Many of us have seen the picture of the BMW 6-Series that caught fire at the toll plaza a few days ago. There have been speculations on the cause of the fire and we have done some research to share with you the few possible causes for the fire.
It could have been an electrical short circuit (which is common when car owners take their expensive vehicles to aftermarket sound system installers to upgrade their stereo and substandard wiring is done) and sparking near the fuel lines or other combustible material which has been proven to be the most common cause of automotive fires worldwide.
It could also be the overheating of certain components of the car (especially in our current heat wave) leading to other parts catching fire, abrasion of components resulting in sparks and heat and subsequently a fire starts.
This BMW comes with a catalytic converter. Under prolonged idling of the engine, the catalytic converter may drastically overheat because of the large volume of unburnt gas flowing into it from the engine. This again is speculative and depends on what electronics are running alongside…if any.
The best way to avoid this is to make it a habit to check fuel lines for leakage/worn out joints and their proximity to electrical wiring and of course keeping a portable working fire extinguisher in the car.
