LEAF Fire in North Texas

[XeonPony]

I would say it is probably more common for modern car fires to be a result of a 12v issue, than a fuel/fluid/engine heat problem.

Not according to these guys, and they work for insurance companies. Note they attribute 12 volt fires to battery charging and batteries sparking and catching fuel on fire. http://www.waltersforensic.com/articles/fire_investigation/vol3-no1.htm

Meh... sounds like yesteryear. In my experience in modern cars, 12v is more likely cause. There are a few issues in that marketing material that aren't quite jiving with my experiences putting out those fires.

Same with my experience doing failure analysis.

Bulk of any rv/boat/buss/truck/semi fires are traced directly to bad or failed 12v wiring.

It is a standard because of age NOT SAFETY

@jpadc

24V is a far better value in modern, current(Amp) hungry vehicles, and better in a shock hazard sense as well

Low voltage = High current
High current = more heat potential (I^2*R)

This is why we run houses at 120/240V and not 6 to 36V

[Valdemar]

Bump. So, it's been some time. Anyone knows if the cause of this fire was determined?

[Shawn75067]

I'm the owner of the car and I was never given any further details of the cause. Unfortunately it is a dead-end anywhere I tried to get any info. I have moved on and hope nobody else goes through this with their car.

Best wishes, Shawn

[Valdemar]

Thanks for the update. I suppose an isolated incident like this is not enough to trigger a full blown investigation unless there were injuries or fatalities, which fortunately there was none in this case. Oh well, the rest of us will now have to live in fear

[Jedlacks]

Oh well, the rest of us will now have to live in fear

hmmm... nope.

Cars catch fire and burn all the time. Houses do also... IJS

[XeonPony]

Thanks for the update. I suppose an isolated incident like this is not enough to trigger a full blown investigation unless there were injuries or fatalities, which fortunately there was none in this case. Oh well, the rest of us will now have to live in fear :)

If that makes you scared how do you manage to get out side during the day?

why not live in a bubble in bunker the air is scary too!

Political fear culture is why the governments been able to bend you over and strip you of every right you have! and counting! grow a pair and live life!

[Valdemar]

People relax, it was a joke.

[rexki]

Oh well, the rest of us will now have to live in fear

hmmm... nope.

Cars catch fire and burn all the time. Houses do also... IJS

http://www.nfpa.org/public-education/by ... s/vehicles

152,300 Automobile fires per year - 417 per day - 17 per hour around the clock!!

6% of all US Fire related deaths. - 209 deaths per year - 764 injuries per year

536 million in direct property damage per year - $3,519/car fire

[RockyNv]

With no injuries or deaths along with being an isolated incident there would be little motivation to spend the money on a full forensic investigation.

I had a motor home catch fire while driving down the interstate and the insurance investigator was very candid about it. With no deaths or injuries and only property damage of less than $100,000 there was no reason for them to start a full $35,000 to $50,000 fire investigation to determine the root cause of what appeared to be an isolated incident. If there were deaths, injuries, multiple occurrences following a pattern or something overtly suspicious then that would be different. The insurance company offered that it was up to me if I wanted to consult an attorney and look into taking to task the last person who worked on the vehicle in the area where the fire was first noticed. The insurance adjusters feeling was that it was more likely human error on the part of the last mechanic who worked on it however that would be prohibitively costly to prove with little chance of recovering the expense.

Was there a cell phone charger or some USB device plugged in at the time? Any after market electrically powered items wired into the car such as an emergency band radio, CB, amplifier, sub woofer or alarm system? Any of the above could be suspect in an electrical fire. I almost had one in my 1978 124 Spider Convertible a few months ago when an item with a faulty plug overheated the accessory outlet in the center console. Thankfully I had the radio out and had a way to get to the area that was smoldering before things got out of hand. No fuses blew and non were oversized. It was just a cheap Chinese accessory plug that heated up the socket causing enough heat to start things smoldering behind the dash according to what I observed during my 50 cent investigation.

On other item that comes to mind is that many car fires seem to be related to the wiring for heated seats which in the Leaf with the switches to control them in the center console could be suspect in this case too.

[gncndad]

Thanks for the update. I suppose an isolated incident like this is not enough to trigger a full blown investigation unless there were injuries or fatalities, which fortunately there was none in this case. Oh well, the rest of us will now have to live in fear

If that makes you scared how do you manage to get out side during the day?

why not live in a bubble in bunker the air is scary too!

Political fear culture is why the governments been able to bend you over and strip you of every right you have! and counting! grow a pair and live life!

Wow. Just...wow. I'm 62, lived in the states all my life. I had no idea I had been stripped "...of every right you [I] have! and counting!...)

Really? Could you be more specific? I haven't noticed a single stripping as of yet...still drive the highways, sometimes even at triple digits, still own a gun,...

Sorry for the thread drift, but really, this statement by XeonPony (Canadian, I assume???) shouldn't go w/o comment.