Battery Explosion
07-13-2009, 09:05 AM
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Battery Explosion
So I went out to start my 996 turbo yesterday, and as I was turning the key over there was a loud bang like a gun shot, and white smoke came up from between the windshield and the hood, basically right where the battery is located. The car did not turn over right before the bang. I ran and grabbed a fire extinguisher fearing the car was on fire, but it was not. I now can't get the hood open because the battery is dead, I know how to hook up the other battery to open the hood but am a little nervous. Anyone have something like this happen? I know about the warnings on batteries about explosions, but I don't think I was doing anything neglecting. The car had been plugged into a battery maintainer and the battery is about 2 years old. No one was hurt, but the car was in the garage at the time.
07-13-2009, 10:11 AM
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So I went out to start my 996 turbo yesterday, and as I was turning the key over there was a loud bang like a gun shot, and white smoke came up from between the windshield and the hood, basically right where the battery is located. The car did not turn over right before the bang. I ran and grabbed a fire extinguisher fearing the car was on fire, but it was not. I now can't get the hood open because the battery is dead, I know how to hook up the other battery to open the hood but am a little nervous. Anyone have something like this happen? I know about the warnings on batteries about explosions, but I don't think I was doing anything neglecting. The car had been plugged into a battery maintainer and the battery is about 2 years old. No one was hurt, but the car was in the garage at the time.
07-13-2009, 10:25 AM
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Not sure how the '01 996 will compare to Boxsters year-wise, but here's a post from the Archives of Porsche Pete's Boxster Board (www.ppbb.com):
CAUTION CAUTION CAUTION - OBSERVE POLARITY WHEN DOING ANY OF THE ELECTRICAL METHODS BELOW
First method, and probably the simplest is to go to Radio Shack and look around the various adapters for the Cigarette Lighter Plug with Banana Jack adapter (Cat # 270-1521). (URL http://www.radioshack.com/category.a...2%5F006&Page=1) This sells for about $8. It plugs into the accessory jack and the other end has two terminals, one red and one black. Get yourself some color coded cable as well and then connect to a good battery being very careful to observe the proper polarity end to end. You'll probably have to hold the adapter in the accessory jack as the Porsche is slightly larger than American/Japanese cars. You should be able to then open the front hood. You can also get two of the adapters, run color coded wire between them observing polarity, and then connect between two cars.
CAUTION: don’t attempt to start the “dead” vehicle in this manner. Because of high starting currents damage is highly likely to occur. Use this only to get the front hood open, and then jump the car in the normal manner should you chose to do so. And again, I can't caution enough that if you get the polarity wrong you will do damage. When you are done with this device store it somewhere in the passenger compartment; not in the trunk (front or back). You never know when you might need it again, for yourself or a fellow Porsche owner.
Some people have also reported that a battery maintainer which plugs into the accessory jack will also allow you to pop the hood. I think I remember that you need to have it plugged in for an hour or so to get some level of charge on the battery before the hood release will work. You can get a so-so maintainer at WalMart for $20 by Black & Decker or spend $65 or so for a Porsche one.
Another method is...Inside the top of the driver's front wheel well, just aft of the spring coil mount, is a little rectangular corner in the black plastic shroud that lines the inside of the wheel well. Reach under this, and you will feel a "wire" about 1/8" in diameter. Too thick for an electrical wire (and not in a harness anyway). Tug this cable gently out from behind the shroud and get a good grip on a loop of it. Now pull hard away from the headlight once, and prepare to hear the music of the alarm as the front hood pops open. Grab a 10mm wrench and take off one of the battery cables to silence the alarm.
Last method...and from the Porsche TSB. "Should the front and rear hood releases become inoperative due to a disconnected or discharged battery, the following procedure will allow the hoods to be operated electrically under these conditions.
Another method...
Open the left door.
Using an external battery, connect the negative lead to the door stop.
Connect the positive lead to both sides of fuse "C3".
With the door open, move the door latch with a screwdriver into the closed position.
Using the key, lock and unlock the door.
The front and rear hood releases can now be operated.
By the way there are several batteries that people have used successfully. I replaced mine with a Sears International Diehard at about $100 ( a few years ago). I don't remember exactly which one but it was correctly shown in the Sears computer database. When replacing, empty your front trunk and actually get into the trunk with your feet on the floor. Changing the battery then becomes easy. Otherwise, it is very cumbersome lifting from the side or front when you are outside the car.
Another method, applicable to MY1997 thru MY2000 (compliments of Joe King):
To open the front trunk when the battery is dead you can use the emergency release cable which can be accessed with a few tools, use the battery procedure outlined in Porsche Technical Bulletin 1/96 5510 or use my method which requires a small screwdriver and flashlight. It allows you to open the front hood lid in about 10 seconds once you learn the trick. My procedure is outlined below:
1. Both trunk levers are cable operated. When the alarm is set, a solenoid latches the two trunk levers. If the battery dies while the alarm is set, it is necessary to open the door with the key. Opening the door with the key does not unlatch the trunk levers since there is no power to operate the solenoid.
2. To learn how to unlatch the trunk levers, examine under the front trunk lever by looking through the slot between the two trunk levers with a flashlight. Look for the tab on the underside of the front trunk lever. Directly below the tab is a small U shaped cutout. When the lever is pulled up, the tab drops into the small U shaped cutout. When the alarm is set, a small white plate slides over the small U shaped cutout from the center of the car towards the outside of the car. This prevents you from pulling up the lever because the tab cannot pivot down into the small U shaped cutout.
3. To unlatch the front trunk lever, use a very thin shaft straight slot screwdriver (I used an Xcelite R3323 which has a very thin 3"shaft). Slide the screwdriver between the two trunk levers and insert it between the solenoid plate and outside rear edge of the U shaped cutout and slid the plate toward the center of the car and pull up on the front trunk lever.
To test this procedure (without waiting for a dead battery):
1. With the drivers door open, move the black door latch to the closed position, the second click. This is done by using a screwdriver to move the black lever portion of the door latch toward the outside of the door until you hear a distinct click followed by a second distinct click. IMPORTANT: At this point do not slam the door shut since the door latch is in the latched position and may be damaged when making contact with the door jab. Step 4 explains how to reset the door latch.
2. Lock the car using the remote or key. The alarm will be set and the trunk levers latched. Don't sit in the car because the alarm is set.
3. At this point you can use the above procedure to open the front trunk. The alarm may sound when you pull up on the lever since you are opening the trunk. This is determined by the front trunk switch adjustment.
4. IMPORTANT: After opening the front trunk using this test procedure you must unlock the car using the remote or key followed by pulling up on the door handle to unlatch the door latch.
CAUTION CAUTION CAUTION - OBSERVE POLARITY WHEN DOING ANY OF THE ELECTRICAL METHODS BELOW
First method, and probably the simplest is to go to Radio Shack and look around the various adapters for the Cigarette Lighter Plug with Banana Jack adapter (Cat # 270-1521). (URL http://www.radioshack.com/category.a...2%5F006&Page=1) This sells for about $8. It plugs into the accessory jack and the other end has two terminals, one red and one black. Get yourself some color coded cable as well and then connect to a good battery being very careful to observe the proper polarity end to end. You'll probably have to hold the adapter in the accessory jack as the Porsche is slightly larger than American/Japanese cars. You should be able to then open the front hood. You can also get two of the adapters, run color coded wire between them observing polarity, and then connect between two cars.
CAUTION: don’t attempt to start the “dead” vehicle in this manner. Because of high starting currents damage is highly likely to occur. Use this only to get the front hood open, and then jump the car in the normal manner should you chose to do so. And again, I can't caution enough that if you get the polarity wrong you will do damage. When you are done with this device store it somewhere in the passenger compartment; not in the trunk (front or back). You never know when you might need it again, for yourself or a fellow Porsche owner.
Some people have also reported that a battery maintainer which plugs into the accessory jack will also allow you to pop the hood. I think I remember that you need to have it plugged in for an hour or so to get some level of charge on the battery before the hood release will work. You can get a so-so maintainer at WalMart for $20 by Black & Decker or spend $65 or so for a Porsche one.
Another method is...Inside the top of the driver's front wheel well, just aft of the spring coil mount, is a little rectangular corner in the black plastic shroud that lines the inside of the wheel well. Reach under this, and you will feel a "wire" about 1/8" in diameter. Too thick for an electrical wire (and not in a harness anyway). Tug this cable gently out from behind the shroud and get a good grip on a loop of it. Now pull hard away from the headlight once, and prepare to hear the music of the alarm as the front hood pops open. Grab a 10mm wrench and take off one of the battery cables to silence the alarm.
Last method...and from the Porsche TSB. "Should the front and rear hood releases become inoperative due to a disconnected or discharged battery, the following procedure will allow the hoods to be operated electrically under these conditions.
Another method...
Open the left door.
Using an external battery, connect the negative lead to the door stop.
Connect the positive lead to both sides of fuse "C3".
With the door open, move the door latch with a screwdriver into the closed position.
Using the key, lock and unlock the door.
The front and rear hood releases can now be operated.
By the way there are several batteries that people have used successfully. I replaced mine with a Sears International Diehard at about $100 ( a few years ago). I don't remember exactly which one but it was correctly shown in the Sears computer database. When replacing, empty your front trunk and actually get into the trunk with your feet on the floor. Changing the battery then becomes easy. Otherwise, it is very cumbersome lifting from the side or front when you are outside the car.
Another method, applicable to MY1997 thru MY2000 (compliments of Joe King):
To open the front trunk when the battery is dead you can use the emergency release cable which can be accessed with a few tools, use the battery procedure outlined in Porsche Technical Bulletin 1/96 5510 or use my method which requires a small screwdriver and flashlight. It allows you to open the front hood lid in about 10 seconds once you learn the trick. My procedure is outlined below:
1. Both trunk levers are cable operated. When the alarm is set, a solenoid latches the two trunk levers. If the battery dies while the alarm is set, it is necessary to open the door with the key. Opening the door with the key does not unlatch the trunk levers since there is no power to operate the solenoid.
2. To learn how to unlatch the trunk levers, examine under the front trunk lever by looking through the slot between the two trunk levers with a flashlight. Look for the tab on the underside of the front trunk lever. Directly below the tab is a small U shaped cutout. When the lever is pulled up, the tab drops into the small U shaped cutout. When the alarm is set, a small white plate slides over the small U shaped cutout from the center of the car towards the outside of the car. This prevents you from pulling up the lever because the tab cannot pivot down into the small U shaped cutout.
3. To unlatch the front trunk lever, use a very thin shaft straight slot screwdriver (I used an Xcelite R3323 which has a very thin 3"shaft). Slide the screwdriver between the two trunk levers and insert it between the solenoid plate and outside rear edge of the U shaped cutout and slid the plate toward the center of the car and pull up on the front trunk lever.
To test this procedure (without waiting for a dead battery):
1. With the drivers door open, move the black door latch to the closed position, the second click. This is done by using a screwdriver to move the black lever portion of the door latch toward the outside of the door until you hear a distinct click followed by a second distinct click. IMPORTANT: At this point do not slam the door shut since the door latch is in the latched position and may be damaged when making contact with the door jab. Step 4 explains how to reset the door latch.
2. Lock the car using the remote or key. The alarm will be set and the trunk levers latched. Don't sit in the car because the alarm is set.
3. At this point you can use the above procedure to open the front trunk. The alarm may sound when you pull up on the lever since you are opening the trunk. This is determined by the front trunk switch adjustment.
4. IMPORTANT: After opening the front trunk using this test procedure you must unlock the car using the remote or key followed by pulling up on the door handle to unlatch the door latch.
07-13-2009, 11:57 AM
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jhbrennan I am worried about the battery acid that might be in there. I am also worried about engergizing the car to unlock / open the hood. When I stick the key in there is some power left, because the lights in the car do come on, I think there isn't enough power to open the front hood latch. What do you guys think? Should I try and energize the car with another battery to open the hood, or just have it towed to the dealership?
Tom
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07-13-2009, 04:27 PM
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jhbrennan I am worried about the battery acid that might be in there. I am also worried about engergizing the car to unlock / open the hood. When I stick the key in there is some power left, because the lights in the car do come on, I think there isn't enough power to open the front hood latch. What do you guys think? Should I try and energize the car with another battery to open the hood, or just have it towed to the dealership?
Tom
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07-13-2009, 04:32 PM
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No is the time to act. Get a ski mask on and some glasses and gloves. Grab your wifes baking soda and mix with water. You need to drop the acid level and neutralize.
This is a time that one wishes that he found the emergency hood cable which is located under the lip of your front right headlamp. Grab a pic and try to fish the cable out to open your hood.
As a last attempt get a good battery charger or battery jump power pack and place the positive on the fuse box post, and the negative on the door striker.
As soon as you get the hood open remove the negative ground wire on your destroyed battery. I would quickly wash/all surfaces. Place the plastic in wash tubs filled with baking soda. Waiting to get your car to a shop will risk more damage. They are going to do the very same thing that I have mentioned.
This is a time that one wishes that he found the emergency hood cable which is located under the lip of your front right headlamp. Grab a pic and try to fish the cable out to open your hood.
As a last attempt get a good battery charger or battery jump power pack and place the positive on the fuse box post, and the negative on the door striker.
As soon as you get the hood open remove the negative ground wire on your destroyed battery. I would quickly wash/all surfaces. Place the plastic in wash tubs filled with baking soda. Waiting to get your car to a shop will risk more damage. They are going to do the very same thing that I have mentioned.
07-13-2009, 04:46 PM
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No is the time to act. Get a ski mask on and some glasses and gloves. Grab your wifes baking soda and mix with water. You need to drop the acid level and neutralize.
This is a time that one wishes that he found the emergency hood cable which is located under the lip of your front right headlamp. Grab a pic and try to fish the cable out to open your hood.
As a last attempt get a good battery charger or battery jump power pack and place the positive on the fuse box post, and the negative on the door striker.
As soon as you get the hood open remove the negative ground wire on your destroyed battery. I would quickly wash/all surfaces. Place the plastic in wash tubs filled with baking soda. Waiting to get your car to a shop will risk more damage. They are going to do the very same thing that I have mentioned.
This is a time that one wishes that he found the emergency hood cable which is located under the lip of your front right headlamp. Grab a pic and try to fish the cable out to open your hood.
As a last attempt get a good battery charger or battery jump power pack and place the positive on the fuse box post, and the negative on the door striker.
As soon as you get the hood open remove the negative ground wire on your destroyed battery. I would quickly wash/all surfaces. Place the plastic in wash tubs filled with baking soda. Waiting to get your car to a shop will risk more damage. They are going to do the very same thing that I have mentioned.
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07-13-2009, 05:48 PM
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I would be worried about the hydrogen gas build up in the trunk. If you get another spark you could do some real damage. I think I would try the cable first before shooting more juice thru there.
07-13-2009, 06:46 PM
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Ok thanks for all of the advice, I did open the truck using a jump starter battery pack. When I opened the hood I did not smell anything, which I thought was a good sign. I also didn't notice anything exploded or anything. When I removed the battery cover however the battery had definitely blown up. There were 5-6 silver dollar sized holes in the top of the battery. With gloves, mask, and long sleeve shirt, I meticulously removed the negative and positive battery connections, the battery clip and then pulled the battery out. I snapped a few pictures and will upload them soon. It was a good thing I took the battery out, because there were also holes on the back of the battery and I am pretty sure that acid would have gone everywhere if they had towed it. I used the baking soda / water solution and it fizzed like crazy when it came in contact with the acid. I sprinkled quite a bit of that around and then flushed it out with a hose. I then had the car towed to the service shop we use. They said they are going to do more neutralizing and check to make sure there are no electrical problems.
The best guess they had of what happened was, that the battery maintainer failed to stop charging the battery, and basically over charged the battery, which built up the gas. When the car was turned on, there was a large current draw in the battery, and there must have been a spark or something because it exploded internally. Our service guy said he hasn't seen one of these in years. Strange.
Thanks for all the help / comments.
Tom
The best guess they had of what happened was, that the battery maintainer failed to stop charging the battery, and basically over charged the battery, which built up the gas. When the car was turned on, there was a large current draw in the battery, and there must have been a spark or something because it exploded internally. Our service guy said he hasn't seen one of these in years. Strange.
Thanks for all the help / comments.
Tom
07-13-2009, 08:42 PM
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What type of battery maintainer are you using?
Do you have access to a voltmeter to check it?
If the voltage/current was not reduced in 'trickle' mode, then you may have possibly (slowly) boiled off the electrolyte in one or more cells and the battery was in this state prior to the start sequence.
Please remember that the OEM batteries are not sealed (hence vent hose) and the electrolyte levels should be checked often, especially after long exposure to maintenance chargers.
Do you have access to a voltmeter to check it?
If the voltage/current was not reduced in 'trickle' mode, then you may have possibly (slowly) boiled off the electrolyte in one or more cells and the battery was in this state prior to the start sequence.
Please remember that the OEM batteries are not sealed (hence vent hose) and the electrolyte levels should be checked often, especially after long exposure to maintenance chargers.
07-13-2009, 09:23 PM
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ltc,
I do have access to a voltmeter, I guess I am not sure how I would check it though, if it shows 12-14 volts while being on, how can I test if it failed to enter trickle mode?
I do have access to a voltmeter, I guess I am not sure how I would check it though, if it shows 12-14 volts while being on, how can I test if it failed to enter trickle mode?
07-24-2009, 12:54 AM
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what kind of battery maintainer were you using? bc i DONT want to use that type.s eriously, I am goign to buy a battery maintainer, and woudl love to know what kind you used....thanks
07-25-2009, 12:12 PM
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However, the definitive method is to measure the current flowing into the battery in charge vs trickle modes (crank the car to cause the charger to switch from trickle to charge and then (eventually) back to trickle).
However, unless you have access to a low current clamp on DC ammeter, you will have to cut one wire, place the DC ammeter in series, and splice the wire back when you're done.
If it's not worth the trouble, I would just buy a new maintainer to go with the new battery.
