Mahindra 4035 caught on fire

[mike69440]

Been there, done that!

Suspect it was a lightening near miss. This caused circuit board to allow battery load to wires, and eventual fire.

We lost garage door opener and some auto-on/off outside light that night too.

Almost $6,000, I had insurance.

If tire had really lite up, bye-bye tractor.

I'm sorry about your situation.

 

[Mahindra3355]

Sorry for taking so long to get back to everyone. First of all I would like to say thank you to everyone for all the great advice and input on the possible cause of the fire and the steps I should take going forward. I took the tractor to the dealer the next day, and they informed me that they had only cut back the wire near the battery and put a new lead on, they let me know that it was nothing they had done that caused the fire. They were nice enough about it, and confirmed that I had installed the rebuilt starter correctly. The service manager thought it would cost roughly $8k and a few months to fix the tractor, he said I would need to leave the tractor with him for a few days for him to do the write up, but I decided to keep it with me. I ended up contacting Mahindra's corporate office and informed them of the situation, they asked me to email them pictures and a write up of what had occurred. They are sending out a regional/national service rep next week to come look at the tractor, and try to figure out what started the fire. So far Mahindra's response has been great, and I am hopeful that the situation will be taken care, and that the service rep will be able to tell me what caused the fire to happen. As soon as I know anything I will update the board and post some pictures of the damage. Thank you all again.

 

[Sysop]

Thanks for the update, and yes by all means take pictures and post so we can see as well. Folks here may be able to ID an issue from the photos, or at least provide some questions and insight to have in mind when talking to their rep when he arrives.

I hope they get you tended to quickly and painlessly, good luck!

 

[Sysop]

Any updates?

 

[kirkmat]

Any updates?

Just want to say my 4035 caught fire last week as well. 10/11/15. The fire started on the wire that was for a remote electric hook-up by the pto. Smelled it burning and shut off the tractor; fire continued up the wires to below steering column and fuel tank. In a panic I was able to put it out with dirt. I disconnected the battery once I got the fire out; but not before it fried the central wiring harness and the wires leading to the instrument panel. I may need to buy a new panel, hoping to get out of it for the cost of a new harness. Could there be a manufacture defect that is causing these fires?

 

[DavesTractor]

Just want to say my 4035 caught fire last week as well. 10/11/15. The fire started on the wire that was for a remote electric hook-up by the pto. Smelled it burning and shut off the tractor; fire continued up the wires to below steering column and fuel tank. In a panic I was able to put it out with dirt. I disconnected the battery once I got the fire out; but not before it fried the central wiring harness and the wires leading to the instrument panel. I may need to buy a new panel, hoping to get out of it for the cost of a new harness. Could there be a manufacture defect that is causing these fires?

Cause is not always easy to determine on fires. But I would at least make your dealer aware of the problem and ask them to notify Mahindra. I suspect you are out of warranty, but manufacturers are always very concerned about fires and they want to know what happened and how to make sure it does not happen again. Due to that, occasionally they will be a little more lenient on warranty on such issues. I'm just a dealer. I don't work for Mahindra, but that is my suggestion.

 

[kirkmat]

Dave
Thank you for your advice. I'm picking up my wire harness tomorrow and will talk with dealer. Tractor is out of warranty by about a year.

 

[Coyote machine]

If it were my tractor I've get a battery disconnect switch to allow you to turn off all electric from the battery every time you are done for the day. They are inexpensive, connect to the negative battery post and cable, and are as simple as turning a knob. Available through Interstate battery dealers, and elsewhere.

 

[DavesTractor]

Just want to say my 4035 caught fire last week as well. 10/11/15. The fire started on the wire that was for a remote electric hook-up by the pto. Smelled it burning and shut off the tractor; fire continued up the wires to below steering column and fuel tank. In a panic I was able to put it out with dirt. I disconnected the battery once I got the fire out; but not before it fried the central wiring harness and the wires leading to the instrument panel. I may need to buy a new panel, hoping to get out of it for the cost of a new harness. Could there be a manufacture defect that is causing these fires?

A follow-up question, 4035 or 4530? They are entirely different critters.

 

[kirkmat]

Sorry 4530