Battery Exploded

[Craig]

Went out to start the Vette this evening. It's been on a battery tender since I haven't been driving it. I last started it about two weeks ago. Got in, turned the key, huge bang, lots of smoke, split the lower fender skirt pretty good. Blew much of the negative side casing off the battery. This ever happened to anyone else?

[MrPeabody]

I seem to remember an epic thread on CF a few years ago with some people arguing that it was absolutely impossible for this to happen. I've seen it happen twice, not on a battery tender but a regular battery charger. Some scary shit.

[Craig]

I don't remember how old the battery is/was. The receipt was in a packing slip stuck to the side, it's now soaked in acid; I'd guess four or five years old at least. I'm guessing H2 gas built up inside case and there was an arc across the plates when I hit the starter. There was still a little current coming through it for a couple of minutes, before I got it disconnected.

[OddBall]

SHIT!

[Rob]

Have you got the stains out of your pants yet?

[Kerrmudgeon]

I've never seen that happen to a battery unless it was on a charger, and that was once about 40 years ago, almost blinded this mechanic. You just need one tiny spark if those gases are present. If you didn't have a tender it wouldn't have happened.

Did you disconnect the tender before you tried to start it?

[Craig]

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I had left it on the tender when I started it, but I had done that in the past; I won't do it again. In fact, the tender is going in the trash. I'll just make sure I start everything at least twice a month. I expect the age of the battery had something to do with it.

Did it scare the crap out of me? I'd say it was more dread than fear. There was enough smoke that it occurred to me that I might need to push it out of the garage if it was actually on fire.

I got the battery out of the car and I cleaned up all the acid. I'll put a new battery in it this weekend and hopefully it will start. The split fender skirt is probably going to be my biggest problem, the car was re-sprayed in the 90s so getting a good match is an issue.

I think the car is getting back at me for buying the Porsche.

[mrvette]

Shit!!!! that's a damn shame......

My only comment is that the last time I put a battery in the '72 vette was maybe a couple years ago, the trick is this last time I bought a marine deep cycle battery, because they designed to set long time without tending, same as would put into a motor home.......in fact the marine battery was about 25 bux cheaper than the 24 series battery with side mount terminals, all I did was take the bolts outta the cable ends, and use the studs on the marine battery...worked like a charm.....

[Bill]

I was wondering if being hooked to the charger while cranking the engine was the proximate cause of the explosion. I can't see how, since we are talking about milli-amps, assuming it was actively charging at the time, but still, that's the only thing that makes sense.

[VITE1]

At least you did not get hurt. I had my vette on a trickle charger for months at a time in NH and down here in Fl when i was commuting. I never had an issue.The charger just plugged into the lighter plug.

[VatorMan]

I'd love to know the make of the battery. Was it a Delco ? I've seen that happen with wet cell batteries from the off gassing. Have never seen that with a gel cell or maintenance free.

[Craig]

The battery was from NAPA, maintenance free.

[VatorMan]

Originally Posted by Craig

The battery was from NAPA, maintenance free.

Read THIS : I've learned something new today. It's about using Auto batteries for generators, but the principle is the same.

https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/__da...plosionsv3.pdf

Basically it says that trickle charging maintenance free batteries boil the water out and caused your explosion.

[Craig]

Originally Posted by VatorMan

Read THIS : I've learned something new today. It's about using Auto batteries for generators, but the principle is the same.

https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/__da...plosionsv3.pdf

Basically it says that trickle charging maintenance free batteries boil the water out and caused your explosion.

Hey everybody, read this; it's very relevant as many of us are using trickle chargers on maintenance free batteries. This likely explains why I have a problem.

[lspencer534]

I've had it happen, and the battery wasn't on any kind of charger. I was about 2 hours out of town, stopped to get a Coke, got back in the car, turned the key and heard an explosion like a shot gun. Thankfully the battery was in the trunk under a panel, and acid didn't coat everything. Battery was destroyed, but it tried to keep operating the power windows. Creepy.

[son93sl2]

Originally Posted by VatorMan

Read THIS : I've learned something new today. It's about using Auto batteries for generators, but the principle is the same.

https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/__da...plosionsv3.pdf

Basically it says that trickle charging maintenance free batteries boil the water out and caused your explosion.

Arn't most car batteries maintenance free these days? What about AGM batteries?

[The_Dude]

Happened to my wife about a month ago. We had the '84 Mustang on a battery tender for months. She went to start it and the battery blew the caps off. No damage, thankfully.

[onedef92]

Whoa! Thank God no one was hurt. I kept my Vette on the trickle charger when I had it, but fortunately never had a battery explode on me. I never tried to start it with the charger connected, though.

[NCC-1701]

Originally Posted by Craig

Went out to start the Vette this evening. It's been on a battery tender since I haven't been driving it. I last started it about two weeks ago. Got in, turned the key, huge bang, lots of smoke, split the lower fender skirt pretty good. Blew much of the negative side casing off the battery. This ever happened to anyone else?

I had a battery blow up in one of my Trans Am's sounded like a shotgun blast. That is why I always very cautious when I handle a car battery.

[island14]

You do know that all car, truck, and helicopter batteries should be replaced every three years don'tcha..