The one that blew up on me was my fault. I was installing a new battery on my neighbor's car and connected the Positive last (I knew better) and the wrench grounded. I also had my face over the battery (stupid x2). Fortunately, I had gl***es on and did a full rinse immediately. This happened in 1975 just after the fall of Saigon. My neighbor had bought what he thought was the only Ford Falcon to make it out of Vietnam. Painted Navy grey, 6cyl, and no options...last heard the car was in Baltimore...
I thought you were supposed to charge them with the caps off. Like said the last connection you make is the ground on the engine, so sparks are away from battery. You guys ever see some one hitting a battery terminal with a wrench? Or prying on it? Thats how to break the connection inside the battery, and it sparks.
Damn. I must live a sheltered life. I don't remember ever hearing about one explode. From the descriptions, I hope it stays that way here.
my brother in law has a 12 year old battery in his boat. hooked to a battery tender. last time he had the boat in for something he told the guy to check the battery because it was so old, the guy told him it was fine. at what point do they usually explode? 15 years?
batteries arent anything to play with. a lot of people dont realize how dangerous they can be sometimes. i'm not gonna sit here and tell you i'm an expert, but in my experience, my rule of thumb is, if a battery is sweaty looking, swollen, or has the h2s rotten egg smell, dont mess with it too much! just get rid of it. dont even bother trying to charge it or test it. around 1994 i was head drain plug stripper at the local walmart lube shop. (hey, we all gotta start somwhere!) a guy brought in a battery that smelled bad. i set it on the floor and squatted over it while i hooked up the leads from our battery tester. still squatting, with this battery about one foot from my nuts, i watched the load tester screen as it put a load on the battery. under load the screen read something like 2v. i stood up before it was done to tell the customer it was bad. as soon as i did BOOOM!!! we both were covered in a cloud! later i found the caps out in the parking lot. from then on i play it safe. if in doubt the price of a new battery is far cheaper than an eye, or hand (or nut). (by the way, swollen, sweaty, and rotten smelling reminds me of an old girlfriend) just my two cents y'all
Had a battery explode on in my racecar one night coming down the return road back to the pits. Scared the shiz out of me. Still dont know what caused it but i do know all i run now is Gel-cell optima batteries.
Geeze, after hearing about the fan explosions in a previous thread and now batterys, make you wonder. I've been working on cars for over 40 years and never had either happen but heard about it. Had a air bag blow on me thou.
I've seen 2 of them blow. Either one could have killed a person and one I was just over while he was cranking a few minutes earlier, put a chunk of plastic through the hood right where my face had been the next time he started it.
Not trying to be critical, but more helpful, batteries explode when a spark is introduced, either a loose terminal, or...wires routed to the battery post. The only thing that should be hooked to a battery are the cables. If you need constant power for an accessory, follow the positive cable to the business end and hook your wire there, looks cleaner and more professional, also helps avoid explosions. Just my thoughts.
Had a cap blow off a battery while driving once. Sounded like a small shotgun. Pulled over put the cap back on and drove on, not sure why it did it, and never did it again.
Late one night about ten years ago I was unlocking a car at a movie theatre (I used to drive a tow truck) for a customer after the place had closed up for the night. A bunch of employees were standing around the lot talking. One guy went to leave and when he turned the key on in his Mazda the battery exploded. It sounded like a shotgun and all the theatre employees dove on the ground thinking there was a driveby shooting or something. I also witnessed batterys in three different Lexus 300's blow up. I never did hear if there was something wrong with that specific model (other than the fact that it's a Lexus ) but I always warned the new guys to be extra careful with those.
Surprised to not hear anyone speak of the aftermath of an exploded battery. Has anyone ever had very good luck keeping a car after one has boiled over, or popped in it? I've seen the aftermath, even after they were immediately cleaned with an acid neutralizer, and have to say, even if I really liked the car I would consider getting rid of it if a battery blew up inside the engine bay. Over the years working at an auto parts store we had a few battery casings fail.... I used cans of neutralizer (cleaner), and tons of water. It didn't seem to me that you could ever really get it all, and what remained just destroyed anything in its' path.
It sounds like they go just after a fresh charge, wouldn't it be advisable to leave it to vent a while before starting, may only be 30 mins or so but that's better than having it go pop on ya. Scotty.
A battery tender on a battery 6 months old, Why. Just disconnect the battery if sitting for long piriods of time. I`d blow up too if I was 100% charged all the time. What is the longest lifespam somebody has gotten out of a battery using a battery tender. And how often do you use them on your cars. I`m sorry, I guess I`m not sold on them yet. I have 3 batteries in my car and it sits for 4 to 5 months a year. The other two are for the hydraulics. Just switch the battery disconnect off under the seat.
I pulled the pan plugs and washed the trunk. later took the degreaser and scrubbed it again. No Issues, and I have been driving it for over 12 years, 6 since the battery.
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