Exploding car battery

SlightlyModified · #1 11-21-2009, 12:36 PM

Ok, so I've got a battery that is about a year old. I bought it to put in my little vw Jetta Diesel. I rarely drive the car. It's kinda my back up work car, or something to run across the state to pick up a part. It had been sitting for a month or two and I decided just to start it up and take it for a spin. So, i opened the hood and checked the oil. While the hood was still up I tried to start it. So I turn the key on and let the glow plugs warm up and then try to start it, that's when it exploded. It was about 6am when this happened, and it sounded about like a .38 pistol. My wife came running outside to see what had happened, and I grabbed the water hose to rinse the acid off. It was a little hard to do because of the strong acid fumes.
The terminals were definietely connected right. I cannot even find the top of the battery, or else I would return it and demand a new battery.
After sitting for about a week, the residual acid has really done a number on the battery tray and other stuff.

Lesson learned, never trust a battery that you bought from Walmart. ESPECIALLY, when the brand name is ECONOMY!!

Oh, and since this has happened. I put a new battery in tha car and it started right up. I was alittle nervous to turn the key, fearing it was a prob with the car.

streetwerkz · #2 11-21-2009, 01:13 PM

[quote=SlightlyModified;78236]

Lesson learned, never trust a battery that you bought from Walmart. ESPECIALLY, when the brand name is ECONOMY!!QUOTE]

6 year old Wang Lee in quality control would be upset to hear you bad mouth his efforts to produce top notch Chinese products for you jetta

shaggy10000 · #3 11-21-2009, 01:29 PM

Top name batteries can explode too. When all the conditions are right.
We had a piece of heavy equipment at work that had a couple of those foot and a half long commercial battereis. They wouldnt hold a charge for poo so we were hooking up the charger on 200amp so we could start the machine to work on it. Normally 2 of us had been doing this. I was handling the charger and another guy was doing the starting. Did this for a week with no problems. The next time i asked the guy if he wanted my help with the charger. Fortunately he declined that day. It was only because i was busy on another project. Any hoo when he turned the key that thing went off with a bang that shook the whole industrial complex. I couldnt believe how intense it was. Had he not declined my help that day i would have been standing right over it. Safety glasses or not i would have been screwed.

Another time a guy jumped on one of our electric golf carts and as soon as he hit the go pedal one of the batteries exploded. If you know golf carts then you know the battery is under the seat. He just about shit himself..
Both of those batteries where top grade interstate batteries.

My lesson was learned, Never stand around any battery under a load.
Glad no one was hurt.
BTW I'd get you some baking soda/water mix to get on on that exposed stuff or it will keep going.

SlightlyModified · #4 11-21-2009, 01:40 PM

BTW I'd get you some baking soda/water mix to get on on that exposed stuff or it will keep going.[/quote]

I did that already, but thanks for the heads up.....

CAPTAIN CNC · #5 11-21-2009, 01:42 PM

Wow! I was about to say i would take it back anyway and demand MORE than a new battery. You or somebody else could be laying in the ER. But lookin at the pics i see there are NO identifying markings on it what so ever so i'm sure they would look at you like you were lying and trying to scam em.

Still, it's such a catastophic failure maybe you need to let someone else know about it. Someone who could do something about it. Not necissarily to benefit yourself but so that someone else with the same battery don't get there friggin head blown off or at the least severly disfigured. Thats terrible!

Unacceptable. Maybe you should mail it to Obama as an illistration as to what type of things happen when your country imports seemingly EVERYTHING.

Hell e-mail a link to this thread to your state senator or something. Maybe it'll catch sombodys attention..... then again maybe it wont. The more i think about it it would prolly be a waste of your time. Or lead to something rediculous like the govt coming and taking your car for further investigation.

Makes me wonder if this has happened to anyone else and you/we just havent heard of it. Perhaps cause the other person/persons is DEAD.

Again, that is unacceptable.

Glad you were not hurt. Can chaulk that one up as a "close call" i guess.

Afterthought: just think what would have happened if it were in your garage and you had customer vehicles parked on either or both sides of it. Imagine what COULD have happened then.... The insurance claims, lawsuits, and pissed off customers... any number of even worse situations. This really pisses me off.

JaysinSpaceman · #6 11-21-2009, 02:45 PM

I know that this was a scary incident but I need to say something here.

This could have been prevented buy doing proper maintenance on the battery. All vented batteries will loose water over time as it evaporates and when the electrolyte level falls below the lead plates the plates can arc between themselves under high load (like starting an engine) and lead acid batteries are full of hydrogen gas (as a natural byproduct). You can guess what happens when there is an arc in a hydrogen filled environment, BOOM. Always check your vented batteries regularly and top the fluid level up with distilled water (distilled water only anything else will ruin the battery) so that the lead plates are submerged. Please be very safe when working with acid filled batteries and wear eye protection and rubber gloves.

I am glad to hear that no one was hurt. I saw one battery explode inside an auto parts store when the ignorant kid load tested a half full battery. He was very lucky and was not badly hurt and the store had an emergency shower in the back.

Thanx,
Jaysin

CAPTAIN CNC · #7 11-21-2009, 05:03 PM

Hmm. Very insightful. I did not know that but understand it now. Thanks for the clarification Jaysin. I'm willing to bet i'm not the only one here you just educated. Thanks for the heads up. I know i will handle batteries with a whole new respect now. Thank you.

FrogDog · #8 11-21-2009, 05:39 PM

X 2 with what Clint said ..

I've always in past checked fluid and if needed a top up would use rain water if no distilled was avalible, although that just made me feel better from using tape water...

.. Maybe Jay can comment on that one.. hehe

I do now buy Gel Cells .. a little more cost but takes a good beating, believe there a bit safer and longer lasting...

Never seen or been around a battery explode, that's crazy, glad know one got hurt...

Cheer'z and thanx ..

Dog.....

.

JaysinSpaceman · #9 11-21-2009, 06:39 PM

Dog,

Rain is essentially distilled water. It is water that has evaporated and then condensed back into liquid form. Rain would be better to put into a battery then tap water would but not as good as man made distilled water because as the rain falls it picks up dust and other chemicals out of the air, essentially cleaning the air as it falls.

I am glad to hear that my little lesson about battery maintenance was helpful. That is exactly what I hoped it would be.

Thanx,
Jaysin

SlightlyModified · #10 11-22-2009, 12:11 AM

Well I am glad I posted this here now....Hopefully we can all learn a little something, and keep our vision and the skin on our face.

I have to admit, I have never checked the water level in that battery. I am almost certain that I still have the recipt from when I purchased it new. More I think about it, I am 99% certain I bought it in March 09'.

This is something that I would bet most of us neglect. It's our own fault, but the manufacturers should do a little more to inform us on the proper maintenance. I have never bought a car battery that even came with a paper, box, or anything. Every motorcycle type battery I have bought, DOES come with thorough information though.

I guess it boils down to neglect of proper maintetance...........Now, tomorrow I've got 5 or 6 batteries to check...............

Harb · #11 11-22-2009, 01:18 AM

saw a similar thing happen when I did my apprenticeship years back...
One of the older mechanics pulled a battery of the charger to jump start another vehicle.....
Battery had been charging all night, so was warm and gassy........ the mistake he made was to hook the jumper leads to the dead battery first then to the charged battery...... a slight load made the smallest spark, the gassy battery exploded ......booooommm !!!! we took him to hospital to get plastic bits cut from his face and upper body........

smackdaddy · #12 11-23-2009, 09:36 AM

Good info! Thanks