Re: Audi Gods strike--my battery exploded!!!!!

[mike posner <posne@cts.com>]

At 01:04 AM 9/5/97 -0400, Elliott Potter wrote:
>Car A: 1989 Ford Escort
>Car B: 1993 Audi 90CS
>
>Car A is not starting, and it seems to have a flat battery.  No problem,
>I decided to give him a jump.  We conencted the cables exactly as
>specified by the directions written on the Autobahn battery in my Audi. 
>The Ford doesn't start, same problems.  So, we disconnect the cables,
>again following the procedure printed on the battery.  Then we drove the
>car no more than 5 minutes, stopped it for no more than 10 minutes,
>started it again, drove again no more than 5 minutes, then stopped for
>about an hour.
>
>When I went to get in the car then, the remote locks worked fine, I got
>in the car, turned the key, and *BAM!!!!* the car lurches, the lights
>all go out, and *smoke starts coming from under the hood*!!!
>
>I opened the hood to find the decorative plastic cover that went on top
>of the battery was cracked and misplaced, and *the top of the battery
>had blown off!!!*  Not just the part that you take off to add water, but
>the *whole top half of the battery*.
>
>There was no actual fire, or sparks.  It just seems that there was a lot
>of pressure that built up inside the battery.
>
>Hmmm....
>
>This definitely put a damper on the evening........
>
>Anyway, does anybody have any suggestions on how this might have
>happened?  The battery was an Autobahn battery that I got from the
>dealer, it was the maintenance free type.  It's still very much under
>warranty, but that's not what worries me.
>
>Is there a chance that something else was damaged when the battery blew
>up (I use the term "blew up," there was no actual fire though)?  I've
>gone around and doused the whole area with baking soda so I don't think
>I'm going to worry about body damage, but what about other sensitive
>components, i.e. the ABS system or the alternator?
>
>I wonder if this has anything to do with my A/C ;)
>naaaaahhh....
>
>Thanks in advance
>
>Elliott
>
>Elliott:  Sounds like you had smaller version,of the Hindenberg
minus the flames . Batteries tend to be most prone to blowing when the
electrolyte
level is low and the H gas is high. Spark from distributor likely source of
ignition.
I would think the main force of the blast would have been upward, but make
sure any residual h2s04 is washed off. Luckey the blast didn't occur at
hook up.  Another good reason for connecting the neg. cable to a metal
structure away from the battery.Mike