Friend's Car Catches On Fire?

[NaOH]

My friends car randomly caught on fire. It's a highlander and he tried to start it up one day and he said he smelt burning or something so he took his friend's car to school. Halfway down the block his roommates call and tell him his car's on fire and they can't put it out. So they have to call a firetruck to take care of it. I've been asking him, but he has no idea what he's talking about and just rambles (makes no sense, thinks he didn't have enough oil). So it'd probably be more insightful to ask you guys. What the hell can cause a car to suddenly burst into flames?

 

[FoBoT]

main wiring from the starter shorted out
very high current caught insulation and stuff on fire

results == auto flambe

 

[radioouman]

Fuel leak.

 

[Fern]

Most likely it was an electrical fire caused by a short/faulty wiring.

Seems unlikely is was from a fuel leak as it (engine) was not running at the time. Nor should it (engine)have been hot from based on your description of events description.

Unless the damage was severe, even an amatuer should be able to look and see the cause.

Fern

 

[NaOH]

Originally posted by: radioouman
Fuel leak.

Wouldn't his car have asploded!?

 

[NaOH]

Originally posted by: Fern
Most likely it was an electrical fire caused by a short/faulty wiring.

Seems unlikely is was from a fuel leak as it (engine) was not running at the time. Nor should it (engine)have been hot from based on your description of events description.

Unless the damage was severe, even an amatuer should be able to look and see the cause.

Fern

No, you overestimate my friend.

He saw this joke article about finding a way to hack an ipod touch into the iphone (hidden parts for speaker, 3g, mic, etc) and got so excited he was about to order an ipod touch.

A passerby said the fire seemed to be coming from the corner of the bumper near the headlight. Faulty headlight wiring?

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: NaOH

Originally posted by: Fern
Most likely it was an electrical fire caused by a short/faulty wiring.

Seems unlikely is was from a fuel leak as it (engine) was not running at the time. Nor should it (engine)have been hot from based on your description of events description.

Unless the damage was severe, even an amatuer should be able to look and see the cause.

Fern

No, you don't overestimate my friend.

He saw this joke article about finding a way to hack it into the iphone (hidden parts for speaker, 3g, mic, etc) and got so excited he was about to order an ipod touch.

A passerby said the fire seemed to be coming from the corner of the bumper near the headlight. Faulty headlight wiring?

Yeah, prolly some over near wiring there.

The fuel fires I have seen were caused by a leaking fuel line. The gas hits something really hot like the exhaust manifold and combusts. (And no, the car won't explode. At least I've never seen one do that outside of a Hollywood movie. There's just a fire near the back and/or side of the engine.)

IMO, unlikely for a fuel fire to originate in that spot. Nothing really hot over there AFAIK, and no way for the fuel to leak over near there either AFAIK.

Fern

 

[randay]

cus your friend is hot?

 

[Akhen]

It was one of them kamikaze squirrels again!

 

[SlickSnake]

My friends car randomly caught on fire...

And it wasn't a chevy?

What happened to those perfect Highlanders of yesteryear that kicked Detroits butt? Oh, yea, Detroit lost it's butt some time ago.

Never mind.