Exploding car battery

Got a battery in a vw diesel Jetta. I bought the battery back in March. It's been in the car untouched since. The car had sat for a month or two, and so i decided to take it for a spin. I popped the hood to check the oil, then went to start the car. When I turned the key over the battery exploded. It was about 6am when this happened, and it was about as loud as a snub nose .38. Since the hood was still up, the acid went everywhere. I can't even find the top of the battery. It must have landed in a neighbor yard.

Come to find out, this was probably partly my fault. Although the battery was only 7 months old, I had never checked the water level. Apparently the water will evaporate and when it is low enough, a heavy load (like starting an engine) will cause an arc between the plates. This ignites the hydrogen gas that builds up in the battery, and it explodes.

Moral of the story, do NOT neglect to check the water in your batteries! Be weary working around a battery that is under a load. I'm lucky that I have my vison and the skin is still on my face. If I had been in front of the car while someone else was starting it, I may not even be here to tell you about it. I am sure, the acid would have burned my lungs too. The acid fumes were very strong, and I had to hold my breath to try and rinse the acid down with a water hose.
Even though I neutralized the acid with baking soda, it has really done a number on the battery tray and AC lines..

WOW! Im pretty sure that would hurt a lil bit lol I never thought they would do that much damage!

Aren't most of the new batteries sealed?

FalconEddie1964 wrote:Aren't most of the new batteries sealed?

Thats what i thought.....

The old ones were bad. I seen a guy one time loose his eye from one blowing up while he was screwing with it.

thats CRAZY!!!!!! did you call the manufacturer or store that you got it from? you would think that that could not happen any more with todays tech. especially after only 7 months.Its good to see nobody got hurt!

Well I don't speak Chinease, it would be a hassle to call the manufacturer. And if I took it back to Walmart, the highschool drop out wouldn't understand. The biggest problem is that I don't have the top of the battery, It has no markings left on it except for the brand name.

I had one blow up on me 30 years ago,went to start the car and a big boom under the hood and the car died so I started it back up and went home. When I got home I found out the top of the battery was gone and it lasted a couple days,the front sheetmetal was mangled so the acid did not hurt it and was replaced the next spring.