2010 JD 2320 electrical fire-disaster

[yelbike]

Phil, I feel your pain. I had an insurance claim similar to yours(not fire though). The tractor was basically written off. It sucks even when the insurance company completely covers the costs. The 2320 is discontinued. 2035 is the new tractor.
BTW thanks for being EMT.

 

[compact]

Ugh...terrible feeling, good thing for insurance. I had white smoke billow from our cockshutt 30 while mowing, shut down, it got worse, as came around the rear wheel it burst into flames, under the gas tank. I thought about peeing on it - really, but grabbed a wrench and ripped out the white hot wire, it had gotten the grease in the steering knuckle going, blew on that...bad idea. Grease loves to be blown on while on fire. Grabbed my quart milk jug of water and got everything out. From start to finish...30 seconds. Things happen...

 

[BRBurns]

Glad the insurance has you covered. Your probably lucky that you were unable to get the fire out.

I had an electrical fire on my 4 wheeler last fall. I got it out with what looked like minimal damage. Still ended up being over $1000 in damage not counting my labor. Mine was caused by a wiring harness rubbing on the frame.

 

[Phil D]

Glad the insurance has you covered. Your probably lucky that you were unable to get the fire out.

I had an electrical fire on my 4 wheeler last fall. I got it out with what looked like minimal damage. Still ended up being over $1000 in damage not counting my labor. Mine was caused by a wiring harness rubbing on the frame.

It'll be interesting to see if there is any determination of a possible cause in the end.....and thanks again to all for the input.
Do we have any sense of the difference between the 2320 and the newer model?

Thanks,

Phil

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

First - sorry for the fire and glad you were not hurt.

Second, if it burned enough they can never determine the cause, that may be for the best. Let me explain. Some year ago we had a 115hp Suzuki outboard that had a case of spontaneous combustion in the electrical system inside the engine cover. The adjuster was making a big deal of whether there were "flames" or just "smoke" and trying to intimate that perhaps I had somehow been negligent to cause what we eventually agreed was a fire complete with "flames." While I insisted, and I think rightly so, there had been no negligence, we finally agreed that even if there had been, any such evidence was destroyed by the fire. They wrote a cheque for payment in full.

Glad to hear your insurance has you covered.

 

[ruko]

Just bought an 2010 2320 and so far it is good. I'm wondering why I can't see Shamus's comments. Have they been deleted?

 

[Coyote machine]

Just bought an 2010 2320 and so far it is good. I'm wondering why I can't see Shamus's comments. Have they been deleted?

Would seem things got heated, if one looks at the time stamp sequence, and admin must have clipped the post(s).

To the OP - sorry to hear of your experience, loss and heartache. There are battery isolation switches which can be used to shut off power instantaneously, and as an anti-theft measure too.
I used to use one on my 1800E Volvo coupe.
One example: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mor-74103?seid=srese1&gclid=COPtvqLK4rcCFRKZ4Aod5FYA8g

Side or top mount versions are available.

OP- you did everything you could do to save your tractor and fortunately were not injured in the process.
As an EMT you know what's worth saving and lives are it. Possessions can be replaced- people can't. Good luck finding what you want to replace your damaged tractor.

And what caused the fire may never be known, however it may have been something as simple as a rodent chewing on wires.

I bought the house next door from my elderly neighbor. His son insisted the dining room chandelier had some faulty wiring. I immediately removed it from the ceiling. When we went through the house's wiring my electrician found the switch dead because of rodents in the attic having chewed the wiring insulation down to nothing, and a short was the result. Could have been a different outcome for the neighbor or me had we not paid close attention to detail when rewiring most circuits in the house.
My point is things happen, sometimes we can take precautions and prevent bad outcomes, sometimes we can't.

 

[Phil D]

Would seem things got heated, if one looks at the time stamp sequence, and admin must have clipped the post(s).

To the OP - sorry to hear of your experience, loss and heartache. There are battery isolation switches which can be used to shut off power instantaneously, and as an anti-theft measure too.
I used to use one on my 1800E Volvo coupe.
One example: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mor-74103?seid=srese1&gclid=COPtvqLK4rcCFRKZ4Aod5FYA8g

Side or top mount versions are available.

OP- you did everything you could do to save your tractor and fortunately were not injured in the process.
As an EMT you know what's worth saving and lives are it. Possessions can be replaced- people can't. Good luck finding what you want to replace your damaged tractor.

And what caused the fire may never be known, however it may have been something as simple as a rodent chewing on wires.

I bought the house next door from my elderly neighbor. His son insisted the dining room chandelier had some faulty wiring. I immediately removed it from the ceiling. When we went through the house's wiring my electrician found the switch dead because of rodents in the attic having chewed the wiring insulation down to nothing, and a short was the result. Could have been a different outcome for the neighbor or me had we not paid close attention to detail when rewiring most circuits in the house.
My point is things happen, sometimes we can take precautions and prevent bad outcomes, sometimes we can't.

Just a quick update and thanks to all who have chimed into this thread. My insurance co. sent a fire and explosion expert out to my place 3 weeks ago and he and the local fire marshall spent a few hours examining the machine. Just 2 days ago John Deere sent a product safety engineer from the plant where my machine was assembled, Atlanta GA. He met with the ins.co fire expert and they spent 4 hours poking and prodding. In the end they will be very hard pressed to make a specific determination without doing costly tests and analyses. I very much appreciate that Deere sent a representative out to look at the machine. My insurance co. was very prompt and professional and I got a cheque 2 weeks ago. The first question both fire experts asked was if I had mice in my garage where the machine was kept. I opened the garage door and showed them my two large tabby cats, Ronny and Donny. The cats come in every night. There are no mice(nor chipmunks or anything else they can get their claws into..) not only in the garage but @ the property. So, I've been scouring the web for used machines and had narrowed my choices to 2-3 that had low hours, turf tires and the 62D mowing deck. In the end I've decided to buy a new 2025r and have added the 54" plow as Deere is offering $500.00 rebate if a buyer buys two implements. I realize some of the shortcomings of this plow but will modify its width if necessary. The engineer from Deere was a very nice guy and he made the point to me a few times that from a safety standpoint it would have been better to just stand back and call the fire dept. He told some stories of horrible things he's seen involving tractors and people-death and dismemberment. It's true as the poster above pointed out: the only thing worth saving is a life. Machinery can be replaced. Nonetheless it was very hard for me to just sit there and watch it burn. But there certainly has been pain and heartache. I researched that machine forever and had gotten very attached to it's capabilities in helping me manage my 20+ acres. I've really missed it the last month and am doing the bulk of my mowing with my 42" craftsman and the old reliable 1963 Farmall 140 with the 5' brush hog. My local dealer has been great and has given me some additional savings on the new 2025r as well as offering some parts at cost and the mower height adjustment modification at no charge. They are also going to rig up a toolbox and fire extinguisher attachment on the rops. The tractor is not due to arrive at the dealer until August 1st or so. I think the battery iso switch is a great idea. I'm also seriously considering not keeping it in my garage which is a two bay on the gable end of my house. I have only a small 8' x 16' shed where I keep tools, the craftsman mower and my cyclone rake. I need to build a serious outbuilding but A) have little disposable income for that right now and B) want that building to have an accessory apartment. So a simple pole barn won't suffice right now. Anyway, that's the update. Thanks again for all of your kind words. Phil D

 

[buickanddeere]

I keep a battery wrench on every machine

 

[buickanddeere]

I was worried at first when seeing "2010", that the tractor was the dastardly 2010 turkey from early 1960's.
Did you consider the 4105 JD ? Similar $$$ and a larger machine.