You call that a lightning strike? Pffft... THIS is a lightning strike

[Jon Person]

If it actually was a lightning strike that caused the fire, the thunder the bolt created would have been quite loud.

I have to agree: I don't think that a lightning bolt by itself caused all that damage. When my truck was struck, there was only one crater in the roof about an inch across along with tiny, teardrop-shaped weld marks on the tire rims. There was no thunder, just a loud bang like somebody slammed the truck with a sledgehammer. I'd guess that something in the engine compartment caught fire enough to melt components and the hood.

 

[mike scantlin]

I have decided I think global warming was the cause of the fire.

case closed. lock it up, boss.

 

[Craig Maire II]

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Drummond
I have decided I think global warming was the cause of the fire.

Mike Scantlin wrote: "case closed. lock it up, boss."

LOL... That was funny...I think if lightning ever strikes my car I may be more worried about changing my pants than damage to my vehicle...

 

[Kurt Silvey]

He's still better off then if he had been standing outside and taken that hit directly. My guess is the news story would have started ... "Local man dies from lightning strike .. more at 10!"

 

[Zac Goode]

I work in wholesale Ford parts so here's my theory.....
First of all, the factory hood is aluminum, not composite. Second, many of you may know that there is a recall on millions of Ford vehicles due to....yep...you guessed it....a wiring problem! Short story is there is a plastic switch that screws into the brake master cylinder located on the left side firewall. These switches sense the brake being applied and then tell the computer to turn the cruise control off. These switches are known to leak brake fluid, melting the insulation in the wires (one of which has 12 volts constantly-bad design), and has been known to cause fires in quite a few Ford vehicles. I just glanced at the video, but I would venture to say that this truck didn't burn from the supposed strike, but the faulty switch. Of course, I would like to know if this truck had the recall performed......Hmmmm.....

I think you hit the nail on the head... Im a auto tech and Ive seen and heard the cruise release switch(located on the master cylnder) leak and shout out and blow fuses. There is a big recall on those switches.Been quite a few fires cause of it...

http://trucks.about.com/od/carsafety/a/ford_cruise.htm