Relocated Battery Exploded

[mcfly]

So I just picked up a 2002 EP3 with a jrsc, quite fun but it needs an lsd desperately and a 6th gear would be nice.

On the drive home - 3 hours, the Odyssey 925 battery that had been relocated to the spare tire well decided to explode. Part of it might have been my fault for disregarding the smell as something in one of the boxes I was carrying with me in the back. Lucky for me though the battery was well strapped down and contained in an aluminum battery box but that didn't stop the mess from happening.


I am now faced with the predicament of trying to figure out why this happened. The voltage gauge looked fairly normal although at idle it dropped to 12v a few times while still in the city while staying in the high 13's before that.

Any tips? The ground is under 12 inches and the power wire looks to be 4 gauge might be 2 gauge.

[apexracing]

Hmm any way to figure out the age of the battery? and does the car have any high amp draw devices such as a amp? and how many miles are on the car? The battery could have been over amped if the alternator is failing. Or the battery could of failed due to age. Not sure what the right call is here but i would get the alternator checked. and check every inch of wire that goes to and from the battery.

[mcfly]

The battery was only a month old according to the seller, the retailer confirmed.
I will be dropping it off with them. they are going to try and warranty the battery.

I put another battery in the car this morning, it doesnt fit but it shows no signs of over heating what so ever so i suspect a cell died in the battery.

63xxx miles

[apexracing]

That would be my bet as well, have them check the alternator as well just to be safe. and good luck. just for kicks post up a pic of your relocation setup.

[Jukka]

did the battery box have a drain tube? proper battery boxes should have a drain pipe/vent pipe to vent any of the fumes from the battery off. If they arent vented off properly, they can explode.

[talonXracer]

I am more apt to look at a shot regulator as the core cause of the overload, probably overloaded by such small cable.
What type/brand of cables did you use? 4 gauge is far too small unless you only moved it a few feet. Dual 4 gauge or a 2 gauge or better at a minimum.
Any circuit breakers?
How did you make your up front connections?

[apexracing]

did the battery box have a drain tube? proper battery boxes should have a drain pipe/vent pipe to vent any of the fumes from the battery off. If they arent vented off properly, they can explode.

This is why i wanted a picture of the setup. good call.

[talonXracer]

did the battery box have a drain tube? proper battery boxes should have a drain pipe/vent pipe to vent any of the fumes from the battery off. If they arent vented off properly, they can explode.


This is why i wanted a picture of the setup. good call.


Sorry, Odessey batteries are sealed and have no vent.

[apexracing]

much like the optima batteries then.

[jamesandrew58]

Interesting. Any pics of the damage? talonXracer is right, a single 4 gauge is too small for a battery relocated to the trunk. Hell, I'm running a triple 4 gauge on my setup and I only have the battery (Odyssey PC680) relocated under the passenger headlight (the starter, alternator and fusebox all have dedicated lines).

[talonXracer]

The Odessey batteries are alot better than the Optima. Entirely different internal design. Though both do not have a vent.

[japarossa]

I think you will find the fault is in the battery or the cable shorted out on something. 4 gauge (150amp) cable is big enough to relocate the battery to the trunk in an ep3, its only about 15 ft of wire. I could post up links for days for battery relocation kits that include 4 gauge wire from reputable race companies. I put the battery in the back of my big block s10 3 years ago and the new owner is still driving it like that today and it draws alot more starting that motor than it does an ep3.

[talonXracer]

Cheap 4gauge cable shows a significant resistance at 14 feet, especially the chinese crap(75% of the wire sold). If you use a quality 4gauge wire(very fine wire like for an amp$$$) and do not skimp on the end connectors, you can get away with it.

[japarossa]

Yeah dont use the cheap stuff, I used 4 gauge welding cable which is rated at 150 amps. It is very flexible, high wire count and can pretty much be tied in knots like the more expensive stereo cable.
I take it there was no fuse at the battery? You should have a fuse at the battery incase the wire shorts out.

[talonXracer]

I have seen some setups with only a single 4ga cable that have issues with voltage drop while cranking and not having enough voltage for the ECU to stay powered up. This is why Hondata states that a remote battery setup is fine as long as the starter has it's own cable, that way the car's electrical system does not see a voltage drop during cranking.

Voltage drop over the length of a piece of wire is a given fact of life, some setups can handle that, some can not.


mcfly, can you post up any pics of the battery?

[mcfly]

Sorry I returned the battery already for warranty. It was ballooned out and the top had lifted off on one side.

The car has had no issues what so ever running 4 gauge on the battery that has been put in for the interim, it just doesn't fit worth a damn since the battery box was designed for the PC925. The box contained 99% of the mess and the vent kept the really bad gases from getting into the car. I should add that the cable, though i don't know the brand is quite nice, a lot nice then the welding cables i run in my garage.

I will be putting a rubber seal on the top lid of the box though as some of the nasty smell still got out as it does not make a perfect seal.

[talonXracer]

I would still have the Alternator/regulator checked out.

The only way I see can these batteries blow like that is due to overcharging, well unless some kind of internal damage was present that wasnt detected.

[musashi1219]

I agree with checking the regulator, and I too would not run single 4awg wire for it. I know certain race companies provide it, but many race cars do not have AC which creates a heavy burden on the system. In addition to this, I would also check to see where it was grounded at. A poor ground can give you all sorts of odd problems, I highly doubt that this would cause your particular situation but you have to ask your self "why was this battery just replaced?" It is possibly that his old battery was simply bad or it could have been a failure induced by the relocate which you were lucky enough to have pop up again with the new battery.