When Good Batteries Go Bad

Anonymous Poster · Jul 16, 2001

Re: And now for the cause of the problem.

Rick, have you notified NH about the over filled batteries so they can put a post on ASSIST

Another NH Service Tech!

jinman · Jul 17, 2001

Re: And now for the cause of the problem.

Thanks for that tidbit of info Rick. With summer coming full blown, I'd think everyone would want to check this out on their machine, especially if it sits outdoors in direct sunlight (like on the dealer's lot). I can't imagine why the batteries are overfull to begin with, but thanks to you and others who have taken the initiative to eliminate the possibility of this happening to others./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

JimI

scruffy · Jul 22, 2001

Re: And now for the cause of the problem.

JimI, I had a battery short out when I was driving down the hiway. It exploded like yours, and of course everything went dead immediately. Battery was a six month old Interstate 60month warrenty model. Never did find the warrenty date sticker on it, but Interstate replaced it free of charge anyway, they also cleaned the interior of the engine compartment up, and I only (like you) had a few spots that you could see marred paint. Likewise, I will remember the shotgun like sound it made!

jinman · Jul 22, 2001

Re: And now for the cause of the problem.

Strange that yours was also an Interstate battery. I'm guessing that you had a single battery installation rather than the dual batteries I have on my diesel. I know I let the water get low in one of my batteries, but I figure that and the good fortune of it happening when/where it did was the reason I had so little damage. I'm glad you also chose to tell your experience. I think too many of us take the power in these batteries for granted. You'll agree with me, I'm sure, that batteries should always be approached with caution.

JimI

Bird · Jul 22, 2001

Re: And now for the cause of the problem.

I've never, personally, known of batteries blowing up before under conditions described in this thread, but I sure have known of them blowing up while hooking jumper cables from a good battery (or vehicle) to a dead battery (including one of my employees who got showered with battery acid). I won't go into detail here, but if anyone is not sure of the property method to hook them up, either read a manual or let me know and I'll explain.

Bird

Rowski · Jul 22, 2001

Re: And now for the cause of the problem.

Around here boosting dead battery in the winter can also lead to blown up batteries. If a battery is discharged it can freeze. Try boosting and it may blow up. Hasn't happened to me yet.

Derek

dieselpwr · Jul 23, 2001

Re: And now for the cause of the problem.

I actually had a charged maintenance free battery crack in the cold about 4 or 5 years ago. Happened to notice it was bulged & cracked on top when I went to change oil. The car was never once hard to start or anything. Luckily & strangely the damage was almost all to the top & around the post areas. I took it back to Fleet Farm (it was only about a year old) & they gave me a new one no questions asked. I guess the point is they don't have to go dead to crack from the cold. I was just thankful it didn't explode or go dead on me. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif Mine was an easy clean up with a can of nutralizer.

Troy

djradz · Dec 19, 2002

Jim and others, since your fix have you noticed any fluid around the battery??? My parts were replaced, battery fluid lowered, and the battery turned around so the vent caps are more to the tractor front - all last winter. Now I've noticed a little fluid on the side and top of the battery, but no corrosion yet.

PLanger · Dec 19, 2002

In addition to all affected/corroded parts being replaced on my TC40D under warranty, the dealer also installed a gel cell battery - no problems since.

jinman · Dec 20, 2002

Duane, I leave my tractor outside most of the time (gotta get that carport built...) and rain, dew or any moisture that settles on the hood runs right into the grill openings and onto the battery. I don't know how you would stop water from collecting on top of the battery unless you completely cover it. I just rinse mine off real often and I haven't had anymore problems./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif