My Battery "Blew Up!!"

[ChevyNick]

Hey everyone, I've posted this exact post on a few other forums. I figure I might as well share it with you guys as well since it was a rather odd experience for me. I'm just going to copy and paste what I wrote on other forums.

Hey guys. I thought this was a rather interesting event... Not sure if this is the correct forum but it'll work for now haha.

Went to leave work today, turn the key, chime... chime... chime (like I always do to let the fuel pump run) and then turn the key and POW!!!!! Sounded like a fire cracker just went off! I was like what in the world?? Popped the hood to find my battery steaming like crazy and all the caps were blown off it.

I'll save the middle of the story as it's the boring "so a guy drove me home and when my dad got home we bought a new battery blah blah blah"...

Has anyone ever experienced this before? The lady at O'Rileys said one of the cells went bad in the battery and the alternator kept charging it and charging it until the cell finally said "i can't take this anymore" and went boom. She said a battery light should have come on a while before the battery went boom. Also, she said the battery gauge should have been abnormal. My battery light was never on and the gauge always read either 14 +- one tick. Any truth to what she said?

Here is a picture I took after my dad removed the battery. I guess he put the caps back on? I was filling up buckets of water while he was removing the battery so we could wash away all the acid that was all over the engine bay. But yeah so he put the new battery in and it fired right up, ran rough for a moment before the computer came back to life. All is well now.

[GhOsT1321]

Re: My Battery "Blew Up!!"

If just one cell went bad then the battery light may not come on. Depending on the car, the battery light is set to come on at a certain voltage and or amperage. 14 +/- .1 assumable soungs a bit low. IIRC, my Ford Escort is 14.5-14.6 measured with a voltmeter.
One cell went bad, but it seems that It held its charge, otherwise your voltage should have dropped 2 volts or so; that or your alternator was able to put enough back into the battery for it to maintain ~14v.
Have you had your charging system checked?
I don't see why a faulty alternator couldn't overcharge your battery, however, an alternator usually burns out before that happens.

Also regarding cleaning the acid, using water is next to useless. Not that it doesn't help rinse it off, but the moment that the water mixes with acid, the water is turned nearly as acidic as the acid; even if you use many times the amount of water to wash away the acid.
I would inspect where the acid touched for any types of etching. If there is any etching, rinse it away with a baking soda and water mixture, if any excessive bubbling is present when the solution touches the etched surface, dried acid was still on the surface.

[ChevyNick]

Was using Simple Green and Megs APC+ worthless then? Because we "saturated" the effected areas with that also. Slightly above or below 14 volts is where you want to be as far as I know and have read.

I still need to get out there and check to see the voltage with the engine on. My dad worked late tonight and has the meter in his work van so I won't be checking it tonight that is for sure.

[Murr1525]

Re: My Battery "Blew Up!!"

Yeah, lots of water, like running from a hose for a while would be needed. APC is acidic, so not helping. Just a lot of water is probably best, and easiest.

[GhOsT1321]

Re: My Battery "Blew Up!!"

The cleaners that you used were acidic as well. In terms of acidity, they did not help.
I forgot to mention, have your starter checked as well (Advance Auto Parts has the most thorough test I have seen).
When a starter's solenoid starts to go, it requires more voltage to engage when you try to start your vehicle, stressing your battery more than usual. This is why many people end up replacing both a battery and an alternator for a starter problem. First the battery wont start the car due to the increased voltage and current required, then the starter drains the new battery because sometimes the solenoid may not disengage or have a short in it. After that they cant find out the problem and it usually ends up being the starter.

[ca2kjet]

Re: My Battery "Blew Up!!"

Just wanted to chime in here and say that APC (and APC+) is not acidic and is actually quite the opposite. Just because something is a strong cleaner is not an indicator of acidity.

I should add though, that since APC is an alkaline, it didn't neutralize the battery's alkaline. Ironically, if APC was actually acidic it would be have been a good choice. Live and learn though... :-)

[GhOsT1321]

Re: My Battery "Blew Up!!"

APC+ is indeed basic on inspection of the MSDS. Thank you for that correction.
Although many batteries are called alkaline batteries, that is a different type of alkaline. Not in reference to alkalinity, in fact, batteries rely on acid and usually a strong acid to conduct electricity.
A standard car battery is not alkaline, it's a lead acid type of battery.
I looked up my battery awhile ago (Autozone red top) and it contains Sulfuric Acid, 35% by mass.
The term Alkaline battery is in reference to the second column on the Periodic Table of Elements, known as Alkaline Earth Metals.

[ca2kjet]

Re: My Battery "Blew Up!!"

Ah, you are correct GhOst1321, sorry for further confusing the situation. My brain wasn't firing on all cylinders this morning. I wonder though, what is the pH level of a standard car battery and would APC be of any help in terms of neutralizing it?