Quote:
Originally Posted by Number 3
Not likely as the ignition was not on so you would have to believe that simply submerging a 12V battery would cause fires.
The 12V fires you are refering to are generally caused by a short that creates heat not simply 12V of current passing.
Now 300 V getting submerged? If not designed properly that can be a problem.
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A battery itself might not fail, but something attached to it can. And we can't forget the fact that even with the ignition off, some systems are still drawing power. They're waiting in standby mode (computers, clock, remote locks, etc) but there is power. And these sorts of components are also the least likely to be resilient to salt water intrusion.
We can't forget that its not as if these cars got a little splash of rain water. They were submerged under salt water who knows how deep for hours. The combination of pressure (by water depth) and time would cause places that were never supposed to get wet to be surrounded by a highly conductive solution, then become encrusted with salt after the water receded. I cannot think of a more nightmarish scenario for electronics.
And yes, I am aware that its usually a short that causes a fire. In fact, thats what I'm counting on in this case. Salt water corrosion causing a short, leading to a fire.
Number 3, I am not an automotive engineer -you are, so please correct me if I'm wrong with this next part. The way I see it, the battery and high voltage wires for the Karma are going to be at least partially exposed to water in every day usage. The battery is mounted low, which means it'll get wet from road spray when it rains. Any reasonably competent engineer is going to take steps to seal the connections against water intrusion. I wouldn't be surprised if they make sure that when submerged its still fine. Thats just prudent engineering. But there are other electrical systems, the normal every day things, that are tucked away in spots that are supposed to stay nice and dry at all times. Probably dealing with some humid air, but not really anything more than that. As such, they might have a protective cover to guard against a bit of a splash (and to keep dust out), but nothing water tight because they aren't supposed to see anywhere near the amount of water to justify such measures. Consequently, those low voltage systems would be more prone to salt water exposure in a submergence event than the high voltage battery -its just too far beyond their design envelope.