Popular Post Gaurav Posted June 28, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted June 28, 2019 Having a fire extinguisher in your car is good, but sometimes it's of no use if car catches an instant and uncontrollable fire. In that scenario, best is to learn - how to exit the burning car with all your "critical belongings" under 10 seconds. Here are the stats that show the percentage of each type of cause that is responsible for an uncontrollable fire. 49% - Mechanical failure or malfunction 23% - Electrical cause 11% - Leaks or breaks 09% - Unknown causes 05% - Catch fire from another burning source 03% - Accidents or rollover So in short, 83% causes of an uncontrollable car fire is because of an owner negligence and only 17% is beyond anyone control. So NEVER delay car maintenance, use cheap parts, ignore leaks / rattling / grinding noise again. Here are the 7 main reasons that can cause an instant and uncontrollable car fire and how to prevent it: Engine Oil: As much as buying the best engine oil for your car is very important, you should also pay equal attention to any engine oil leaks. Most of the car engines leak oil when they get older, as the rubber gasket inside the engine tend to stop work and ideally they should be replaced before the leak starts. It's always a good practice to inspect the engine oil leak under the engine and sump area to notice any spotting or dry leak stains at least once a month. If you see any stains in your car park, it's already too late and you should check for its severity and/or replace gaskets/hoses asap. Changing engine gasket is not cheap so if you are press for expenses, get it checked for its severity and let a mechanic or car experts advise you if it's safe to drive for a while. You should also check your engine oil regularly if you have done any engine tuning recently. You can also do the car engine compression test to find out the overall health of your car engine. If engine oil is dripping on the exhaust or on any other heated surface, then don't take any chances as it may ignite on your next drive and get it fixed asap or stop driving that car immediately. If you get the check engine light or see smoke from the engine hood, switch off the car immediately. Even a small engine oil leak can catch fire and that small fire can burn down the nearby high-pressure hoses that can result in an uncontrollable car fire. Coolant: As the name suggests, it cools down the engine internally that has varied temperature from 60 degrees to 1500 degrees at various stages. Engine coolant constantly circulates between the engine jacket and radiator. Thermostat work as a gatekeeper to let the coolant cool down in radiator to exchange with hot coolant that was running in the engine jacket. Even the smallest of a coolant leak is very dangerous, because first, it will spoil your engine within a few seconds and then burn the whole car down in minutes. If coolant quantity reduces or becomes totally empty then the engine won't be able to cool down and will blow the engine head gasket first, warp the engine head and then catch fire. Make sure to check your coolant level always at least once a week, and for off roading just before every drive. And you should know how to test car engine coolant. If there is a coolant leak, please DO NOT DRIVE to save from huge expense that comes from rebuilding an engine or risking your life. Always keep an eye on the heat gauge in the dashboard while driving and pull over the car if it rises above the ideal range. If the heat gauge moves up "little" in the slow-moving traffic and AC stop cooling and come back to normal on the highway, that means something is wrong in the cooling system and get it checked asap but still, you can drive with caution. Gear Oil: Any unusual behavior from the gear shifting with jerk or delay in picking gear or confused with downshift or upshift is a tell-tale sign of failing gear or gear oil. You should also read 5 signs to change your transmission for more details. As the first rule of thumb, get the gear oil and filter change to OEM specs and inspect the sump magnet for any metal shavings. Very fine shavings like a paste are acceptable but if shavings are like spikes then the gear is failing and it needs to be rebuild or change asap. And never believe on the myth about lifetime transmission fills. Continue driving with failing gear is extremely hazardous as it will heat up the gear oil more than its normal temperature. If the car is equipped with A/T light, you can still stop until it cools down, but if the car has no A/T warning light in instrument cluster then it will overheat and explode the weakest pipe or joints and catch an instant and uncontrollable fire under the dashboard. I have recently witnessed this scenario and we were unable to fire-fight instead of several extinguishers used and the car was fully burnt within few minutes. Fuel: One of the most inflammable item in your car and you should never ignore the fuel smell coming from any part of your car. The fuel system is completed sealed and pressurize so ideally not even a vapor can escape. In several occasion leaking fuel pump due to the bad gasket or leaking injectors can cause an instant and uncontrollable fire. If you spot any such fuel smell immediately switch off the car and let competent mechanic have a thorough look rather than taking a chance to drive back home or work. If the smell is coming from fuel cap, then switch off the car and wait for 10 minutes and open the fuel cap to release any excess fuel pressure (if any), occasionally this helps to some extent and then start the car and let it idle for 5 minutes to test. If you still smell the fuel, take no chance and put the car on recovery bed. Electrical: One of the easiest thing to fail and cause a fire is electrical wiring, fuses, relays, etc. Although most of the time the electrical fire is controllable by a car fire extinguisher, but if it happens near hot and pressurized hose then it will become uncontrollable very fast. A major cause of electrical failure is bad workmanship and running the cables from non-designated areas. Using educated electrician is very important to install new electrical components safely, be it off-road lights, winch, music system, amplifier, etc. If any additional cable has been pulled from the car battery then it has to have a certain rating to draw the required amperage load. Wrong or cheap cables will melt and may cause a fire. Such fire or short circuit is also traceable with the plastic burning smell and thin smoke. If you spot the plastic burning smell or smoke or both, immediately switch off the car and reach to your fire extinguisher. First and foremost check the switches, wire and electrical component that you have recently installed. Most of the bad workmanship fail within a few months or under extensive load, so you can doubt accordingly and go close to that switch, cable or component and smell the source. Switch on the car ignition and see if it again smell or produce smoke, then switch off the car and disconnect that component either from switch level or fuse or directly from the battery. Accident: Rare but possible, that after an accident you might damage some flammable fluid hose that can cause a fire. For safety reason, in case of an accident especially small ones, on which we always focus on the accident damage rather than the whole integrity of the car. You should inspect the car from all sides and look for any leaks or burning smell from the engine bay and under the car. If you spot any leak other than AC water dripping, don't drive the car until you figure out what has been leaking and is it safe for a short drive to mechanic or not. Ignoring any small leak, smell, smoke can cause an instant and uncontrollable fire as something under the hood must have been impacted and might leak or explode under the pressure if you drive again. Must read: The top 10 things to check after a car accident. Accessories: One of the first things to fail in your car is an aftermarket accessory, as many car owners buy the cheapest quality of car accessory for the sake of price only. If you are really lucky, it will simply stop working, but if not it can cause the other car component to fail to cause the fire or shutting off the car completely for smallest of internal short circuit. Always stay away from rock-bottom cheapest accessory as it might cost you the whole car. Go with a trusted brand, model and spec that has been proven in the market. Do your research before installing them, for what all additional changes/upgrades you should be doing to support that accessory. For example, if you plan to install 3000 watts music system with amp and woofer, battery upgrade is a must or at least test your battery. Same for additional lights or other electrical stuff that you plan to install. It's always best to discuss your build plan with car experts to seek the best advice like here: Help needed in car audio system selection. It's a prime example of how to research, discuss and then build any aftermarket car accessory that brings you great value and peace of mind for years. MUST READ: How to correctly use the Car Fire Extinguisher Types of extinguishers that are out there to stop a fire in your car 7 2 2 1 Let's root for each other & watch each other grow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 Car fires are no joke. Plastic, cloth, hot oil, fuel, the whole car can go up in a few seconds. Fire extinguishers are a waste of time unless you know what you’re doing with it. If you have a big fire in your engine bay don’t even think about opening the bonnet to put it out, the flames will come out around you. Even if you’re not going to use the fire extinguisher, take it out of the car with you if possible. If you can’t get it out, make sure everyone stays back and tell the rescue services. These things can go off like a bomb if they get hot. Sometimes it’s better just to stand back and let the car burn. That’s what your insurance is for. Don’t underestimate how flammable engine oil is. Sure, you can stick a lit match in it and it will go out, but try pouring some on a hot exhaust manifold to see what happens. Personally I wouldn’t hang around after an accident trying to grab personal things, just get the heck out of the car. In rallying, drivers work on the 5 second rule. So as soon as the car stops bouncing, you have 5 seconds to get your belt off, get out of the car and start running. Something work practising. Never throw water on a car fire either. The water vaporises when it something hot and turns to steam. The steam carries fuel and oil into the air which can turn into a fireball. Sand is always a better option. Fire needs 3 things to burn, fuel, oxygen and heat so if you can stop one of these, you can kill the fire. I’ve seen a lot of fires from my time in motorsports and I could write a 10,000 word essay on it but that will do for now. 4 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treks Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 On 6/28/2019 at 11:33 PM, Gaurav said: Although most of the time the electrical fire is controllable by a car fire extinguisher, I agree with @Barry- the types of fire extinguishers people keep in their cars are mostly absolutely useless, hence the quote from Gaurav's post. Moreover, once a car catches fire, it hardly matters what caused the fire, and debating the percentages of possible causes becomes a useless exercise. I have like @Barry seen cars catch fire, and in my experience, the only thing you can do when your car catches fire is to get out of it, and away from it as fast as you can- taking only your children with you if they are in the car. Doing something stupid like opening the bonnet to see what caused the fire only feeds the fire with oxygen, so don't do it. If the fire starts in the passenger compartment, and the windows are closed, get out, and shut the doors to starve the fire of oxygen. If the windows are open, get out, and get away as fast as you can- again taking only your children with you. In short, once a car fire takes hold there is nothing you can do to stop it, but Gaurav's post contains some good advice on how to prevent your car catching fire- except the bit about car fire extinguishers being effective against electrical fires. The only time this might be true is when you can actually see and reach the fire, which is not possible if the fire starts under the dashboard, for instance. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow79 Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 (edited) Cars are a magnet for fire it has all what is needed fuel the fire from paint to oils and fuel to upholstery everything is fire ready you just need to make it happen... Keep in mind that whatever is not in it's place is a hazard or a catastrophe waiting to happen... Like the fluids if not inside the fuel tank, engine , transmission , power steering break lines but dropping down is a fire hazard what do you think when driving in speed where those drops end up actually it gets all smeared up the undercarriage of the car and surprise the exhaust also is hanging there so what do you expect sooner or later on will happen...plus oils leaking and going in to the electrical components like alternator usually ends up with you servicing or changing it and it costs making you spend more down the road... Remember one thing once there is a fire nothing is worth your life just steer clear The next thing which I agree with is the electrics it should never be attempted by someone who has no understanding of load and using the right types of wires for the different type of application's I know proper gauge wiring and good work costs but what you gonna do when that cheap fixing components of yours starts a fire act a fool... Edited June 30, 2019 by shadow79 More info 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rahimdad Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 @shadow79 well written, but surprised where this is coming from. The king of cheap fixes. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow79 Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 42 minutes ago, Rahimdad said: @shadow79 well written, but surprised where this is coming from. The king of cheap fixes. Doing work on own car ain't gonna pay bills you see so I have to make do with whatever I got and always cross my fingers that it lasts for awhile but doing work for my customers I have to keep in mind that they don't have any expertise so I have to make it proper so it lasts... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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