Had A Few White Knuckled Experiences..Add Exploding Car Battery To The List!

[slow&rusty]

Not sure what caused it, but had the car battery on a charger for an hour and then went for a drive, after 20 minutes..boom!

I thought at first the new higher output alternator that I recently installed a few weeks ago, was overcharging the battery but had it bench tested today and was putting out 13.9V...so maybe the battery failed internally or was bubbling with hydrogen gas build-up? One would think it would explode when I first started the car and not 20 minutes later? I am not sure how old the battery is as I bought the car earlier this year with this battery and never checked the water levels.

The damage is enough to pi$$ me off...melted a bunch or wires, bubbled the paint under the hood, bubbled the paint around the battery tray, killed my stereo, killed the electric fans and a fair bit of smoke inside the car..who knows what else.

A horrific experience.

I have never had this happen to me before, can anyone offer an explanation? Time for a sealed battery.

The carnage (that is a melted fuse holder in the picture below):




Yasin

[Nostril Cheese]

Mercedes...

[sc_rufctr]

My guess based on your photos... One of those added (plastic crimps) wires shorted on something causing sparks which ignited the gas from the battery. Were you turning a corner or accelerating/decelerating when it exploded?

Is it possible you moved some of those wires when you were placing or removing the clamps from the charger?

Who did the additional wiring at the terminals?

[slow&rusty]

The car used to have a huge aftermarket stereo at one time and it is now removed, so some of those added circuits are redundant, all done by previous owners. After this incident, it is certainly a top priority of mine to clean up that wiring and remove anything redundant. The only new circuit I added was for a pair of electric auxiliary fans, which I have driven about 200-miles since the install.

I was driving on a straight piece of road (in traffic actually) when the battery went ka-boom.
Yasin

[rfuerst911sc]

When I was 16 I had a car battery on the charger in the basement of our house. Was still the style that had 6 individual caps on it. After about an hour I remembered that my dad always said to unscrew the caps while charging. I realized I had not done so and came in from outside where I had been shoveling snow. I still had on my winter coat and hat but removed my gloves. I did NOT remove the charger clips and started unscrewing the caps. I was standing directly over the battery hunched over and unscrewing the caps when I saw a bright flash and a HUGE explosion !!! The next thing I remember is my mom dragging me over the the " slop sink " we had in the basement and shoved my upper torso in and started pouring water all over me. It was several hours before I could hear all I had was a ringing in my ears. It was shear luck that I wasn't blinded or killed, the copper plates from the battery wizzed by my head and stuck in the floor rafters of the first floor. My jacket was covered in battery acid from one arm to the other right up to my chin but never got a drop on my face. I kept that jacket for years as a reminder to always take battery charging or jump starting seriously. I think what happened was as I was unscrewing one of the caps my pinky finger hit the alligator clip of the charger causing a spark and kaboom. It was very scary and I'm lucky to be able to tell the story.

[Mrmerlin]

I would also check the charging system after its back together,
if when driving the battery exploded then there is a good chance that the battery is being overcharged and thus the vapors will be of a higher quantity.

Since the explosion looks to be at the top of the battery,
I would also investigate the wires for a bad connection ,
IE the spark had to come from somewhere

[RANDY P]

The fuse probably popped that's where your spark came from.

Get the better waterproof blade fuse holders and use those instead of those cheap unshielded ones. Also fuse that 8GA wire within 6" of your terminal, that's another problem waiting to happen.

[slow&rusty]

Thanks for the suggestions and advice Randy and Merlin

[futuresoptions]

Optima Batteries.....

[Joeaksa]

Make sure you neutralize all the acid that sprayed everywhere...

[Burnin' oil]

Looks like you need to buy a parts car.......

[David]

It happened to me a few months ago: Wow! Just experience my first battery explosion!

Get a big bag of sodium bicarbonate, mix with water, and pour all over the inside of the battery comparment to neutralize.

[sammyg2]

When i was 17 my brother asked me to weld a modified roll cage onto his sand rail. OK, no problemo.

I failed to notice i was welding right above the battery box.
Boom, wet stuff on my junk, running to the shower like nobody's business.
I made it out with no damage but big jim and the twins were nervous for a while.

[cstreit]

Just happened to me two weeks ago. A bad ground caused the post to start melting and a spark finished it off. I was 500' from the finish of a long race. Coasted across the finish under no power for the win lol.

No acid mess, but splattered lead everywhere!

[slow&rusty]

I read your post David from a few months ago and certainly will neutralize with Bicarbonate.

Thanks for all the stories and posts.
Yasin

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by cstreit

Just happened to me two weeks ago. A bad ground caused the post to start melting and a spark finished it off. I was 500' from the finish of a long race. Coasted across the finish under no power for the win lol.

No acid mess, but splattered lead everywhere!

What car?

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by Flieger

What car?

The GT3. It was using a Rock Racing battery. I'm done with those. They don't last. Went to an Optima.