Why NOT to ignore that flashing BAtt. Light

[SHO93OFF]

MY BATTERY EXPLODED ! ! ! , I'd been getting a flashing battery light along with other flashing lights abs/airbag, flashing eatc. soo i figure is a bad relay or dirty alt. connector or somthing stupid like that since the car was running fine besides the lights flashing. So i put it off for about 4 days telling myself id check it out when i got the chance, soo about 4 days later i get around to doing a charging system check and it turns out the alt. has been overcharging at over 17 volts, (battery checked out fine), soo i say to my self, "gee that cant be good ill buy a alt. on payday", on the way home, same day, iam cruising along and then BANG !, i pull over look under the hood (nighttime) i see nothing wierd and shes still running, i figured i must of hit somthing, i wasnt until 2 days later when i smell a strong egg odor from under my hood that i realized my battery exploded, the top was just sitting there i could see the liquid inside thats when i realized the big bang was actually my battery exploding, i thought is was kinda crazy that it still ran fine for two days after that, any how i could of probably saved myself a new battery if id checked into the light right away

 

[Mr95Gl]

Clean out that battey acid ASAP!

 

[SHOZ123]

And that liquid is sulfuric acid. Get some sudsy ammonia and pour all over every thing to neutralize the acid. Then rinse thoroughly with water.

 

[SHO93OFF]

hmm, say i dont clean up the little mess the explosion left ?

 

[Kilty423]

could eat up wires or other vital parts in the engine bay....

 

[SHOZ123]

The acid will dry out and then when the compartment cools it will absorb moisture and be reactivated. It will just keep on eating away at metal until the metal is gone.......

 

[Storm-Chaser]

You [had] what is referred to as thermal runaway.

When a battery is either over-charged, or a weak battery is rapidly charged, it generates considerable internal heat. Once the internal battery temperature reaches a certain temperature, it results in the battery self-discharging due to changes in the chemistry of the battery acid solution. This in-turn signals the charging system to continue charging, which further heats the battery acid solution to the point it boils and then explodes from the excessive pressure generated by the heat and resulting sulphuric gas.

So now you know what the idiot lights and check engine light are for . . . .

. . . . (it's not for procastinating, btw)

Oh, and by procastinating not fully cleaning the battery acid - it can result in damage to the A/C compressor, belts, crank sensor, fuel lines, right-rear subframe bushing, and numerous wire harnesses . . . .

MY BATTERY EXPLODED ! ! ! , I'd been getting a flashing battery light along with other flashing lights abs/airbag, flashing eatc. soo i figure is a bad relay or dirty alt. connector or somthing stupid like that since the car was running fine besides the lights flashing. So i put it off for about 4 days telling myself id check it out when i got the chance, soo about 4 days later i get around to doing a charging system check and it turns out the alt. has been overcharging at over 17 volts, (battery checked out fine), soo i say to my self, "gee that cant be good ill buy a alt. on payday", on the way home, same day, iam cruising along and then BANG !, i pull over look under the hood (nighttime) i see nothing wierd and shes still running, i figured i must of hit somthing, i wasnt until 2 days later when i smell a strong egg odor from under my hood that i realized my battery exploded, the top was just sitting there i could see the liquid inside thats when i realized the big bang was actually my battery exploding, i thought is was kinda crazy that it still ran fine for two days after that, any how i could of probably saved myself a new battery if id checked into the light right away

 

[SHO93OFF]

Could the battery exploding been avoided?,adding water,etc..

Also is it ok if i just spray around the engine bay with some brake cleaner or somthing of the sort ?

 

[TT SHO PROJECT]

hmm, say i dont clean up the little mess the explosion left ?

iv had a battery expload on me before... almost blew the hood off... just started the car gave it a good 7krpm rev and shut it off and BANG! goes the battery ..... on another note when i got my SHO the battery was rubbing agenst the alt pulley and it was leaking everywhere but still working for years to come lol but the acid that leaks rusted everything it touched so YES Clean that crap out ASAP! wont take long before everythings messed up from teh acid. bakeing soda works well to **** the acid.... pretty much anything thats a Base will work. but please clean it out or the outcome wont be pretty. plus if you ever do anything to the car do you really want acid burns on your skin?


just me 2 cents.

 

[TT SHO PROJECT]

Could the battery exploding been avoided?,adding water,etc..

Also is it ok if i just spray around the engine bay with some brake cleaner or somthing of the sort ?

No you need to nueturlize (spelling?) the acid with a "BASE" of some sort. simple chemistry. bakeing soda is a BASE im pretty sure amonia is a BASE... if you dont Nuetralize it then it will keep eating away at everything.

 

[Kens1992mtxSHO]

Ammonia and baking soda are good things to clean (Neutralize) acid. FYI- using another chemical that you don't necessarily know the ph of or what it's chemical composition is, could result in a nice chemical fire that water won't put out. Just use the ammonia, it's your best bet.

 

[Storm-Chaser]

I agree - use ammonia. And when you think you have it all removed, then spray it all down with CRC Technician Grade Battery Cleaner (CRC No. 05023).

CRC No. 05023 Battery Cleaner with acid indicator
​

This cleaner uses a yellow foaming spray that turns pink/red if there is *any* remanent battery acid. You'll be surprised how much is still there, even after you think you've thoroughly cleaned the area. The cleaner is available at Advance Auto and O'Reilly's, but not AutoZone.

Also, don't forget to clean the under-side of the car and the passenger rear subframe bushing, as well as the battery cables, and the A/C compressor, wire harness, and wire harness connector.

 

[AREA 91]

Baking soda is cheap.

 

[SHOZ123]

But baking soda will not get into all the areas that the acid has gotten into. Sudsy ammonia is like $0.70 a quart, just be sure to wash everything off with water afterward whatever you use and that the battery is disconnected when dousing the affected areas.

 

[Tommy's SHO]

Guys another reason not to ignore an overcharging alternater is that you can actually blow the headlights.
Happened to me tonight on the highway right after the flashing of the EATC, Airbag, ABS lights and then there it was.....no headlights blew them both out (Sylvania Silverstars) from the high voltage. The high voltage came in spikes where it seemed at instances that I was highbeamng people with the low beams. It was weird seeing the dash light up so much too......I figured it probabbly had a 20-30 volt spike when headlamps blew.

I'm changing the alternator tomorrow.

and.....where's the headlamp fuse? I want to make sure it isn't that before I buy new bulbs.

Thanks.