Car wouldn't start then almost catches fire?

[typ44q]

Leaving work today my 2014 S5 tries and fails to start and acts like the battery is dead. Original battery but car has always started easily. After trying to turn over the dashboard goes dark but there is clicking sound and the engine is very slowly turning over. This goes on for almost 10 minutes as I try to figure out how to get into the trunk. After a few minutes I start to smell and see an alarming amout of smoke from under the hood (starter?)
Eventually it stops and the dash lights turn on at that point I was able to turn the car off (before that the starter button and key in the dashboard did nothing)
I disconnected the battery which had a very hot area around the middle of the battery (internal short?) and had the car towed back to my house.

Any ideas what happened?
Anyone heard of this happening before?

[mc_hotmail]

What have you found or smelled under the hood? I assume you have a 3.0 supercharger, a very cramped engine bay.

[Spawne32]

Normally I would say that it was an excessive amperage draw on the battery but you should have blew the main fuse first before youd get to that point. But I have however seen this before.

[Theiceman]

Normally I would say that it was an excessive amperage draw on the battery but you should have blew the main fuse first before youd get to that point. But I have however seen this before.

I'm not sure the alternator / battery/starter line is even fused. I think the fuse is on the primary side of of the circuit. Once that relay latches, you are balls to the wall .. if it doesn't start and the logic doesn't release the latch, look out.

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[Spawne32]

I'm not sure the alternator / battery/starter line is even fused. I think the fuse is on the primary side of of the circuit. Once that relay latches, you are balls to the wall .. if it doesn't start and the logic doesn't release the latch, look out.

Sent from my SM-G973W using Audizine Forum mobile app

Don't think so either. When I traced it back with my voltage drop issues, didnt' find anything fused except for the fusable links in the distribution block on the cowl. That run of cable however seems to be prone to some serious corrosion issues. I bypassed it entirely and ran a 6awg charging cable straight to the distribution block from the alt to solve my issues with low term 30 voltage.