Toyota MR2 Message Board - View Single Post - mr2's. fires. ground potential. what you NEED to be doing to your car right now.

PETC · 02-15-2009, 02:35 PM

Thank you for this Tom, although this may be common sense to some, I'm sure many know nothing of this concept, and hearing how to prevent something as major as a fire is good advice. I vote we sticky this post personally, it's an incredibly important topic that has not been covered very well.

I keep a little 5 lb fire extinguisher in my 2, but I've heard many stories of people emptying the contents of them onto a fire and having it continue to burn.

If I may add something, if your car is on fire, your instinct may be to immediately attempt to put it out if you have an extinguisher, but first try to identify what kind of fire it is. If you smell fuel, chances are you have a fuel fire, but if it just smells of burning and then all of a sudden you're on fire, probably electrical, in which case it would be in your best interest to disconnect the battery before attempting to extinguish the fire.

I always keep the following things in my MR2 just in case:

1. Flash light: never leave home without one. Seriously.
2. Fire Extinguisher: It may not work all the time, but in an early detection scenario it can be the difference between leaning against your car and smoking a cigarette to calm yourself down, or standing on the side of the road smoking a cigarette watching your car burn to the ground as the fire department approaches in the distance.
3. Pliers: Seriously.
4. Small Socket Set: You never know.
5. 1 Gallon of Toyota Red
6. 1 Quart of synthetic motor oil
7. C-Clamp: Very useful for pushing down brake pistons if for some reason you need to do that, and very tiny.
8. Brake Piston Tool: A little cube that you can use to push down other kinds of brake pistons. The MR2 has two kinds, one that needs a C-Clamp and one that needs one of these.
9. 1 bottle of DOT3 brake fluid
10. 1 Bottle of MT90 Redline gear oil
11. BFB: A big ****ing bar, never leave home without one.
12. Rags/Shop towels: Sooooo nice to have....
13. Extra belts: I have these, most people don't... and while I wouldn't pull over to change an AC belt on the side of the road, an alternator belt is a 10 minute job, and is the difference between being towed home, or driving home yourself.
14. Multimeter
15. Knife

02-15-2009, 02:35 PM	#3 (permalink)
PETC √(176400) Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 2,412 Thanks: 27 Thanked 53 Times in 45 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (4/100% )	Thank you for this Tom, although this may be common sense to some, I'm sure many know nothing of this concept, and hearing how to prevent something as major as a fire is good advice. I vote we sticky this post personally, it's an incredibly important topic that has not been covered very well. I keep a little 5 lb fire extinguisher in my 2, but I've heard many stories of people emptying the contents of them onto a fire and having it continue to burn. If I may add something, if your car is on fire, your instinct may be to immediately attempt to put it out if you have an extinguisher, but first try to identify what kind of fire it is. If you smell fuel, chances are you have a fuel fire, but if it just smells of burning and then all of a sudden you're on fire, probably electrical, in which case it would be in your best interest to disconnect the battery before attempting to extinguish the fire. I always keep the following things in my MR2 just in case: 1. Flash light: never leave home without one. Seriously. 2. Fire Extinguisher: It may not work all the time, but in an early detection scenario it can be the difference between leaning against your car and smoking a cigarette to calm yourself down, or standing on the side of the road smoking a cigarette watching your car burn to the ground as the fire department approaches in the distance. 3. Pliers: Seriously. 4. Small Socket Set: You never know. 5. 1 Gallon of Toyota Red 6. 1 Quart of synthetic motor oil 7. C-Clamp: Very useful for pushing down brake pistons if for some reason you need to do that, and very tiny. 8. Brake Piston Tool: A little cube that you can use to push down other kinds of brake pistons. The MR2 has two kinds, one that needs a C-Clamp and one that needs one of these. 9. 1 bottle of DOT3 brake fluid 10. 1 Bottle of MT90 Redline gear oil 11. BFB: A big ****ing bar, never leave home without one. 12. Rags/Shop towels: Sooooo nice to have.... 13. Extra belts: I have these, most people don't... and while I wouldn't pull over to change an AC belt on the side of the road, an alternator belt is a 10 minute job, and is the difference between being towed home, or driving home yourself. 14. Multimeter 15. Knife