From karn Sat Feb 19 10:27:12 2000 Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2000 10:27:10 -0800 From: Phil Karn To: ev1-club@cco.caltech.edu Subject: EV1 apparently causes garage fire while charging Reply-to: karn@ka9q.ampr.org I just got off the phone with Ruth Bygness and Ron Brauer, owners of 1997 EV1 VIN 428. Ruth is a fellow Qualcomm employee; we regularly park our cars together at the charger at work. On this past Thursday evening around 630 pm, their EV1 was charging in their garage at home when it was involved in a fire. According to Ruth, Ron and the State Farm fire origin expert, the EV1 appears to have started the fire. The investigation is continuing, however, and State Farm has sealed the garage until it can be examined further by them and by GM. Ruth and Ron report that the damage was extensive in the front of the EV1, specifically in the area of the charge coupler. I understand that the aluminum casing of the charge coupler had partially melted. There is extensive damage to their garage. Fortunately, the garage is detached, so there is no damage to their house. While it is of course too soon to state exactly how the fire started, we personally feel the evidence is already strong that the EV1 was the cause, and that fellow EV1 drivers should be informed. I personally feel it would be appropriate for EV1 owners to take some prudent precautions until the problem can be characterized and fixed. Charge your car at home only when you're there and awake, or use outdoor public charging. See if you can place your charger so you can use it from outside your garage. Remember, the indoor charger itself is not rainproof, so keep it inside your garage. Place a block of wood or a pipe under the garage door so it will not come down on the paddle cable. I do not plan to be at today's EV1 club meeting, but I hope that those who are there will press GM to commit to a thorough investigation, and, if an EV1 design flaw is shown to be responsible, develop a fix and a recall campaign with utmost urgency. Phil