See I told You!

Dave rambled his jeep down the washboard road at a considerable pace, until finally, one of his passengers had about enough so he told Dave that he really ought to slow down. He was going too fast! Dave teased him back and continued on at the same rate. Until suddenly, everyone started to smell smoke. It was coming out of the dashboard! At that point, Dave was now ready to quickly stop the jeep after all, jump out, and fling up the hood. A giant cloud of black smoke billowed out from under the hood! And under the smoke was red hot flames! Dave and another passenger promptly began smacking down the flames with old towels. It was not looking good!

But eventually the flames were put out. What had happened? Bouncing on the rough road had put that last iota of pressure on some old worn out metal straps around the battery. The straps had broke and the battery slid forward until it hit a small piece of metal that bridged the gap between the positive and negative nodes of the battery. This short circuit then caused the metal to heat up and start a fire in the insulation under the hood.

The amazing part was that nothing was actually seriously damaged. A few wires were singed and a quick repair was made via some electrical tape. And the battery was anchored back in place via some bungee cord. And there is a tad less insulation now present. Now Dave keeps a sharp eye on the current state of bungee cord and straps around the battery and checks it regularly!

But the funniest part was the response to the event from one of his passengers who had been complaining about Dave's driving speed. Just as the flames were put out, all he had to say was, "See I TOLD you that you shouldn't drive so fast!"