27th October 2006

I write a monthly automotive agony column for a well known American insurance company.

I recently was asked if it was feasible for someone to change the front shock absorbers on a car by himself.

My answer was that the mechanical work itself was comparatively straightforward, but it was necessary to have special equipment
available to compress and hold compressed, the front coil springs.

I warned, as I would warn all of you, that a compressed spring can be lethal if it gets loose at the wrong time and expends all that
energy in one colossal micro second. (I know, that's an oxymoron, but I'm just trying to emphasise a point).

Energy is dangerous in all forms when it is compressed. Sony has found this out as its lap top batteries, minute in size and capable
of operating times of up to four hours, have started to set themselves on fire.

Hybrid cars have been known to burn themselves down to the ground and when an accident occurs, rescue crews and firemen
approach the tremendous energy stored in hybrid batteries with great caution, knowing how much potential damage they can
represent.

A stick of dynamite, a gallon of gasoline, a tank of liquefied natural gas and/or hydrogen, all these compressed forms of energy
can bite back very hard if they are suddenly released.

Years ago, as the plant engineer for a large corporation, I had responsibility for both fire protection and shipping and receiving.

The local fire department invited me to a demonstration. It seemed that they were being called to more and more truck fires and the
cause had been hard to find.

However, it seems that most trucks at that time, had their high powered batteries stored under the drivers seat, with a cover on top.
Over time, the cover got misplaced and the springs in the seat sagged until they shorted out the battery.

Maybe that's where the idea of heated seats started out, but the ensuing blaze was not funny in the least.

The demonstration I observed consisted of throwing an old drivers' seat onto the top of a battery and retiring.

Within seconds, the wire in the seat glowed bright red and within a minute or so, the seat was turned into ashes.

So this winter, a good many of you will probably get involved in the jump starting of another vehicle.

I have an article on my website  that chronicles the woes of one poor owner and re-emphasises the dangers of treating
your battery with the contempt it doesn't deserve. And if you want to know more about the  dangers of lithium/ion batteries,
as installed in most hybrid cars,  click here.