I went to start the TR6 this morning after several weeks of sitting. I had
put the charger on overnight to make sure the battery was topped up. Having
checked the oil, the hood was open when I went to start it. I turned the
key and BOOM, the battery exploded. Acid was dripping from the ceiling, all
over the car, and since the top was down, I was splattered. It left me a
little shaken. Often my 4-year old follows me to the garage. Luckily, this
morning he got sidetracked with a toy and never came out.
I'm OK, the car has a few new scars on the paint, and I'm off to buy an
spiral cell battery. As for what happened, the battery was about ten years
old and I'm guessing the fluid level was lower than it should have been,
leaving room for a nice reservoir of hydrogen gas. The plates were cruded
up enough to allow an arc. So be careful, I'd heard of exploding batteries
before but never experienced it. Don't want to do it again.
Darrell
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