This is embarrassing as hell. I have a '34 p/u with the battery mounted under the cab While drilling holes in the cab to mount a seat, I accidentally drilled (1/4" bit) into the top if my high dollar battery. Acid appeared on the drill bit and I smelled something burning. I disconnected the battery and went to bed. Today, refreshed somewhat, I reconnected the battery and have lights but did not try to start the motor. So, what are the consequences? What can happen besides a dead battery? Should I buy another battery? Can I repair/plug the hole in the battery, ignore the hole, jump off a cliff, shoot myself or what? Senior moments are hell (and embarrassing). "Golden Years" my aching ass.
You can *probably* plug the hole and go on about your life. Plenty of motorcycle batteries are shipped dry and have holes you HAVE to add the acid through, and you plug those with little caps, and they have a breather tube hole to vent gasses. Old school batteries had the holes up top to add water, right? If you caught the plates, then you might end up with a defective cell, and all those problems, but if it's just the plastic case, you can PROBABLY be ok.
Most likely the drill hit two plates at once and shorted between those plates, causing the burning smell. If the drill didn't create a "shredded" section of plate, all should be good. A shredded piece of plate could cause a short in the two plates and a problem.
If it starts and charges, you're good to go. For a while anyway. I don't think it will explode or anything as long as there's no sparks or other ignition sources near it. Wear safety equipment, goggles, etc. If it works, glue a rubber patch over the hole using roof patching tar from the helpful hardware folks. I agree about the "Golden Years" nonsense.
Almost 40 years ago we had a Massey Ferguson 165 tractor and they had the worst place in the world for a battery. Right under the mast and the steering box and steering rod. Grabbed the brakes hard one day in a hay field and spun tractor around and you got it the battery actually hit hard enough to actually punch a hole in the side of it. Didn’t notice it till I shut it off. Told my Dad and you know it hit the fan. He calls our local starter/generator/alternator shop and he asked two questions. Number one did it damage the cells. Number two do you have an old battery with acid in it. We used bondo and filled the hole and covered the whole side of the battery. Filled it up after it Saturday for a day and and hit it hard with a charger and then a slow trickle charger all night. Tractor cranked and never missed a beat. 3 years later when tractor was trade in for 1175 AG king Case it was still functioning. So if there is no damage to the cell plates and you didn’t loose any acid and it’s on top I’d say your home free. Silicon it if it would. But could you tap in and use a plastic screw in plug with a little sealer? My Dad was a tight waud. He could run over a dime in the Highway and tell if it was on heads or tails. But then again I am about as bad.
With the possible fire risk isn’t the smart play to just replace it. You may risk losing your car or garage/house to a fire.
You "MIGHT" get lucky with just turning some things on,maybe starting it, but=driving and hitting a bump in the road....... Ever see/hear a battery explode? I have, and it isn't pleasant on the ears, or the carnage it leaves behind. I'm not in the "happened to me camp" in person, but have been close enough to feel the boom..... Do yourself a favor=buy a new battery,and chalk it up on the NOT to do list again........
I'm glad I am not the only one to do that. Hahaha! I just said to hell with it and went and bought a new battery and learned a lesson to not be a dumbass and move shit out of the way if I needed to drill a hole somewhere. I have been reminded of my mistake many times and smile and chuckle at what a dumbass I was. BTW, I was drilling a hole to put a hook from one of those black bungee cords to hold the battery in my old 9N.
Isn't life about taking chances !? A dab of silicone and keep moving. I wouldn't smoke a cigarette with my face toward the hole...or check it for leaks with a Zippo lighter... just be more careful next time. (IF there ever is a next time!) 6sally6
I don’t know if it would damage the battery, but I’d not have an issue tapping in a pressed fit 1/4 inch plug. Pretty sure the older screw on caps were vented weren’t they? I wouldn’t leave an open 1/4 inch hole in it though.
I am in the "it happened to me camp". I had an 8D battery (for those not in-the know, those are what start semi trucks) explode wile working about three feet from it. I lost 20% of my hearing in that ear, forever. The force was enough to blow one-third of the battery clear off, breaking the circuit, and preventing further electrical problems, but it broke up plastic and fiberglass parts and sprayed acid everywhere.
If that high-dollar battery has Lithium in it, get it out of the car now, and go put it outside, away from your house, on a concrete or pavement driveway.
My first car, an OT '69 MGB GT, had 2 6v under the back "seat". One day while out landing some pretty big air on a "roller coaster" road, one fell through the rusty battery box onto the exhaust. It landed right on a clamp with the bolt end facing up. It rapidly drilled a hole in the bottom of the battery, dumping the acid onto the hot exhaust. The steam cloud would kill you in a second. We were out in eight tenths. I ended up setting it up to run on 1 6v (wouldn't go on an open circuit), and driving home. I used an oil drain plug repair that looked like a big tire plug. I had to make the hole a little bigger. Refilled it with fresh acid and ran it for years. I just Google Image searched and I didn't see the same kind of plug. You stretched it over a punch and put it in the hole. Pull the punch out and it was in. We sold them at the Penn Jersey store I worked at. It outlasted the car. Mike
I take a chance just being here, and listening to the replies........ I'll even hold your beer while you demonstrate!
If it didn't hit any plates, and it isn't an AGM it should be fine with a plug. If an AGM it may work, but it's been compromised and most likely won't be very efficient for long.
When I worked at a station in the 80’s a lady got gas and “boom”. I went out and 2/3rds of the battery top was opened. No shards though, all intact. So I put on a new battery for her, noticed one of the cables was fairly loose. We used to write down what we sold on a sheet of paper. Oil etc. the mechanic at the station was 1/2 owner, so he looked at the the sheet and saw I sold a battery and we talked a bit about it. He said that the battery probably was out gassing fumes, the loose cable made a spark and bang. I think of that now and again and wonder if that explanation was correct. I’d think the spark would have had to happen inside the battery, not externally.
I hit the starter on my 1968 Plymouth Fury last week and the battery exploded., Sounded like a shotgun.
Could you check for a short by putting it on a battery charger and seeing how many amps it drew, especially after enough time that it should be down close to zero? You could run a set of jumper cables to it first to be at a safe distance, if there is concern about it blowing up.
The hole can be repaired. It will cost you very little to repair the hole. Glue and a piece of plastic, or soldering iron and a piece of plastic (a friends dad had a battery repair replace and or refurbish company). I have even seen them repaired with a tire patch. If it works you saved a buck and if it does not most likley the battery will go dead.
The battery casings are made of plastic,,,,,,,and if you study the tops,,,,they are glued on . Probably epoxy now . Many of the old batteries had a case sort of like hard rubber. Anyway,,,,,yes,,,it can easily be repaired . And the battery explosions are from external spark . Usually from jumper cables,,,sometimes from loose connections as well . Many years ago,,,,,I was starting my dads old Allis Chalmers loader,,,,,,went boom . Couldn’t hear much for a few days,,,,it’s like a shotgun going off near your ears . Anyway,,,it was from the jumper cables,,,,,as soon as I touched the terminal,,,sparks and instant boom . Saved by the top cross brace in the battery box,,,,,,,heavy equipment has huge everything’s. The battery blew out the side instead of the top coming off . Internal shorts result in a dead battery . Replace it or repair it,,,it’s your money,,,,,,it will be fine as it is ,,if sealer is applied . Tommy
In the mid '70's my room mate and I were mechanics at a local service station. He had a shiny plasticy looking jacket that one of the parts jobbers gave him. Might have been for Standard ignition products but not sure. Anyway one day he was leaning across the top of a battery making some type of adjustment to a running engine and boom! the battery exploded. Luckily he was able to peel of the jacket and hose himself down before he suffered any real acid burns. We all assumed that the static electricity caused a spark that ignited the battery fumes. Never knew for sure but after that none of us in the shop wore a similar jacket.
I have seen smaller holes repaired with silicone seal. I have managed to blow up two in my time. Both like you said with jumper cables. Both were 6V and did not get replaced. Cheaper to convert to 12v at the time.
The reality is, it really depends on what that drill bit made contact with inside of the battery. If the drill bit hit two plates at once, it likely shorted those two cell in the battery out (the burning smell). The good news is once you pulled the drill bit out from between the plates, you likely removed the direct short (though the drill could have jammed the plate parts together), the damage to the battery has been done. With 2 the shorted cells, the battery won't have enough power to start the motor. Charging it probably won't make any difference. The battery is toast. Just for the record, I wouldn't take a chance recharging that battery, replace it. Battery explosions are nothing to toy with, and you know your battery has been damaged because it wouldn't start the car and you smelled smoke. Before you install your new battery, you will want to be sure the bolt you put through that hole you drilled hole won't be making contact with the top of the battery. This might be time to choose a different location for that bolt. After you install your new battery, you may want to mark the floor with a "do not drill in this area" sign around where the battery is, for future reference. Include the area the battery cable are close to the floor in your drawing as well.
Don't feel too badly about the "senior moment", my buddy just drove a 4 inch long lag screw through his 4 inch PVC sewer line, while installing some shelves in his garage.
Many years ago I repaired a battery that fell into the cooling fins of an alternator while the engine was running, it carved out the plastic case 1/2” x 2 1/2” long. I repaired it using plastic from an old battery using a soldering iron, we added fresh acid to the cell and it was good to go.
Why don't you tell us what kind of "high dollar battery" it is? Since you said acid appeared on the bit, we can assume it's not a lithium battery, or a gel type battery. An AGM battery would be less likely to have discernible acid on the bit, since the glass mat would tend to wick away any acid from the bit. Can you tell how far into the battery the bit went? Construction is basically the same, except for the glass mat vs liquid between the plates. Why would it affect an AGM more?
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