Important causes of fire car owners should pay attention to
A Volkswagen Passat car caught fire on Ojota Bridge, Lagos yesterday. Rapid response squad called attention to pedestrians and motorists to drive with caution on the road.
Risk of a car being caught on fire is always present during collision. Petrol is highly flammable and could quite easily be lit as a result of an accident.
Owners of diesel cars are safer, because diesel is essentially an oil and you need much higher temperature to set it on fire.
Besides, here are the most important car fire causes:
Lack of Maintenance:
Merely glancing under the hood of your car doesn’t amount to maintenance. You need to be diligent about spotting any broken parts, frayed wires or any seals that may be leaking.
A frayed wire coming into contact with any flammable liquid can trigger a fire. So where does the flammable liquid come from in the first place? How about a leaking gasket? It’s completely possible.
Battery Packs:
Batteries, especially the ones used in hybrid cars have always been prone to fire hazards and despite assurances from manufacturers that the most recent model has ironed out the crevices, the problems continue to occur.
Overheating:
The very design of a car engine prevents it from exploding in flames no matter how much the temperature rises. But the engine contains other fluids too, like coolants and oil which can be a recipe for disaster when it comes into contact with the extremely hot parts of a car. Think about oil coming into contact with the exhaust system.
Electrical Faults:
Electrical wires are very ubiquitous in your car. Be it the door, the dashboard, the carpet, the channels, the seats, name it and they are there. And even one frayed wire can start to cook your car without you even knowing about it. A frayed wire is not the only way in which an electrical fire can start in your car.
When your battery constantly recharges, the hydrogen which starts to accumulate in the engine bay will spark occasionally due to the current in the battery. If you have any leaking flammable fluids, that’s all that is needed to start a fire.
Fuel Leaks:
One of the most common causes of car fires is a leaking fuel system. Leaking fuel and the constantly high temperatures under the hood are not a great combination to begin with. But if your car uses gasoline, then it can get sparked even at seemingly low temperatures.
The only way to ensure that you do not have a leak in your fuel system is to be diligent and constantly check. One of the main indicators of a fuel leak is the smell of gasoline around your car.
