TLDR; can incorrect gaps in spark plugs cause an engine fire? Would not plugging the wiring harnesses in correctly cause an engine fire? Would a loose fuel rail cause an engine fire?

I recently had a code come up in my 2017 Ram Promaster 2500 for a bad fuel injector + random misfire. I purchased a new set of injectors and spark plugs, and a single ignition coil for the cylinder that misfired (just in case), and did the replacements myself. I have mechanics in the family and called/shared the YouTube video I was working off of and was told it was straight forward, given some bits of advice, and went into it feeling confident.

When I started my car after doing the work, the engine ended up catching fire. At first the engine ran extremely rough, obviously misfiring, and I was immediately getting messages on the dash that said “ESC Service” and “Service Hill Holder”, and the check engine light came on. The exhaust was kicking out a lot of white smoke. I knew something was terribly wrong and wanted to turn the car off immediately, but the person I was working with told me the van just needed to run the fuel through and it would be fine. We ended up having the van on for about 3 minutes before the engine caught on fire.

I have a couple of guesses as to what went wrong. First, there was a terribly corroded bolt that I could not get in all the way on the fuel rail. I purchased a new bolt, but even then it seemed the threads had been badly corroded and I could not get the bolt to sit. It was 1 of 4 bolts on the fuel rail. I wonder if this caused a fuel leak which started the fire? Second, the hill holder message on the dash leads me to believe something was wrong with the electrical wiring from the moment I turned the van back on. Could it have been an electrical fire from not plugging something in correctly? The fire started AGAIN after I had already turned the car off and extinguished it, and only went out completely after disconnecting the battery. Third, the spark plugs had been pre gapped at the exact measurement I needed, supposedly, but when I checked they seemed a little off. I tried to use the gap gauge to get them to the correct gap, it only ate away at the gauge. I read online that iridium spark plug gaps should not be messed with and decided to leave them. Additionally, I did not use a torque wrench as I had gotten the advice from a mechanic friend and a YouTube video to just turn t until it was tight and turn it a little more. Is it possible that a bad spark plug gap/torque could have caused the engine fire?

I was able to put the fire out within a few minutes and the damage looks fairly minimal, without taking whole thing apart again (I can see some crispy wires, and I imagine the plenum and fuel rail are toast based on where the fire seemed to be burning , but that’s about it).

Any thoughts on what the repairs might look like? I won’t be DIYing at this point as I have zero confidence in myself any longer, but I’d like to have an idea before I send it to a shop. Feedback much appreciated, thank you!

  • Mikey3800@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    The most likely cause in your situation is an ignition arc. It sounds like the fuel rail was probably leaking and an ignition coil arced. Either that or you pinched a power and ground wire somewhere and that sparked in the presence of gas fumes.Those would be my guesses.