Author Topic: So why did my battery explode? (Read 1838 times)

zoo mob · « **on:** July 05, 2010, 10:32:47 AM »

Lifted up the seat on my K0 750 the other day and one of the battery plugs was gone and there was a nice spray of acid on the bottom of the seat and battery box area. Thankfully, this is a ratty bike right now, so cosmetics are not a huge issue. What could be the likely causes of this?
Thanks

BLUE71TURBO · « **Reply #1 on:** July 05, 2010, 10:37:46 AM »

Your regulator quit working, which let your alternator over charge the battery.

Gordon · « **Reply #2 on:** July 05, 2010, 10:40:32 AM »

Quote from: BLUE71TURBO on July 05, 2010, 10:37:46 AM

Your regulator quit working, which let your alternator over charge the battery.

And the vent is clogged.

worlddrum13 · « **Reply #3 on:** July 05, 2010, 10:42:40 AM »

Quote from: Gordon on July 05, 2010, 10:40:32 AM

Quote from: BLUE71TURBO on July 05, 2010, 10:37:46 AM
Your regulator quit working, which let your alternator over charge the battery.

And the vent is clogged.

what vent are we talking about? i want to make sure this doesnt happen to my bike

Gordon · « **Reply #4 on:** July 05, 2010, 10:43:51 AM »

The vent on the side of the battery.

zoo mob · « **Reply #5 on:** July 05, 2010, 12:24:03 PM »

Kinked vent hose it is. Glad it happened on the ratty one, one more thing to add to the checklist...

CB750Ken8 · « **Reply #6 on:** July 05, 2010, 07:55:23 PM »

Yea lucky it didn't blow out the sides and burn ya, glad I spent the little extra cash and bought the gel cell one.

mystic_1 · « **Reply #7 on:** July 06, 2010, 09:58:03 AM »

Throw some baking soda on the affected area to neutralize the acid.

mystic_1

TwoTired · « **Reply #8 on:** July 06, 2010, 10:08:12 AM »

Quote from: mystic_1 on July 06, 2010, 09:58:03 AM

Throw some baking soda on the affected area to neutralize the acid.

mystic_1

...and water.

asom · « **Reply #9 on:** July 06, 2010, 10:21:08 AM »

what is "over" charged? I checked my battery @5000 rpm and it's getting close to 16v. I felt like that might be too high so I hopped on here and this was the third post I saw...once again the sohc4 gods have smiled upon me. Any facts and or oppinions on this?

TwoTired · « **Reply #10 on:** July 06, 2010, 10:23:55 AM »

The battery should never get above 14.7V.
If yours is going higher, then the Vreg is faulty or the vreg is getting incorrect voltage from the battery connections.

mystic_1 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 06, 2010, 10:43:34 AM »

Quote from: TwoTired on July 06, 2010, 10:08:12 AM

Quote from: mystic_1 on July 06, 2010, 09:58:03 AM
Throw some baking soda on the affected area to neutralize the acid.

mystic_1

...and water.

Indeed, should have explicitly said that.

If the acid has already dried, dissolve a bunch of baking soda into a little water, and spritz that on.

The area might look fine now but will rust out if you don't neutralize the acid.

mystic_1

asom · « **Reply #12 on:** July 06, 2010, 12:59:07 PM »

Quote from: TwoTired on July 06, 2010, 10:23:55 AM

The battery should never get above 14.7V.
If yours is going higher, then the Vreg is faulty or the vreg is getting incorrect voltage from the battery connections.

could I have incorrectly adjusted the regulator screw to cause this?

The_Crippler · « **Reply #13 on:** July 06, 2010, 01:03:24 PM »

Yeah, you really have to neutralize it...even when it dries, it can still cause problems. I had a bike batter spill on the back see of my car in high school. Thought I cleaned it up well enough, but one day I tossed my wet jean jacket back there. The next time I needed it, I reached back to grab it by the collar.

The collar is the only part that came back. Rest of the jacket was a pile of fabric scraps.

mystic_1 · « **Reply #14 on:** July 06, 2010, 01:06:35 PM »

Quote from: asom on July 06, 2010, 12:59:07 PM

Quote from: TwoTired on July 06, 2010, 10:23:55 AM
The battery should never get above 14.7V.
If yours is going higher, then the Vreg is faulty or the vreg is getting incorrect voltage from the battery connections.

could I have incorrectly adjusted the regulator screw to cause this?

Yes, improperly adjusting the regulator can cause this. The adjustment points on the original mechanical regulator affect when it switches between various "modes" as described in the workshop manual.

How/why did you adjust it?

mystic_1

mgbgt89 · « **Reply #15 on:** July 06, 2010, 01:44:35 PM »

Quote from: The_Crippler on July 06, 2010, 01:03:24 PM

Yeah, you really have to neutralize it...even when it dries, it can still cause problems. I had a bike batter spill on the back see of my car in high school. Thought I cleaned it up well enough, but one day I tossed my wet jean jacket back there. The next time I needed it, I reached back to grab it by the collar.

The collar is the only part that came back. Rest of the jacket was a pile of fabric scraps.

A friend of mine had the brilliant idea to charge his battery on top of his washing machine in the garage. The battery blew up, and covered his entire wardrobe that was in the basket in battery acid. They were completely ruined.

TwoTired · « **Reply #16 on:** July 06, 2010, 02:47:49 PM »

Quote from: asom on July 06, 2010, 12:59:07 PM

Quote from: TwoTired on July 06, 2010, 10:23:55 AM
The battery should never get above 14.7V.
If yours is going higher, then the Vreg is faulty or the vreg is getting incorrect voltage from the battery connections.

could I have incorrectly adjusted the regulator screw to cause this?

Yes. If the bike wiring is lying to the Vreg about true battery voltage, and the vreg is "fudged" to compensate for that, it will be set wrong.

Further, if the wiring is lying, then the voltage at the Vreg input will vary with the electrical load. I.E. when the lights are on, the voltage will be lower at the vreg than at the battery, causing it to run around with arms waving wildly in the air, shouting to the alternator that the sky is falling and it must do something to raise the voltage. Alternately, if the Vreg is "fudged" while the lights are off (making the sense terminal closer to true battery voltage), the vreg thinks the battery is low anytime the lights are on. Cruise down the highway with lights on and the battery overcharges to about the voltage differential that is in the Vreg "sense" input, (or whatever is lost between the battery and the sense input).

This is a common problem with "mechanics" who assume what the function of the vreg is without consulting or following the shop manual, I think.
Just speculation on my part, as many mechanics seem to associate electricity with mysticism or magic.

Cheers,

asom · « **Reply #17 on:** July 06, 2010, 06:10:24 PM »

my rectifier went bad a few weeks ago. we went on a weekend trip to the Blueridge Pkwy and the bike kept dying on us. I pulled the cover on the vreg and the adjustment screw had completly backed out. I didn't have my DMM with me so I couldn't test the battery at revs so I just screwed it in half way and it was fine. I got home and the meter showed 16v @ 5000 rpm. If I recall from another post it should be around but under 15 v at 5000?

TwoTired · « **Reply #18 on:** July 06, 2010, 06:18:07 PM »

Quote from: asom on July 06, 2010, 06:10:24 PM

I got home and the meter showed 16v @ 5000 rpm. If I recall from another post it should be around but under 15 v at 5000?

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=73542.msg817188#msg817188

Gaither · « **Reply #19 on:** July 06, 2010, 06:55:20 PM »

All good advice.

FWIW
I watched a fellow try to jump his car's battery. It was almost out of water. It exploded immediately when he hooked-up the second cable. Blew the whole top off and what little water and acid in it went right in his face [eyes] and chest. If they don't have enough water, they are full of a VERY explosive gas.

News:

Author Topic: So why did my battery explode? (Read 1838 times)