This is a note from a local chemical plant employee that had a bad experience with results that could have been tragic. This is also a good reminder that all garages should be equipped with working smoke detectors or fire alarms.
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iPhone Charger Catches fire in car?
- Thread starter moka
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oh my frisbee! Good thing I never do leave stuff plugged in.
Some cars still give power to the sockets after the engine is off by the battery.
How could the charger overheat if the car was turned off?
Some cars still give power to the sockets after the engine is off by the battery.
Guess i'll stop complaining that my truck doesn't charge while my truck is off.
I think that's because the charger was not the real cause. Why would anyone leave their iPhone plugged in and charging when their vehicle's engine is off to begin with? I am calling shenanigans.
Most new vehicles have a 12V outlet that is always on.
Besides I don't see anywhere in the OP that their iPhone was plugged in at the time of the fire.
The only time leaving a device plugged into your vehicles 12V outlet is a problem is it could kill your battery if it's drawing power or if, as apparently happened in the OP, the device is faulty and does exactly this.
I'm all for calling 'shenanigans' in a knee jerk fashion when it comes to the internet but make sure your logic is firm.
If this is a one off incident then we wont hear anymore about it. BUT, after seeing this I won't be ignoring the fact that my own charger gets quite hot, enough to give me pause when I noticed, and will definitely be more wary of the quality.
Besides I don't see anywhere in the OP that their iPhone was plugged in at the time of the fire.
The only time leaving a device plugged into your vehicles 12V outlet is a problem is it could kill your battery if it's drawing power or if, as apparently happened in the OP, the device is faulty and does exactly this.
I'm all for calling 'shenanigans' in a knee jerk fashion when it comes to the internet but make sure your logic is firm.
If this is a one off incident then we wont hear anymore about it. BUT, after seeing this I won't be ignoring the fact that my own charger gets quite hot, enough to give me pause when I noticed, and will definitely be more wary of the quality.
the way i understand it is.... they left the charger plugged in.... not the iphone itself!
i do that.... leave my cable plugged in all the time.... however i leave it plugged into the one that is only powered when the car it on... it's easier (lazy) for me to just plug the phone in when i need to rather than having to also plug in the charger, which is in my center console.
we did add an always on plug but i only use it on rare occasions and when i'm done using it i unplug that cable so as to not run down my battery!
i do that.... leave my cable plugged in all the time.... however i leave it plugged into the one that is only powered when the car it on... it's easier (lazy) for me to just plug the phone in when i need to rather than having to also plug in the charger, which is in my center console.
we did add an always on plug but i only use it on rare occasions and when i'm done using it i unplug that cable so as to not run down my battery!
Yes, the charger was plugged in. I have had this happen before (not severely) but I had this converter to plug my ipod into and it played music through the radio station i set it to. I unplugged my ipod from my car but left the charger plugged in. I came out the next morning to find that my battery was dead. So indeed the car's battery is still running through the sockets, it just doesn't have the engine to keep recharging the battery. So basically the car's battery just forced too much power into the charger, and the charger overheated causing the fire.
Put a new windshield in and it should be drivable.
On a serious note, I will certainly be unplugging my charger at the end of the day from now on.
On a serious note, I will certainly be unplugging my charger at the end of the day from now on.
This is probably one of those fake FW FW FW FW FW FW to 1,000,000 people emails that make the rounds. It's all over the web.
If my eyes serve me right the two 12v ports are the ones at the bottom and one has the cover open? There is no damage to it. I would think it would look charred and also the fuse should have protected this from happening. I don't know maybe it could. I'm def. not CSI.
Probably a eBay charger. If it happens to me I hope it totals it.
Probably a eBay charger. If it happens to me I hope it totals it.
Why does it have to be fake or a chain letter? It is possible for a top-of-the-line product to catch fire, it doesn't have to be an "ebay" charger. Whether or not it was an iPhone charger, it is still possible.
I can see what you are getting at, but the charred part is right above the socket, which if it was the charger that caught fire, the charing is consistent. I want to be a CSI lol but I can still be wrong.
If my eyes serve me right the two 12v ports are the ones at the bottom and one has the cover open? There is no damage to it. I would think it would look charred and also the fuse should have protected this from happening. I don't know maybe it could. I'm def. not CSI.
Probably a eBay charger. If it happens to me I hope it totals it.
I can see what you are getting at, but the charred part is right above the socket, which if it was the charger that caught fire, the charing is consistent. I want to be a CSI lol but I can still be wrong.
It makes no sense to leave a charger plugged into the outlet in a vehicle, even if a device is not plugged into that charger. The reason is because some chargers have electronics inside them that would still be using electricity, thus making the charger an energy vampire and can run down your vehicle's battery. And if the OP's story is true, then this is another reason not to leave it plugged in.
I always unplug electronics when not in use in my vehicle.
I always unplug electronics when not in use in my vehicle.
I'm pretty sure my 4Runner does not leave the 12V outlet on after I turn off the car. I didn't read this in the manual, but the fact that my TomTom has a pop-up message saying "Unit unplugged, powering off in 5...4..3..." tells me that the 12V is effectively off. As such, I feel fine leaving my chargers plugged into the 12V. Is this not good?
As long as the outlet is not powered, it's fine.
But I would unplug it anyway because we are creatures of habit and you may end up leaving the charger plugged in with another vehicle where the outlet is always powered on.
Looks like Snopes is already looking into it so maybe we'll get the full story soon:
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/techno/carcharger.asp
brad
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/techno/carcharger.asp
brad
Fire in the Suburban
We just had our 2007 Suburban go up in flames this morning! However, although we had an ipod charger plugged in, the fire started in the driver door which seems completly unrelated to the iPod charger story above.
What I'm interested to know is how did the insurance company treat this claim? Was the truck considered a write off? Did you get GM involved? Was this covered under their warranty?
It seems to me, that no matter what you leave plugged in the car or truck the only acceptable risk is a drained battery but NEVER EVER a fire - I consider that a design flaw.
Would love to hear thoughts on this.
We just had our 2007 Suburban go up in flames this morning! However, although we had an ipod charger plugged in, the fire started in the driver door which seems completly unrelated to the iPod charger story above.
What I'm interested to know is how did the insurance company treat this claim? Was the truck considered a write off? Did you get GM involved? Was this covered under their warranty?
It seems to me, that no matter what you leave plugged in the car or truck the only acceptable risk is a drained battery but NEVER EVER a fire - I consider that a design flaw.
Would love to hear thoughts on this.
