NHTSA Complaint #716566 — 1995 EAGLE TALON

MORNING OF INCIDENT, ON THE WAY TO WORK NOTICED SPEEDOMETER WASN'T WORKING. COMING BACK FROM LUNCH, SMELLED ODOR. PULLED OVER, POPPED HOOD, SAW SMALL FIRE LEFT SIDE, AND PUT OUT WITH FIRE EXTINGUISHER. TOWED TO DEALER, THEY MADE OEM SPEC. REPAIR, REPLACING DAMAGED COMPOENTS. I HAVE OLD SPEED SENSOR, IT LOOKS TO ME THE MOST LIKELY SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM. MY CONCERN IS THIS CAN HAPPEN AGAIN. I BELIEVE THE SPEED SENSOR CIRCUIT SHOULD BE FUSED. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF PURSUING THIS CONCERN WITH DAMLIERCHRYSLER (BOB DUNN, 612-553-2569). FYI, STATE FARM IS NOT COVERING MOST THE DAMAGE COST (~$850), CLAIMING THE DEFECTIVE COMPONENT (COMPREHENSIVE DOESN'T COVER THE DEFECTIVE PART, BUT OTHER PARTS DAMAGED IN FIRE) TO BE THE WIRING HARNESS, THE BIG TICKET ITEM, AND NOT THE SPEED SENSOR. SO FOR 2 REASONS I REALLY WANT TO DETERMINE THE ACTUAL CAUSE OF THE FIRE. FYI, THE ORIGINAL/BAD SENSOR. I RECEIVED FROM THE DEALER, PRESUMABLY THE SPEED SENSOR, APPEARS TO BE A 3 TERMINAL DEVICE, WITH THE MIDDLE PIN MISSING (BURNED UP?). I TRIED MEASURING THE RESISTANCE BETWEEN THE OTHER TWO TERMINALS, AND SAW ~800OHMS. THE SENSOR DAMAGE SUGGESTS COUPLED WITH MY OBSERVATION THAT THE SPEEDOMETER MALFUNCTION IMPLIES TO ME THAT THE SPEED SENSOR AND NOT THE HARNESS FAILED. I'M GUESSING THE SENSOR IS BULIT BY MITSUBISHI, AND DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT NEXT, E.G. WHO WOULD/SHOULD DO FAILURE ANALYSIS. I ALSO HAVE A NEW $600 WIRING HARNESS, MISSING JUST THE SPEED SENSOR FEMALE CONNECTOR HARNESS (THE MECHANIC SCAVANGED IT TO DO THE REPAIR), IT WOULD NO DOUBT BE OF SOME USE IN AN INVESTIGATION. IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION THAT WILL HELP ME CONVINCE THE STATE FARM ADJUSTER TO PAY MY CLAIM, PLEASE CONTACT ME: [email protected]. THANKS! *AK