electric motor, gas engine, fire hazard?

[vett93]

Yes, I am paranoid. Can someone explain the safety design that keeps this car safe? It seems that the battery is near the gas tank. A short in the electric circuit can cause the battery over heat. A nearby gas tank does not help either.

 

Thanks.

 

[murphy]

The battery is protected by large fuses.  A short in the external wiring would blow those fuses in a heartbeat.

[vett93]

Thanks. Where are these fuses located?

Edited January 4, 2014 at 11:31 AM by vett93

[murphy]

Thanks. Where are these fuses located?

There is one fuse.

According to the "Wiring Diagrams" it is in the rear of the car to the right of the HVB and is 225 amperes.

Electrically it is between the "High Voltage Battery Service Disconnect" and the "High Voltage Battery Junction Box" which are both located in the rear of the car.

[jeff_h]

I don't have any doubts about the design, as I believe there are also sensors that monitor battery temp and would force shutdown before a hazardous overheated HVB condition could develop.

[Russael]

Not only that, but the vehicle's body is also in between the battery and the gas tank.  A short developing somewhere INSIDE the battery pack is near impossible since most individual Lithium cells have a controller chip with them which monitors temperature and state of charge.  About the only thing that could create a fire hazard is damaging the pack by getting it punctured (much like 2 of the 3 Tesla S fires that I'm aware of), in which case there's so much stored energy in there that a fire is likely.  But because there's so much shielding between the pack and the gas tank, a risk of instant explosion is also unlikely.  And getting to that battery pack is extremely difficult too - that little step shelf on the battery pack is actually a thick steel cage to protect the pack in the event someone tries to delete your trunk by compressing it (rear end collision).

 

Ford Engineers have done everything to make this car as safe, or in actuality, even MORE safe than their traditional gasoline models.  Unless some modification is done that circumvents the built in safety features, a fire with the electrical propulsion system is incredibly unlikely.