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Apparently the battery pack in a Tesla has liquid cooling so it probably gets fairly hot. In a gas car, the liquid cooling is for the engine and if it fails, th
by robotcookies 13y ago
Apparently the battery pack in a Tesla has liquid cooling so it probably gets fairly hot. In a gas car, the liquid cooling is for the engine and if it fails, the engine overheats and stops. But imagine if the gas tank itself got hot when running and needed to be actively cooled. That's basically where the Tesla is at. A failed cooling system means the energy source overheats (and not the motor/engine).
I'm not a car expert but I imagine it's hard to protect all the pipes that are carrying the liquid. And that may be why these fires are starting... some puncture causes the liquid to release. Just a theory.
- Dylan16807 13y agoI would assume a car that has been involved in a crash would stop moving, and not need that cooling any more. Even if there weren't failsafe systems to shut things off. There's only so much you can do with a punctured lithium ion.
- robotcookies 13y agoWhat do you mean failsafe? That the batteries would shut down? My understanding is that in two of the incidents the drivers were able to continue driving until they found a safe place to get off. I think there would be a safety issue if the car completely shut off power on a freeway due to the cooling system failing.
- Dylan16807 13y agoYes, that the batteries would shut down if they were overheating from use. It's certainly safer than the alternative.
- justin66 13y agoThe battery cooling prolongs the life of the batteries but they won't go critical or something without it. The presence or absence of that liquid won't affect the outcome of what's happening in these accidents, which involves driving steel into the battery packs, compromising the batteries and causing a short circuit.