Blowing my top!

[67fordman1]

Hey, everyone, just started my 67 up this afternoon,(first time started up since snowed in last week), She started up fine, idled for about 5 minutes and POP! Sounded like a coolant hose split. I raised the hood and found the vent cap blown off the battery. The acid level is good, I put the cap back on and started the engine again, and in about 5 minutes it started pushing the vent cap off again. The only problem it has had is the lights are very dim at idle, accelerate just above an idle and they brighten up. Just wondering if maybe i am having a voltage regulator problem. Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.

[Thunderfoot]

That is usually a busted connection inside the battery, it is arcing and igniting the gasses inside the battery. Be very careful with this, I've gotten acid blown in my face from one of these... It is usually the connection from the plates to the battery post and wigging the post around (like removing the cable) causes them to arc and blow... I would disconnect the ground wire from the engine block first and isolate it before removing the cables from the battery. Just my from my experiences...

[Racer Z]

Batteries can explode and the vaporizing mist can catch on fire. Best bet is to replace the battery.

[fordman]

wash down the enigne compartment to get rid of and neutralize the battery acid.

[67fordman1]

Thanks, guys, will do!

[Thunderfoot]

Rereading you post, I would also have your voltage regulator tested, if it is putting out to much voltage it can boil/damage the battery as well...

I have never had one boil enough to push the caps off, as the caps are vented but it could happen if the vent isn't working well ...
I have had them explode off like I a mentioned above, just take some extra caution.

[Mancar1]

Batteries can explode and the vaporizing mist can catch on fire. Best bet is to replace the battery.

I agree, I had one explode on a tractor mower. It is something I never want to have happen again. Scarry stuff.

[fordman]

i had a battery that was going bad slowly. so i put it in a truck i bought so i could test run the truck. well one day i was running the truck so that the battery would charge up. and the battery top not the caps. exploded. i have since put another good battery in the truck and it has ran fine since. i think the exploded battery may still have charge in it. barely. but i never really did anything with the battery sicne i pulled it out last year.

[Racer Z]

I've never personally seen a battery explode or catch fire, but I've read horror stories. I once knew a guy that worked at a battery manufacturer/refurbisher place, he told me some scary stuff that he witnessed. My Army mechanical training provided plenty of scare-the-crap-out-of-you films about what not to do.
Treat your battery right or you will be sorry.

[71highboy]

Rereading you post, I would also have your voltage regulator tested, if it is putting out to much voltage it can boil/damage the battery as well...

I have never had one boil enough to push the caps off, as the caps are vented but it could happen if the vent isn't working well ...
I have had them explode off like I a mentioned above, just take some extra caution.

beat me to it

[fordman]

i did once have a battery catch fire on me. while i was goign down the highway. the positive was not covered and arced over to the hood. and it made the top of the battery burn. i grabbed a blanket out of the trunk and put the fire out. melted a small hole in the top of the battery. i drove it to work and back home. i put some silicone on the battery the next day and drove it like that for a while.

[occupant]

I had a AAA battery explode inside a wireless mouse once. Scared the crud out of me and burned my wrist a bit. That's a tiny little battery. I wouldn't want to be within spittin' distance of a fat 800-amp car battery when it decides to do the same.

[fordman]

dont dry cell batteries have bad stuff inside of them? cancer causing stuff?

[Racer Z]

dont dry cell batteries have bad stuff inside of them? cancer causing stuff?

Probably. They are in the hazardous waste category.

[70_F100]

dont dry cell batteries have bad stuff inside of them? cancer causing stuff?

Probably. They are in the hazardous waste category.

Actually, they are in a category known as "Universal Waste" which includes fluorescent/mercury vapor lights, batteries, mercury-containing thermostats and pesticides.

Universal waste IS a category of hazardous waste, but a few years ago, they developed the category to make it easier for disposal.