Just wanted to ask if any one has every heard of a battery exploding?

I recieved a call not an hour ago from a freind stating that he had stopped for some gas. Filled it up, then as soon as he got back into the car, and turned the ignition on (not the starter) he heard a loud crack/explosion. Checked it out, turned out the battery exploded.

The car was running fine, No switching of the battery terminals, and no elves (sp) under the hood. I came by and give him my battery to get him home and it started up just fine.

Now I've heard of battery's exploding but never while the hood was closed, and the car had been running fine before. You guys got any ideas?

By the way: Car 92 civic hb w/ B18b OEM honda battery

 

Wow man, dunno what to say 'cept I hope he finds out the problem. Maybe it was a sudden surge or something? All the cables and such were in good condition?

........or perhaps........maybe it WAS the elves.

 

let me guess... big joes battery blew up RJ? hahahaaha....what a piece of crap...

Lolz@BigJoes.battery


Modified by DOHCtorTHRUST at 7:34 AM 2/8/2004

 

That's weird, I honestly don't think I've ever seen a car battery explode. That would be really shitty. ..How old was the battery?

 

obviously you dont know this car... im laughing my *** off right now...lolz

 

is it a piece? lol that sounds pretty crazy

 

Snap! Page three after only aproximantely 12 hours.... Forum too fast!

In all honestly, its not that bad. Its dirty as hell, and lots of quick fabrication, but I wouldn't see that explaining why it exploded. Nonetheless does anybody have any clue about why it happened? He does have a system.....

It was an OEM battery, had been sitting for like 6 months before, but was in his car for about 4 months till it went ka bloom.

 

That is weird, I ahve never heard of a battery exploding except for when they are left on a charger for too long or something like that, but this obviously wasnt what happened to your friend.

 

DId the car die??

my rx7 runs too rich it makes a loud **BANG** which sounds just like a shotgun going off everytime I let it sits for few day!!

 

same thing happened to my roomates 96 accord. the original honda battery "blew up" after 55kmi. i made a small dent in the hood, and spilled acid everywhere. get some baking soda ASAP so the acid doesnt eat away stuff under the hood. regular tap water will help a bit too


**edit**
forgot to add: he had his bumper lights "relayed" to stay on. there was probably a short in the wiring (unfused) that caused excessive drain on the battery. he replaced the battery, and the car was fine afterwords


Modified by dantastic at 4:41 PM 2/8/2004

 

well any sort of spark in the engine bay could set off the explosion. batteries give off explosive gases, small amounts but still flammable.

edit: don't know if maint. free sealed batteries give off gasses...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tominos &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well any sort of spark in the engine bay could set off the explosion. batteries give off explosive gases, small amounts but still flammable.

edit: don't know if maint. free sealed batteries give off gasses...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, thats what my dad says. Gases from the battery are flamable, and it just could have had a wrong spark at the wrong time.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HATCHingMN &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">DId the car die??

my rx7 runs too rich it makes a loud **BANG** which sounds just like a shotgun going off everytime I let it sits for few day!!</TD></TR></TABLE>

The car did not start, he turned on the key to his accessories settings, and then it blew.

Keep the comments coming, it will atleast bump this topic to the top so that others who haven't seen it might be able to solve the caper.

 

My friends 91 Eclipse had that happen. It ended up being something with the alternator, but it exploded while she was driving, and acid was everywhere under the hood.

 

last try....

back to page one! Any other want to comment before I let this one drift and die?

 

damn, thats scary

 

The battery in my gf's VW Beetle blew up. She was trying to go up my driveway and stalled it. Then she started it up and *booooom*. Everything went dead and I heard fluid leaking from the engine bay. I opened up the hood and sure enough, the battery was blown. I ran and got the water hose to water down the engine bay so none of the acid would corrode anything.

I dont think it was an alternator issue. Bought a new battery for her car and it's been fine. This was about 2 years ago.

 

Batteries like to explode the most when they are low on water. Nothing is wrong with the car. It just happens. For future reference just keep the battery topped off with distilled water.

BTW: I have seen many exploded batteries and even had to douse one of our mechanics because one exploded while he was under the hood.