[alfa] About 164

[VLADDS@xxxxxxx]

I want to thank all of you for the good wishes and the opinions about the 
WRX. I am even considering to follow up with the Digest, just because of the 
technical value, and because it's fun. I will get another Italian car, in the not 
too distant future, but might be a Spider or a Spyder (an Alfa or a Maserati). 
I already know and like the Maserati (have owned one) so don't worry about 
cautioning me.
Regarding the 164: Mine was an early model manuractured in 01/90, complete 
with the bracket behind the dashboard, that the steppers video describes.
The morning of the fire, I had turned the rear defogger on. The fire happened 
about 10 minutes later. About a half minute before noticing the fire I had 
turned the defogger off, thinking to myself that today it doesn't work as well 
as usual , but the rear window is already good enough to turn it off. As I saw 
the flames, there was no sign of voltage loss or of power loss of the engine 
or of stalling. I actually turned the engine off.
The other thing is that my rear defogger fuse that is located on top of the 
relay, I think, next to the battery, was couple times in the past looking bad, 
I had replaced it.
The other thing is that for USA they eliminated the rear defogger/antenna 
setup, and had to come up with a different one.
My fire extinguisher was of the Home Depo type, the small size (the next to 
smallest). In reality that thing sprays for like less than 10 seconds.
It fits perfect in the 91-93 164 in the rear door shelv. What I mean is that 
you jam it between the top of the shelv and the underside of the 
doorhandle/elbowrest. It stayed there since 1998 without making a rattle, waiting to be 
used. 
It still worked although I had bought it in 1998. If I would have opened the 
trunk and pulled the cover of the battery and sprayed the whole content onto 
the battery, I might have saved the car. I was afraid to do that, thinking that 
there might be a lot of flames or that the tank might burst in my face.
I got an extinguisher in the WRX too. Had it in the Maserati too. My friend 
Peter watched his Biturbo burn without being able to do anything about it, 
because his extinguisher had a slow leak over the years, and when the time to use 
it came, it was out of pressure (nobody remembers to check that little 
pressure gauge on it)
Take care
Vlad
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