Mankind invented batteries, and so it seems logical they are both happiest within the same ambient temperature range. Neither of them enjoy sitting in hot cars with closed windows. We could say that hot cars and hot batteries don’t make good bedfellows either.
Yet once again we have another fire department warning about mixing the two. This time it’s the Queensland Fire Department featuring on the AOL news channel, and they have a photo to prove their case.
Significant Interior Damage to Hot Car
The fire erupted after lithium-ion batteries overheated on the dashboard inside a small pickup truck. AOL confirms ‘significant interior damage’ across the dashboard, plus a damaged windshield.
The offending items were apparently a phone power bank and a bike computer, both exposed to the solar heat radiating through the windshield. We’re not sure whether one was charging the other, although it seems likely the phone power bank overheated.
So here we appear to have proof-positive that hot cars and hot batteries can be a dangerous, even deadly combinations. Fire departments around the world have warned again and again, please DO NOT do this, and yet some of us still forget the advice.
The Science Behind the Battery Fire
Batteries left on dashboards in hot cars can become dangerous, because heat speeds up chemical reactions inside them. If the temperature rises too high, the battery may swell, leak, or even short circuit and even perhaps catch fire.
Lithium-ion batteries are especially sensitive to heat. In extreme cases overheating can trigger a chain reaction called thermal runaway, where a battery rapidly gets hotter and may smoke, burn, or even catch fire.
Direct sunlight inside a parked car can raise temperatures sufficiently to create this risk, especially during summer. Motorists should accept that hot cars and hot batteries are a risky situation, and remember to avoid creating one.
More Information
Be Careful With Batteries This Summer
Triggering Battery Thermal Runaway
