Car Stereos: my 2009 car went up in flames from a stereo, inline fuse, stereo installer

Question
i wanted to get info about what may have happened here and how to possible prove that it was a faulty installation. my 2009 Scion went up in flames - the stereo that i had installed wouldnt not play for more than 20 minutes when they first installed it. it was shutting itself off - i went back 3 times over the course of three weeks and not until the last time the stereo actually stayed on for a day or two at a time - it did shut off for a few seconds here and there - but ultimately seemed like it was working fine- then the car caught fire in the middle of the night. the inline fuse hadnt even blown so the stereo place is saying it wouldnt have been them because everything was in tact.  

Answer
Hi Lora,

This is.. interesting.

Is it possible that the stereo caused the car to go up?  Absolutely.

Did it cause the car to go up?  Nobody knows.

Is the fact that the fuse didn't pop proof it didn't make the car go up?  Absolutely not.

First off, the fuse is usually 10-15A.  That means you can pass 9-14A of power through it before it will pop.  Passing 14A of electricity through a small wire @ 12V will create a *LOT* of heat.

Another thing to consider was that the cutting out was due to overheating.  These could be related, or completely unrelated.  Unfortunately, without a forensic investigation, which won't happen, nobody can be sure.  My suggestion would be to advise your insurance company of these issues, and they will do the work involved in filing a civil case against the stereo installer if they feel it's warranted and/or viable.

Good luck,
Justin