator (Sportsman) or the top of the front cab cover (Scrambler 500). Serial numbers are permanently stamped into the left frame rail behind the left front wheel. The recalled models are listed on the chart below.

MODEL YEAR MODEL NAME MODEL NUMBER

2004 SPRTSMN 500 A04CH50AO

2004 SPRTSMN 500 A04CH50AR

2004 SPRTSMN 500 A04CH50AS

2005 INT 500 HO A05MH50FB

2005 SCRMBLR 500 4X4 A05BG50AA

2005 SPRTSMN 400 A05MH42AB

2005 SPRTSMN 400 A05MH42AG

2005 SPRTSMN 400 A05MH42AH

2005 SPRTSMN 500 A05MH50AB

2005 SPRTSMN 500 A05MH50AC

2005 SPRTSMN 500 A05MH50AG

2005 SPRTSMN 500 A05MH50AH

2005 SPRTSMN 500 A05MH50AL

2005 SPRTSMN 500 A05MH50AT

2005 SPRTSMN 600 A05MH59AK

2005 SPRTSMN 600 A05MH59AN

2005 SPRTSMN 6X6 A05CL50AA

2005 SPRTSMN 6X6 MIL A05CL50MA

2005 SPRTSMN 700 A05MH68AD

2005 SPRTSMN 700 A05MH68AK

MODEL YEAR MODEL NAME MODEL NUMBER

2005 SPRTSMN 700 A05MH68AN

2005 SPRTSMN 700 MIL A05MH68MB

2005 SPRTSMN MV7 A05MH68AP

2005 SPRTSMN MV7 A05MH68CA

2005 SPRTSMN MV7 A05MH68MA

2006 INT SPTSMAN 500 A06MH50FB

2006 SCRMBLR 500 4X4 A06BG50AA

2006 SPRTSMN 450 A06MH46AA

2006 SPRTSMN 450 A06MH46AC

2006 SPRTSMN 450 A06MH46AD

2006 SPRTSMN 450 A06MH46AF

2006 SPRTSMN 450 A06MH46AT

2006 SPRTSMN 500 A06MH50AA

2006 SPRTSMN 500 A06MH50AB

2006 SPRTSMN 500 A06MH50AD

2006 SPRTSMN 500 A06MH50AF

2006 SPRTSMN 6X6 A06CL50AA

2006 SPRTSMN 700 A06MH68AA

2006 SPRTSMN 700 A06MH68AD

2006 SPRTSMN 700 A06MH68AF

[Black_Bay]

Wow looks like you caught it just in time. If the tires would have started burning you probably would have lost your house.

[bgmny]

Thanks for the info on the recalls. Insurance company is sending someone out to investigate the cause of the fire. My home owners policy apparently does not cover the atv, but I had a seperate policy on it so it's covered either way.

[Rippinlip]

Oh Bummer, glad noone was seriously injured.

Sorry to hear you and your neighbor were burned.

[reelguy]

well certainly wasn't the winch. you can tell that from the photo of the front because the winch is nearly all intact. With the limited fire investigation experience I have and just from looking at the few photos it started near the middle and probably the bottom of the wheeler. Any recent oil changes or mouse problems where a foreign object may have been introduced where it shouldn't have?

[Macgyver55]

It would have been the winch solenoid and /or wiring, not the actual winch. The solenoid can be mounted most anywhere but many times its under the seat.

[bgmny]

No recent oil changes. The solonoid for my winch was in the tool box in the rear of the wheeler.

[aczr2k]

What solenoid did you have? The black plastic box style or the ford starter solenoid type? Did you have anything else in the toolbox besides the solenoid?

[ChuckN]

That is a bummer! I'm so glad to hear the fire didn't spread to the house. The garage is much more easily repairable.

IMO, the fire started in the center of the machine, left side under the handlebars/frame, as there is no damage in the front or rear. The right side still has remaining plastic. You can see how the fire spread around the center. I'm willing to bet it's related to the ECM recall rundrave posted, or something similar...wherever the ECM is located on that machine.

It's a good reminder to check insurance policies. I've seen insurance companies insure ATV's, but only if the ATV is on the insured property. It's usually in the fine print. Once it's off the property, it's not covered and a seperate policy is necessary.

[bgmny]

What solenoid did you have? The black plastic box style or the ford starter solenoid type? Did you have anything else in the toolbox besides the solenoid?

I don't know which one I have, I'll look in the morning. Is it actually the contactor? All I had in there was the tool kit and the contactor.