I was just having dinner with friends in a restaurant when the waiters stared asking around who owned a black Toyota Camry number plate such and such. Soon the P.A. system started asking and stating that the car was on fire (wish they had led with that). Wasn’t my car, I had taken an Uber and none of my dinner companions owned such a car.
The place has several restaurant side by side with a common car park and when we went out to see, we saw smoke coming out from under the hood of the car…and still no one came. Moments later we could see some flame emerge from the side, and as the owner finally arrived and raised the hood, the whole engine block seemed to be aflame (looked like, I was perhaps 50 yards away). Someone had brought out a fire extinguisher and that was used and it still took a while to put it out.
A few moments later, the fire department came and they doused the now not-burning car for some reason and the police had also reached.
We went inside to complete our meal and when we left, I saw a tow truck coming.
So, why would a car battery catch fire? Or a car?
Probably not the battery on fire.
But, there’s plenty of energy in a charged battery to start a fire. if you have a short, and leaking oil or gas, you can easily start a fire.
OP, why are you assuming the battery was the source of the fire? I see nothing in your post that suggests that it was. Did you leave out some details, or are you just assuming?
The fact that you said “the whole engine block seemed to be on fire” suggests to me that either the flames were fed by the residue from a fuel/oil leak or you were seeing the plastic engine cover burn. But obviously, I’m speculating here.
when I was in shop class in high school, one of the first object lessons the teacher took us through was “why you do not wear metal rings, watch bands, or other jewelry on your hands/arms while working on a car.” He demonstrated by hooking up a set of jumper cables to the battery, then took a piece of welding rod and clamped it between the other end of the cables. the rod was glowing bright orange in 2 seconds and melted in 4.
he turned to us and said “now imagine if that was something on your wrist.”
The acrid smell of the smoke, which I evidently skipped putting in the OP.:smack:
Though, it might have been the plastic parts, but the flames were for what it’s worth coming out from under the battery side of the hood.
Once a fire reaches the point where the “whole engine block seemed to be on fire,” I don’t think the smell alone can tell you much about the source. (I welcome corrections/fleshing out from electrical engineers or others who might have conflicting info).
Besides, acrid-smelling smoke from a “true” electrical fire doesn’t smell acrid because electricity, as it were, but rather because of the burning polymers in the electrical insulation and elsewhere.
A whiff of ozone—not petrichor, but actual ozone—indicates electrical sparking, and ozone could legitimately be described as having an acrid scent.
Probably was not the battery that caught fire. Unless it was a lithium battery. Which you can get for your car.
Due to the constant vibration of the engine, a wire can get worn through and short to metal. If it happens to be in an area wear petroleum products have been leaking it may ignite the sludge that has built up. Leaking valve cover gaskets can often produce a layer of such sludge. Which will be right above the exhaust manifold. Rare, but it can ignite.
For my edification, which is the battery side of the hood? I have 4 vehicles in my yard at the moment (when all are home that is) that have the battery under the mat in the trunk. Come to think of it, all my cars have their batteries in the trunk. Only the truck based vehicles have them under the hood.
This reminds me of an incident when I was a child (maybe 10 or less.) There was a wreck on the road below an overpass. Lots of people (including my family) were standing around on the overpass watching the rescue workers. Someone comes speeding up to the scene and parks their car on the grassy island at the scene. (Some official from the police or FD, I forgot which.) While everyone else was watching the action at the wreck, I noticed that smoke was coming from under the official’s parked car. Nobody else seemed to notice the smoke at all until the entire car stated burning. The firetrucks there for the wreck had to put out the the car. I don’t know if something in the car overheated or if the car underside was so hot that it set the grass on fire.
I’ve heard/read that catalytic converters get so hot they can start a fire if one parks over a pile of leaves. Perhaps the grass was high or dry enough that that’s what happened in your case.