Almost burned down my truck this morning

No. There is a reason toyota doesnt run anything through the boxed section of the frame from the factory. Especially at that location where debris from the tire or the tire itself can cut wires, let alone the frame cutting through wire installation.

 

True, I have it in wire loom but I can see where your coming from.

 

Thanks for the cautionary tale! No telling how many trucks and lives you might have just saved.

I like to follow exiting wire paths where I can. Lots of things I don't have to worry about if I zip tie to a factory run. It's not a perfect plan, more of a good starting point.

 

I'm glad to see no one is being too hard on you OP. Everyone makes mistakes. As long as you learn from them . And good on you for having the guts to tell us about it, at the risk of being ridiculed, to prevent others from having to go through the same, or worse, situation.

 

Fuse as close to battery as possible.

 

Seriously guys. Run your wires properly and this won’t be an issue. Go through the firewall. I’ve seen so many car fires because of poor diy wiring it’s scary. If you run out of grommets to route through, buy more grommets and drill through the firewall. Routing wires through the frame or near moving parts or exhaust is asking for a fire. Just don’t do it.

ETA: also your fuse should have blown. Test the amp draw of your system while you’re redoing the wires and put in the correct fuse.

 

Thanks! Yeah a fire extinguisher should be one of the first mods everyone does!

Yeah I see your point. There's a few sets of wires up there that could use neatening up, but for the most part everything is in control. That pic is also right after I ripped a few wires out to ensure everything was disconnected. But yeah all wire runs should be loomed and clean to prevent issues like this!

I probably won't do that just in case I need to get at those wires again, but thanks for another idea! There are definitely other ways to run wire that carry less risk.

I just hope no one loses their truck to an easily preventable fire like I almost did! The two big takeaways are to always have a fire extinguisher and be careful where you run your wires!

 

Yeah this kit came with pre-cut wires for the fuse and I remember not liking how long the first run was. When I do it again I'll definitely use a breaker and get it as close to the battery as possible.

Great point! This cable really should have been run through the firewall. I do have some other 0 gauge cable for the dual battery install that is run along side the frame rail to the bed, but that's because I wouldn't want that much current in the cab. Breakers on either side, and it is not near the exhaust. I'll be double checking it tonight!

 

I saw a car that burned to the ground because they ran big heavy cable from the battery to the amp under the back seat with no fuse. The guys buddies were riding in the back seat and the cable shorted out under the seat. The owners logic? "The amp has a fuse in it".

 

Wow! Yeah that's pretty scary!

 

This guy on YouTube has a series called "How not to do car audio" very informative and shows how actual customers wired their vehicles and how he fixes them. The episode linked is similar to yours.

 

I'll give that a watch! Thanks!

 

I have one in the garage at home but it wont help me if I need it like you did... just now ordered one from Amazon.com!

 

Great to hear! I've also got one in my apartment, and I'll be picking up another one or two on the way home tonight!

 

Thanks for the post OP, glad everything turned out okay for you. You've inspired me to go back through all of my wiring and add split convoluted tubing to all of my wiring and reroute everything. Definitely want to avoid this happening to me..

 

What exactly caused the wire to melt at first? Being close to the exhaust or just a short?

 

sounds like it was routed way to close to the exhaust, zip tie melted, wire shorted on to exhaust / wire insulation caught fire.

 

I thought about putting a fire extinguisher in my truck but wouldn’t know where to put it. I really wouldn’t want to put it in the cab of the truck due to 110 degree heat in Houston summers.

 

I never thought about heat being a problem for fire extinguishers... it can get pretty dang hot inside of a truck cab with the windows rolled up in the summer time... I'll have to check on that, good question.

 

if they get too hot, do they explode or something? Genuinely curious as this thread has me considering where to mount one on my truck as well