Battery Explosion!
Discussion
Hi Folks,
As the title suggests, I've had a catastrophic failure of my battery this morning.
I went to get the Chim out of the garage and give it a little run before heading to Chatsworth tomorrow, and as soon as I put the ignition lights on there was a MASSIVE bang from the bulkhead area.
Smoke started coming up from under the dash area so I quickly pushed the car out into the open so it didn't burn my garage down.
Expecting a fire, I was about to get the wife to ring the fire brigade but as an immediate precaution I decided to try and disconnect the battery first, but then the smoke started clearing and the panic was over.
I dug the battery out and as I was disconnecting the terminals I noticed the top of the battery casing had blown off.
Further investigation after I removed it from its GRP casing showed the sides of the battery had shattered too.
If it hadn't been for the fact the battery is contained in a fibreglass case then the damage could have gone further.
The supplier was extremely surprised to hear of the battery explosion and have replaced it under warranty - the battery was only 16 months old.
I've just fitted the new battery and although the engine would turn over it wouldn't fire - the fuel pump wasn't priming. It turns out, the fuel pump relays had blown too.
The relays have just been replaced for some good spare one's I had, and the car is now up and running, but I think I need to go and change my underwear now - when the battery exploded it went with such a bang.
Overall, a lucky escape I think, the damage could have been a lot worse. When it wouldn't fire up I was fearing a blown ECU.
As the title suggests, I've had a catastrophic failure of my battery this morning.
I went to get the Chim out of the garage and give it a little run before heading to Chatsworth tomorrow, and as soon as I put the ignition lights on there was a MASSIVE bang from the bulkhead area.
Smoke started coming up from under the dash area so I quickly pushed the car out into the open so it didn't burn my garage down.
Expecting a fire, I was about to get the wife to ring the fire brigade but as an immediate precaution I decided to try and disconnect the battery first, but then the smoke started clearing and the panic was over.
I dug the battery out and as I was disconnecting the terminals I noticed the top of the battery casing had blown off.
Further investigation after I removed it from its GRP casing showed the sides of the battery had shattered too.
If it hadn't been for the fact the battery is contained in a fibreglass case then the damage could have gone further.
The supplier was extremely surprised to hear of the battery explosion and have replaced it under warranty - the battery was only 16 months old.
I've just fitted the new battery and although the engine would turn over it wouldn't fire - the fuel pump wasn't priming. It turns out, the fuel pump relays had blown too.
The relays have just been replaced for some good spare one's I had, and the car is now up and running, but I think I need to go and change my underwear now - when the battery exploded it went with such a bang.
Overall, a lucky escape I think, the damage could have been a lot worse. When it wouldn't fire up I was fearing a blown ECU.
Yeah it had been on trickle charge, but I did notice before attempting to start the car that the charger was still lit on amber, which I thought was a little strange as I would've expected it to be showing green by now - the car was last used about a fortnight ago.
I suspect the battery was the victim and the charger may be the root cause?
I daren't use the trickle charger now, I'm going to try a different battery conditioner instead.
I suspect the battery was the victim and the charger may be the root cause?
I daren't use the trickle charger now, I'm going to try a different battery conditioner instead.
Like you guys suggest, I would have expected a lot of liquid mess in the footwell and battery tray, but there was a notable lack of battery acid, it's all dry in the footwell - not a drop of acid.
There was a very tiny dribble in the bottom of the tray, and when I lifted the remains of the battery out of its tray a little acid spilt out, but generally speaking its all dry which points to the trickle charger fault perhaps?
I'm guessing it didn't shut off after reaching peak condition and continued to force feed the battery till it dried out and bent the plates inside.
I'm no electrician so happy to be corrected.
The trickle charger is (was) a good one, I bought it through the TVRCC in around 2007-ish, but I did have some electrical trouble around 16 months ago when the battery was last replaced.
I initially bought a Lucas battery but the charger always stayed on Amber suggesting a dud battery so that was replaced under warranty - twice, before I got my money back and switched to a Yuassa unit which after a day or so showed green on the trickle charger.
I thought that would be the last of the problem but clearly not.
There was a very tiny dribble in the bottom of the tray, and when I lifted the remains of the battery out of its tray a little acid spilt out, but generally speaking its all dry which points to the trickle charger fault perhaps?
I'm guessing it didn't shut off after reaching peak condition and continued to force feed the battery till it dried out and bent the plates inside.
I'm no electrician so happy to be corrected.
The trickle charger is (was) a good one, I bought it through the TVRCC in around 2007-ish, but I did have some electrical trouble around 16 months ago when the battery was last replaced.
I initially bought a Lucas battery but the charger always stayed on Amber suggesting a dud battery so that was replaced under warranty - twice, before I got my money back and switched to a Yuassa unit which after a day or so showed green on the trickle charger.
I thought that would be the last of the problem but clearly not.
It's an Accumate that I've been using, and it's been fine for years, but I daren't trust it anymore so I think I'll get one of the CTEK battery conditioners mentioned above.
I friend of mine stores his VX220 in my garage next to the Chim, and that's been connected to a CTEK for over a year now and it's perfectly fine.
If that doesn't solve the problem, and considering what others have mentioned above, then I'd have to question the suitability of the Yuasa.
I friend of mine stores his VX220 in my garage next to the Chim, and that's been connected to a CTEK for over a year now and it's perfectly fine.
If that doesn't solve the problem, and considering what others have mentioned above, then I'd have to question the suitability of the Yuasa.
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