Car charger sets van on fire

[MotionMan]

My wife just got a forwarded e-mail just like the OP in this thread.

Is this legit or an urban myth? (If it is legit, I figure they had the charger plugged into an always-on outlet, but there is not enough information to determine.)

Discuss. Rinse. Repeat.

MotionMan

 

[coxmaster]

It might be.. but then again, it might not be..

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: coxmaster
It might be.. but then again, it might not be..

Wow, you read my mind!!!

MotionMan

 

[coxmaster]

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: coxmaster
It might be.. but then again, it might not be..

Wow, you read my mind!!!

MotionMan

Sweet..

Anyway, i voted real. It seems plausible to me.

 

[PottedMeat]

There are always-on outlets in cars? Seems like a bad idea since there are so many 'dumb' power adapters that will draw current as long as they're connected. Forget about the load for a while and your battery's dead.

I guess it's possible, maybe with a cheap linear regulator non heatsinked in a plastic housing. 12V -> 4.2 or whatever @ maybe 1A charging current. But it would probably have a thermal shutdown though.

I bet there was a wiring problem in the dash.

and finally, they're still putting those ugly ass fake wood panels in dashboards?

 

[l0cke]

I thought this would be about superchargers or turbochargers. Disappointing.

 

[marvdmartian]

Originally posted by: coxmaster
It might be.. but then again, it might not be..

In other words, it's a definite MAYBE. :laugh:

Most (if not all) cars I've driven still supply power to the cigarette lighter (aka power point) when the ignition is off. That being said, any power plug that plugs in to charge another item is going to get hot during it's use (check out the power pack for a laptop sometime).

Whether that heat is sufficient to cause a fire, I cannot say. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that the charger was cheaply made Chinese garbage (like most stuff these days), had a short, and caught fire.

So there's your answer. Maybe.

 

[tasmanian]

The dock should not get anywhere near hot enough to catch fire. In most newer cars after 30 or so minutes the cigarette lighter gets the power turned off.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: tasmanian
The dock should not get anywhere near hot enough to catch fire. In most newer cars after 30 or so minutes the cigarette lighter gets the power turned off.

Right.. that's the point.. it shouldn't, but it.. did?

 

[gorcorps]

I wouldn't blame the charger so much as a battery failure. Li-ion batteries have a small chance to overheat when overcharged, so it could be real.