poulosd

What would cause a 4 and one half year old battery to blow up while on a cytek charger? I have not had any trouble or noticeable leakage or corrosion. I have not driven the car for about 3 weeks. I have used the charger for four years without any problems. I came out this morning to disconnect the charger and the top of the battery was blown off and acid was on the grarage floor. When I removed the battery, it was still half full of acid. Thank goodness battery acid did not get on the outside paint. Any thoughts or suggestions?

1 of 220

Sounds like the charger failed!

Take pictures and contact Cytek to see what they will do for you.

Landru

Glad to hear neither the car was damaged OR you injured.

Contact CYTEC asap, they need to hear about this.

okie08vette

Was the battery still in the car or had you removed it to charge it?

poulosd

The battery was still in the car. I didn't do anything different than I have been doing for the past 4 years. Last time I drove the car I simply connected the charger and lowered the good so that it does not close completely.

RJRSW

There may be other damage to the car including wiring, cables, electronics and frame damage that will need to be repaired when a battery blows up while installed in a vette.

http://tech.corvettecentral.com/2011...tery-concerns/

http://www.teamzr1.com/ubbthreads/ub...at&Number=2043

Geno94

I was a high school auto shop teacher for many years. A charging battery generates hydrogen gas which is explosive but requires a spark to set it off. Also, the higher the charging amps, the greater the amount of gas generated. You didn't say how big your charger is in amps. It is probably more likely that the battery had an internal defect such as a small break in the connectors, than that a small charger could have blown it up. I would be doing a very careful removal of what is left of the old battery. (Eye protection, rubber gloves, rubber apron etc) This stuff is hard on skin, paint, wires, metal and a bunch of other substances. Then I would be washing down the underhood and engine compartment and using baking soda or some acid neutralizer in copious amounts and hose water and scrubbing. This is best done as soon after the explosion as possible. The acid reactions happen very quickly.
I guess I've seen three batteries blow up in my life and first concern is always any people who got sprayed. Getting into a shower immediately and stripping while flushing with soap and water is a very good approach. Attend to the vehicle next.
I would be surprised if the charger caused this if it was a small one. Batteries deteriorate with age and can develop an internal gap in the circuit which can allow a spark. Good luck on the clean-up and let us know if you learn anything about it.

Steve_R

This. The other question to the OP is if you are absolutely, 100%, without a doubt sure you didn't hook the charger up backwards.

Vette5.5

Could be the charger, but probably the battery shorted internally. Sold a C5 with a nearly new Exide Orbital(similar to an Optima), and later heard the battery blew up. Thought I was doing a favor with the new battery, but the battery was definitely the problem, as guy replaced it, and everything was fine.

poulosd

I am 100% sure that the cytek 3300 "tender" was correctly connected since I have a "quick connect". There is only one way a person can snap the connectors together.

Old buckeye

With what you indicate, it sounds like it would be wise to replace the battery in a 2009 with the original battery. Never had issues with it but after 4 years, maybe it should be replaced. Would welcome comments on this. Having a battery blow up I think is very unusual but would never want to deal with the results.

cclive

The lack of damage to the paint is not nearly as important as the possible damage to wiring harnesses below the battery. You need to get in there ASAP and start rinsing with water and lots of baking soda.

su8pack1

Clogged vents on battery, charger overcharging..... I had one blow on me many years ago, not pretty, and very loud. The regulator failed on this one.

CyberGrayGS

I had a battery explode on a C4 I had. I backed it out of the garage and shut it off while waiting for my wife. When I restarted it, the battery blew, taking out the cruise control just above it and dripping acid all over the place. I had the car hauled into a repair shop, and once the battery was checked, it was determined to be an internal short. Since it was a Firestone battery, they ended up paying for all the damages, including a new Delco battery.

Don Nolan

This is exactly why people should NOT leave battery tenders/trickle chargers, etc. on a car for any length of time. Charge them up every three weeks or so until they are fully charged and then take the charger off of the battery. Then go out and recharge it in another three weeks. (Or, you can charge it up fully and take the battery cable off of the battery.) A surge in electric, static electricity, the clips slipping on the post can cause the battery to blow up. This is why I put a charger on until the battery is fully charged (about eight hours) and then I take it off of the car.

AORoads

A real, one way charger, I'd agree. But many of the chargers referred to today for our C6s are float chargers. They couldn't even power up a dead battery in 12 hours in most cases, and that's why they're not really called chargers but "maintainers."

I'm not sure I agree with your advice to "charge it eight hours and disconnect."

Please explain why you think "maintainers" designed to go into float mode and discontinue charging are somehow dangerous by design and can explode batteries. If that was a recurring issue, they would either be off the market or designed quite differently.

speedraider

CTEK trickle chargers are CRAP. I don't know why people on here get sucked into them. Go with a good old deltran battery tender.

Don Nolan

I believe I already did explain it. It does not stay off all of the time. It kicks off and on, continuously, correct? So when it is on, a spark can cause it to blow up. When it is on, someone can walk past and bump the cables and cause a spark. Static electricity near the battery can cause it to blow up. After it kicks on, a spark can be created by a surge in the electric. It isn't when they are off, but when they are on that they can be dangerous. So, all you need is to charge them up every three weeks or so. Then unplug them at the wall before you take off the cables to keep from causing a spark near the battery.

Don Nolan

I got a Schumacher trickle charger at Walmarts for $20.00. I charge up my batteries in about eight hours and it is good to go for easily three weeks. I would never walk off and leave a piece of (110 V) equipment running unattended for days or weeks in my garage. In the winter my clocks are AA battery powered. Everything else gets unpluged because I am not out there that much. But that's just me.

wbear

You are missing the whole purpose of a tender/maintainer charger. They are designed to be left on the battery, maintaining 13.2 to 13.6 volts which is just under the gassing point at a very low amperage. The battery is not loosing or gaining a charge but "floating".
A battery wears out during each charge/discharge cycle. When on a tender this does not occur.

You are charging your battery and then letting it self discharge (plus the normal vette ma drain) over the 3 weeks then repeating the process. If you don't care about extending your battery life and less trouble for you then disregard this FYI post.

I have left tenders connected to my non daily drivers since 1990 and have never had a problem. Can something happen, sure, but you will probably win the lotto first.