# Risk of electrical fires in older cars **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [December 24, 2024, 2:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/risk-of-electrical-fires-in-older-cars/198497 "2024-12-24T14:21:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Robert-Gift](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/robert-gift/32/356_2.png) [@Robert-Gift](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Robert-Gift)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 2:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/risk-of-electrical-fires-in-older-cars/198497/1 "2024-12-24T14:21:36Z")
> **[After Colorado garage blaze, fire officials call attention to fire risk with...](https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/colorado-garage-blaze-fire-officials-risk-older-cars/)** > > After a 17-year-old car caught fire in a garage in a Denver suburb, fire officials are warning the public about the risk of electrical fires with older cars, as well as the potential dangers of doing your own mechanical work. I fuse added circuits. We have a smoke alarm in the garage and two ABC fire distinguishers. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 2:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/risk-of-electrical-fires-in-older-cars/198497/2 "2024-12-24T14:28:30Z")
That is EXTREMELY RARE. You have better odds of getting hit twice by lightning. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 4:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/risk-of-electrical-fires-in-older-cars/198497/3 "2024-12-24T16:29:52Z")
> [@MikeInNH](#): > > That is EXTREMELY RARE. I agree, but the possible consequences of a fire in an attached garage are dire. Owners should do their own risk analysis to determine how to handle parking their car. I did one for my EV and decided that not only parking in the garage was a low enough risk but charging in the garage overnight is also low enough risk that I do it. For me it’s a combination of low power GFCI charging, battery chemistry, and global experience with fires over more than a decade for my brand car. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/risk-of-electrical-fires-in-older-cars/198497/4 "2024-12-24T17:59:24Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > I did one for my EV and decided that not only parking in the garage was a low enough risk but charging in the garage overnight is also low enough risk that I do it. For me it’s a combination of low power GFCI charging, battery chemistry, and global experience with fires over more than a decade for my brand car. +1 Using an old electric frying pan underneath the engine–instead of installing a block heater–would be **far** more dangerous. But, I don’t think anyone would be foolish enough to do that. 😏 ---
**Author:** ![Rainflurry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cab0a1/32.png) [@Rainflurry](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rainflurry)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 10:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/risk-of-electrical-fires-in-older-cars/198497/5 "2024-12-24T22:41:16Z")
Terrible and misleading headline and post. The cause was “likely due to recent repairs attempted by the owner”. The fire risk had nothing to do with it being an “older” car as the headline reads. Unfortunately, news headlines can no longer be trusted to accurately represent what an article is about - they’re designed as clickbait for fearful people who spend too much time on the internet. Your post and the article’s headline should have read “Fire officials call attention to fire risk of attempting your own car repairs”. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2024, 11:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/risk-of-electrical-fires-in-older-cars/198497/6 "2024-12-25T23:42:06Z")
IMO owners of older cars are more likely to repair them and not take them to a shop.