Battery Explosion

[ThomasLawrence]

I was driving home from work tonight, and heard a "thump" from the passenger side. I thought I ran over something. A few seconds later, the Check Gauges light is on, and the voltage gauge is reading 0. There was a code set, P2502 (charging voltage low). When I opened the hood, I saw the problem. The passenger-side battery cracked open, blowing battery acid throughout the engine compartment. It was quite a mess.



After spraying everything down with some water, and removing the battery, I taped up the positive terminal to insulate it, re-started the truck, and drove home without further incident.



At home, everything got washed down with a baking soda/water spray, and it looks like I got it all neutralized. The alternator's putting out 14. 2V, which seems about right.



My question is - has anyone else ever had this happen? At this point, I can't find anything wrong with the charging system, so I'm assuming it was just a defective battery. Any other thoughts?



Thanks



-Tom

 

[DocDetonancour]

Remember a guy years ago that lost his life jumping a battrey that blew! Good thing no injury.

 

[dseabaugh]

About 3 years ago a guy from Perryville, Mo asked me if I noticed anything about his '97 1 ton Ram. I didn't from the start, then he showed me the RAISED dent in the hood where his battery blew up. Didn't go well with his shiney black paint.

 

[Chris N5CWM]

A friend of mine's new Ford F150 supercrew did the same thing. . battery blew, spewing acid and even caught fire! He happened to hear something thump outside his house, went out and saw smoke.

Still don't know what caused it to happen. I'll ask him and see if there is an explanation.

 

[PJ]

That scares the poo out of me just thinking about it. Yesterday, I just replaced the battery in my Corvette that is behind the driver seat. I was hanging over it trying to connect the terminals. Threw a few sparks and then it finally took. Both terminals are now tight and no explosion but woooo, it could have toasted the interior, not to mention my face that was just above it during the instalation. Yeeks

 

[RJOL]

Was driving my 95 Jeep Cherokee a few years ago when the battery blew up. Sprayed battery fluid all over and etched the paint in the engine compartment.



Took a look at the battery and saw it was stamped "Re-manufactured. " Needless to say... I have checked every used car I've purchased since for a good battery.

 

[rbattelle]

Wow. Amazing story. I'd love to know what made it explode so maybe I can avoid the same situation.

 

[fencebuilders]

Unreal,i had never heard of a battery explosion while driving. Sounds more common than i thought. Although i do have a story to share... ... ... Maybe 20 years back,on a hot,hot California day,a laborer on a job we were doing had a loose terminal on his battery in a Ford courier p. u. Well,during lunch break he decides to tighten it up,but the bolt is stripped. So his next course of logic is to take a 16 penny nail and position it vertically above/between the post and the cable. Now me and my crew were sitting under a shade tree about 25 yards away. I happen to look over at the time the numbnuts takes a 28 oz. framing hammer and tries to drive the nail in to "tighten" the connection. I have never heard a man scream so loud or run so fast. We sent him home after my partner tackled him and we hosed him down for 20 minutes. No serious or lasting injuries,except for his pride.

 

[wyosteve]

This thread just convinced me to put my Optimas in the new truck. I kept them back when I traded and was debating whether to change the new ones out.

 

[loncray]

Yeah, I'm thinkin' I'll be visitin' my local Optima dealer when my batteries go also. I hadn't previously heard of a battery blowing up while driving - all the stories related to jumping or charging. I guess if your alternator is putting out the right juice now it's okay, but I'd be really curious to know what caused the thing to blow up!

 

[RJOL]

Originally posted by loncray

... I hadn't previously heard of a battery blowing up while driving...

Here is what happened...



I had stopped the Jeep to run an errand. When I got back in and tried to start it, the battery exploded. It physical split the case.



I gained a better appreciation of batteries that day...

 

[rrausch]

Hydrogen is produced in the Battery and it is explosive as all get out.



That is something the wacko-enviromentalists never bring up when they talk about advocating vehicles powered by Fuel Cells.

 

[DanDee]

I've had two batteries blow up over the years... . both went under starter load, however I could see how it could happen as you were driving along.



The first battery was in an older F**D and I was told it was a bad battery. Was told if the internal plates inside the battery get bad or crack, an internal spark can occur and ignite the gases in the battery. It was impressive, looked like my hood jumped a few inches when it went!



Second time was right after having my van worked on at a Dodge dealer, getting it home I noticed that someone put the negative terminal back on hand-tight.



Instead of going to get the right tool and tightening the terminal down right then, I just wiggled it tighter & forgot until the next morning, when after a short drive, my wife went to restart the van & it blew the battery apart. (Scared the heck out out of my wife!)



Had it towed back to Dodge, who claimed it was a defective battery & replaced it with a new one at no charge... but I'm sure that the battery was off-gasing from the recent drive and hot day, then the loose terminal sparked under the heavy starter load & BOOM!



Believe it or not, the very next trip to the same dealer for another repair... found the negative terminal on hand tight again, only this time I checked before I drove away! (Now I pop the hood and look things over after any dealer visit, before leaving!)



Dan

 

[jzaremski]

Wow. Amazing story. I'd love to know what made it explode so maybe I can avoid the same situation.

what usually happens is that one of the terminals or interconnects breaks, either due to a flaw or excessive vibration. When this happens, natually you'll get an arc. Arc + hydrogen = BOOM.

 

[torqmakr]

The internal plates idea mentioned above sounds like the issue here. I have seen one blow up in an individuals face just taking the cables off the post due to this same thing. Not very common thankfully so.

 

[ThomasLawrence]

Well, here's an update (actually, more of a rant):



After cleaning up the mess Wednesday night, I stop by the dealership on Thursday morning. I tell them what happened, and ask if they can just exchange the battery (knowing full well what the answer is). "No, we can't just do that - we have to look at the truck first". Fair enough... "Okay - can you look at it now?" "No, you'll have to leave the truck". "Alright, let's set up an appointment for Monday. I'll drop the truck off then". This gives them two whole days to get ready.



Monday morning, the truck gets dropped off. "We should have the ready in a few hours, unless of course we don't have a battery", the SA says jokingly. I didn't smile.



That afternoon, the office phone rings. "Sorry, we don't have a battery in stock. Can you leave the truck with us until tomorrow?" "No. " "Okay, then you're going to have to pick it up, and come back tomorrow". "Fine "



This morning, we do the ritual again. "Do you want to wait for your truck, we'll have it done right away". "No, that's OK - I'll pick it up after lunch".



After lunch rolls around, I stop by, and the truck is done. I pick up the keys, walk out to the truck, and distrustingly open the hood and poke around. "Gee, nice of them not to clean up any of the mess the first battery left". I wiggle on the battery cables, making sure they remembered to tighten the clamps.



They did. What they failed to tighten was the battery hold-down. The whole battery was flopping around in the tray. "Mother-... ... !!! " Out comes the toolkit, and 5 seconds later, the battery's tightened. All the time, I'm thinking, "No, we can't just give you a new battery. We have to install it for you".



So, first, they can't exchange the battery, and can't fix it when I first brought it in. Again, that's understandable (to some extent). Then, when I bring it in for it's scheduled appointment, they don't have a battery (nevermind the 300 other vehicles on the lot with the same damn battery sitting in them). THEN, after bringing it back the second time, they don't install the new battery properly.



Is it any wonder why a lot of us have little or no trust/respect for these "5-Star" service departments?



-Tom

 

[RankRam]

Glad you got it taken care of.



Darn shame about your dealer though.

 

[nickleinonen]

Is it any wonder why a lot of us have little or no trust/respect for these "5-Star" service departments?

that is what those customer survey sheets are for. fill it out how you really feel about it, then fax the dealer a copy of it and a note saying how this service was unacceptable... [bla bla blah] and asking them nicely to correct the problem, or if they decline that offer, send it out to DC... a couple of black marks against the 5 star dealer and they could loose the 5 star stuff

 

[rbattelle]

Originally posted by ThomasLawrence

Is it any wonder why a lot of us have little or no trust/respect for these "5-Star" service departments?



-Tom

Well said.

 

[krs]

I've seen LOTS of exploded batteries over the time I spent as a mechanic in the postal service. There are a bunch of ways it can happen. Internal battery shorts where a plate comes loose and can move; loose terminals making sparks while the vehicle is on the road, Unsecured battery can bounce around enough to make a positive terminal contact with any body or other grounded part; any owner created spark. Hot days make batteries fail more frequently. They gas heavier when charging and when hot and their gas is what explodes. All batteries are bombs. Wet cell batteries are worser bombs.

Always disconnect and connect the negative terminal last when doing anything with either battery (and remember that our truck electrical systems are still connected with only one battery disconected). Always make any jumping or charging connections be negative last and connect that negative somewhere besides to the negative terminal of a battery. There's a lot of more extensive battery safety tips - find some and read them. At least avert your eyes whenever you make a connection.



Oh, don't trust magic battery additives!