Paul (Notts)
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| posted on 10/8/07 at 07:18 PM |
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exploding battery
Took the car out for its second test drive ( just up and down the road ) today and had one or two issues.
Found out that two core plugs are weeping a little – will have two replace them.
When I was having a good look around the engine bay I noticed a small amount of liquid near the battery and on the engine stay. – finally traced it
back two the battery which then decided to BLOW its TOP off spraying acid close two my face!!!
The battery is a sealed Odyssey pc925
What could have caused this two happen? There are no shorts in the circuit and the battery holds its charge. It has only ever been charged with the
odyssey charger and the car does not have the alternator fitted yet.
Could it be something to do with the ignition when the car is running – back emf from the coil or something like that?
Or is it due to running the car on just the battery and no alternator?
Or is it a duff battery.
Paul
 
Rescued attachment nov06 024.jpg
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rusty nuts
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| posted on 10/8/07 at 07:33 PM |
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Normally I would say its overcharging and the hydrogen gas given off has ignited, but with no alternator fitted ???
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omega 24 v6
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| posted on 10/8/07 at 07:39 PM |
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WOW lucky escape for you I think.
In 25 years I've only seen 1 battery explode due to a numpty welding beside it when it was on charge. Idoubt very much that running it without
an alternator charging would do it any harm (other than it going flat). As rusty nuts said it would have been most likely a build up of gas but for
the alternator not being there. Second guess could be an internal battery short or did you disturb the battery leads and cause a spark? Also you
should check that the starter is disengaging and not still running (like a generator) It's a long shot but worth checking.
Be wary and very carefull when looking out for the problem incase it happens again.
If it looks wrong it probably is wrong.
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Paul (Notts)
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| posted on 10/8/07 at 07:40 PM |
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Thinking about it - It had just been on charge for a hour before the test drive in direct sunlight so it may have overheated then.
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rusty nuts
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| posted on 10/8/07 at 07:43 PM |
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In 40 years I have seen 2 batterys explode , both times they were on charge , the first time there was a short near the battery , the second time was
trying to start an old Land rover with the air filter off , engine spat back though carb and battery went up in my face . Not pleasant!!
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Ivan
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| posted on 10/8/07 at 07:58 PM |
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I've seen one battery explode - an old Mercedes parked outside the office and when the owner got in and started it there was one almighty bang -
blew a huge dent in the bonnet abd made an almighty mess of the engine compartment - there was very little of the battery or anything surrounding it
left. 
I think the car was pretty much scrap after that as it wouldn't have been worth while repairing all the damage.
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mistergrumpy
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| posted on 10/8/07 at 08:12 PM |
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I too have seen a battery explode in someones face. The investigation found that he connected it earth first instead of live which caused a small
spark and because the battery vents gas, this ignited and blew. He looked like a black and white minstrel! Perhaps you somehow caused a small spark by
jiggling a lead?
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pewe
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| posted on 10/8/07 at 08:32 PM |
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Trust you drowned everything in lots of water. Battery acid has great persistance so you need to make sure there's none left anywhere. It
attacks steel ferociously - aluminium more so.
Out with the hose pipe or better still kettles full of boiling water.
Cheers, Pewe.
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TGR-ECOSSE
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| posted on 10/8/07 at 08:59 PM |
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As above hope you washed everything with lots of water. I had a battery explode on an old fiesta once and have no idea how it happened. I was just
driving as normal when there was a massive bang from under the bonnet and when i opened the bonnet the battery was totaly gone. The other battery
that i saw explode was when we were building the stock car and a mate decided to charge his battery under the bench without telling us so when we
started welding there was one almighty bang and sulphiric acid and plastic showered the garage. Its the loudest thing i have ever heard and my ears
were ringing for days. Mate thought he had killed us 
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RazMan
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| posted on 10/8/07 at 10:14 PM |
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I thought that gel batteries were meant to be the safest type! . I trust you are going to contact Odyssey about this and keep us updated - I am
going to look at my Odyssey in a different light now.
Use Sodium Bicarbonate solution to neutralise the acid - it stays active for ages.
[Edited on 10-8-07 by RazMan]
Cheers,
Raz
When thinking outside the box doesn't work any more, it's time to build a new box
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cadebytiger
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| posted on 10/8/07 at 11:34 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by RazMan
I thought that gel batteries were meant to be the safest type! . I trust you are going to contact Odyssey about this and keep us updated - I am
going to look at my Odyssey in a different light now.
Use Sodium Bicarbonate solution to neutralise the acid - it stays active for ages.
[Edited on 10-8-07 by RazMan]
I will stay "active" until it runs off and reacts with something or until all the excess hydrogen ion have been mopped up by your car (not
good).
best just to give it a good wash down i think. plenty of water and be a bit careful not to get it on yourself. not sure how concentrated it is in
batteries but i know i can put plenty of holes in your clothes if left for long enough.
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ed_crouch
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| posted on 11/8/07 at 01:23 AM |
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Face shield when experimenting to find the cause.
Acid burns can be horrific. Some acids eat away at flesh, and the only way to stop it is to scrape the dissolved flesh away, douse in water and keep
scrpaing until its neutralised.
Poor woman...
I dont know whether battery acid has the molar strength to do this, but be careful.
Ed.
I-iii-iii-iii-ts ME!
Hurrah.
www.wings-and-wheels.net
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britishtrident
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| posted on 11/8/07 at 08:07 AM |
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Yep it was over charged -- hydrogen gas built up and couldn't disperse.
Old charging safety procedure with removable top batteries used to be remove caps before charging, switch the charger on and off at the wall socket
(ie well away from the battery) and allowing time any hydrogen gas disperse before going near the battery to replace the caps and disconnect the
leads.
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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