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There are quite a few reasons why these batteries go south on us.over chargeThese batteries have so much energy density, which is the amount of energy per unit of space, that they really have to be controlled via circuits when  they are being charged. A small malfunction in the charging circuitry and the battery will start to fail.Once it starts to fail it is all downhill for that one cell that went bad.Now you may think ok, one cell that is not too bad. Because each cell is about the size of a double A battery. So no biggie right. Well that leads us to the next factor that can produce failure of the battery.HeatAn overheated battery is bad….. Like really bad. And think about why for a moment. Heat is really just another form of energy. These batteries already have so much potential energy stored up in them that the heat or the energy of molecules in motion is too much for the battery to hold and it starts to react to get to a lower energy state.The way these larger batteries like a tesla battery are formed is by taking all these little cells and packing them together and then connecting them with electricity. So when one of these cells fails, they release the energy in the form of heat. Which in turn heats up all the cells surrounding it. If those cells get heated up as well then will produce the same result leading to an exponential growth of cell failure. This is bad. And is known as thermal runawayPhysical damageAnother way to cause these bad boys to lose their temper is to damage the cells. The right amount of damage destroys the balance of energy in the cell and if chemicals both in the cell and outside the cell start to react with each other well that will lead to almost instant fire call. Don't believe us. Youtube lithium battery fire and watch people damage all types of these batteries and the kick ass fireball that it produces.In these batteries that are in cars and other vehicles, an accident is enough physical energy  to destroy the cell. And lead to a thermal run away and the condition where firefighters are putting thousands of gallons of water to “put the fire out”News article from nbc news written by Cyrus FarivarIt’s the kind of blaze that veteran Chief Palmer Buck of The Woodlands Township Fire Department in suburban Houston compared to “a trick birthday candle.”On April 17, when firefighters responded to a 911 call at around 9:30 p.m., they came upon a Tesla Model S that had crashed, killing two people, and was now on fire.They extinguished it, but then a small flare shot out of the bottom of the charred hulk. Firefighters quickly put out those flames. Not long after, the car reignited for a third time.“What the heck? How do we make this stop?’” Buck asked his team. They quickly consulted Tesla’s first responder guide and realized that it would take far more personnel and water than they could have imagined. Eight firefighters ultimately spent seven hours putting out the fire. They also used up 28,000 gallons of water — an amount the department normally uses in a month. That same volume of water serves an average American home for nearly two years.By comparison, a typical fire involving an internal combustion car can often be quickly put out with approximately 300 gallons of w...