Wiring Short-Cuts Lead to Electrical Fires, Even in 12v Automotive Applications

Sometimes it takes learning the hard way to realize shortcuts will usually cost you down the road. Last summer I installed a 12v water pump to provide water pressure for my tankless water heater shower.

In a hurry to get things up and running I neglected to install a fuse or circuit breaker to protect my $60 investment. I was pleased as punch to have a workable hot shower in my van dwelling, and continued on my travels thinking I was good to go for the long term.

Jump ahead 6 months, last week I was driving a short distance to work. One of my co-workers commented on a sweet smell emanating from my van when I pulled in. His thought was an antifreeze leak, so I put checking my coolant level on my immediate to-do list.

A few days later on a longer excursion across town, I too smelled the sickly sweet odor coming from somewhere and immediately pulled over to investigate. Under the hood everything looked normal, coolant full and engine well within proper temperature range.

The smell seemed stronger in the cab area, so I turned my attention to the interior of the van. I opened the sliding side door to the cargo area and the smell became almost overpowering. Still no sign of it's origin.

Using my nose to try and pin down the location, I sniffed all over the place with no clear signal of what was going on. Almost by accident I lifted the cover to the storage area that contained my water system.

Immediately dense, dark smoke rolled out filling the entire van with the most nauseous mess you could imagine. The problem became immediately apparent. The wiring leading to the water pump was frying.

At the back of the storage compartment was the switch that activated the pump. It was in the on position as the plastic snow shovel I was carrying had bounced up and turned the pump on. Roads this time of year are more pot holes than driving surface.

There was sufficient water left in the pump from summer that ice had formed preventing the pump from turning. Try as it might to spin, all it did was sit and cook itself to the point the plastic housing had melted.

By opening the storage compartment oxygen was added and surly without my quick action the whole mess would have burst into flames within seconds. Goodbye Stealth Van Dwelling.

I ripped out the melting wiring, and disconnected the power source ending the immediate danger. Later I removed the pump and all damaged wiring as the odor was still lingering. Air fresheners were purchased and within a day or so, all smell from the event had dissipated.

Next summer I will replace the now worthless pump, and rest assured I will do a proper electrical installation with wiring being protected both physically from damage and electrically with fuses or circuit breakers.

I got off lucky, only a $60 loss of a pump. The fumes given off from such an event can be deadly and will likely sicken or kill you if such a disaster happened while you were sleeping.

As it was, my new combination smoke detector/ carbon monoxide detector sounded off the instant I opened the storage compartment. I like to think it would have saved me, but none the less I could smell the odor long before the detector did.

The moral to this: Taking short cuts might get you going quicker, but they will likely come back to haunt you in the long run.