Tesla battery issue - smoke, then flash fire

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5chn3ll
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Tesla battery issue - smoke, then flash fire

Post by 5chn3ll » Tue Apr 23, 2019 10:59 am

This is disturbing.

Watch the charger on the wall (far right) - at the same time the first outgassing happens on the Tesla @ approx. 0:50, the charger on the wall appears to swell. I thought this was a reflection from the car that passes later in the video at first, but the timing is beyond coincidental.


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Torque: How far you will move the wall.

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Re: Tesla battery issue - smoke, then flash fire

Post by 32wildbilly » Tue Apr 23, 2019 11:27 am

5chn3ll wrote: Tue Apr 23, 2019 10:59 am This is disturbing.

Watch the charger on the wall (far right) - at the same time the first outgassing happens on the Tesla @ approx. 0:50, the charger on the wall appears to swell. I thought this was a reflection from the car that passes later in the video at first, but the timing is beyond coincidental.

I've seen vids of Teslas going all Human Torch but never while on a charger. It does look like the charger does find another gear about at the light off time.
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Re: Tesla battery issue - smoke, then flash fire

Post by FRUNKenstein » Tue Apr 23, 2019 2:00 pm

They shoulda bought a Fiat instead.
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32wildbilly
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Re: Tesla battery issue - smoke, then flash fire

Post by 32wildbilly » Tue Apr 23, 2019 6:33 pm

FRUNKenstein wrote: Tue Apr 23, 2019 2:00 pm They shoulda bought a Fiat instead.
Cheaper and apparently more reliable...
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Re: Tesla battery issue - smoke, then flash fire

Post by Battery Guy » Mon Apr 29, 2019 6:32 pm

5chn3ll wrote: Tue Apr 23, 2019 10:59 am This is disturbing.

Watch the charger on the wall (far right) - at the same time the first outgassing happens on the Tesla @ approx. 0:50, the charger on the wall appears to swell. I thought this was a reflection from the car that passes later in the video at first, but the timing is beyond coincidental.

Missed this when you posted. Looked at the video several times - I think that the lights on the charger are the car headlights going past. But it does appear that some smoke comes out of the charger about the same time that the first smoke comes out of the car. This could be a possible cause - if there was a big enough power spike through the charger, that could potentially short out some cells in the car battery. There are all kinds of filters and fuses that are supposed to not allow that to happen, both on the car and in the charger. But anything is possible and I have seen stranger things with chargers and batteries. Who knows what kind of charger was supplied in that parking garage - being China it could have been anything. But it would not surprise me that there was a charging issue at least as partial cause.
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Re: Tesla battery issue - smoke, then flash fire

Post by OceanBlue2000 » Tue Apr 30, 2019 6:46 am

Interesting. This showed up on my local car club feed, which then led to a discussion of whether ICE cars were safer than electric. I never noticed the charger. Maybe an EE can weigh in on the issues this charger may have.

That it happened in China is a red flag for me. Tesla is opening a plant there, and I wouldn't put it past the Chinese govt' to try and play some games. Seems a little suspicious to me that this video got out into the public given the Chinese gov't lockdown on media. Then there's the more innocent explanation of substandard infrastructure, or user hacking of the car's software.
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5chn3ll
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Re: Tesla battery issue - smoke, then flash fire

Post by 5chn3ll » Tue Apr 30, 2019 8:49 am

That looks to me like the Tesla owner videoing the CCTV console, probably trying to figure out WTF happened to his sweet new Tesla.

As far as the charger - I think the reflection may be the other car, but I think it's exacerbated by the enclosure swelling or warping due to heat. Hard to tell - the video isn't exactly 4K.

Regardless, the amount of fire a single 18650 cell can produce is impressive; a Tesla 70D is alleged to contain 5,850 cells. That's a lot of fire.

Understeer: You will hit the wall with the front end.
Oversteer: You will hit the wall with the rear end.
Horsepower: How hard you will hit the wall.
Torque: How far you will move the wall.

Gone hunting with Alec Baldwin and Dick Cheney. Back soon.

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Re: Tesla battery issue - smoke, then flash fire

Post by gnat » Tue Apr 30, 2019 8:54 am

I don't think anything is happening to the charger. I think you are seeing a trick of the light as the guy pulls out of his parking spot. Size of the charger looks the same to me from beginning to end.

There is a dark area above the charger (and another above the car) that I can't figure out. It kinda looks like smoke, but it doesn't move at all. My next thought is dirt, but that place is way too clean. Shadow doesn't seem quite right either.

Maybe they are the left over pixels after the Anti-Tesla conspiracy removed themselves from the video :lol:

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Re: Tesla battery issue - smoke, then flash fire

Post by Battery Guy » Tue Apr 30, 2019 4:49 pm

5chn3ll wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2019 8:49 am That looks to me like the Tesla owner videoing the CCTV console, probably trying to figure out WTF happened to his sweet new Tesla.

As far as the charger - I think the reflection may be the other car, but I think it's exacerbated by the enclosure swelling or warping due to heat. Hard to tell - the video isn't exactly 4K.

Regardless, the amount of fire a single 18650 cell can produce is impressive; a Tesla 70D is alleged to contain 5,850 cells. That's a lot of fire.
Yes - lots of smoke contained in all of those cells! Wish the video ran longer - it would have been fun watching the fire department try to put out that blaze! Hopefully the guy next to the Tesla with the shiny new Audi didn’t like his car too much...
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Re: Tesla battery issue - smoke, then flash fire

Post by FRUNKenstein » Wed May 01, 2019 2:37 pm

Battery Guy wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2019 4:49 pm Hopefully the guy next to the Tesla with the shiny new Audi didn’t like his car too much...
Daryll
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www.kansascityautomuseum.com
Current:
2002 996TT X50, Guards Red
1987 928S4, Guards Red
1987 951, Guards Red
1973 914 2.0 Bahia Red

2006 955S, Lapis Blue
Other toys:
1988 BMW 325i Cabriolet, Alpin Weiss
1987 Bertone X1/9, Verde Chiaro
Gone but not forgotten: 1975 914 2.0, Laguna Blue; 1999 996 C4 Aerokit Black; 1990 964 C2 Guards Red; 2006 955S Arctic Silver

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