Battery Exploded

[Shaane]

As the title says guys, Bike hasn't be fired up for 2 weeks so when i got home yesterday i tried to fire her up and after a while ran the battery dead. Put it on charge overnight and when i came to it this morning it was still charing but i attempted to fire her up again. She ran for about 0.5 seconds and then when i pressed the electric start again the battery blew a hole through both sides leaving abit of a mess. When i removed the battery i saw that all the destilled water inside the battery had frozen and wasn't sure if this was the cause of the problem? Any help/Advice would be appreciated.

Bike is a 1999 ZX6R
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EMRA Roadstock #92 - Paperwork Permitted.
Previous: 1992 DT125R
Current: ~ 2005 ZX6R C1H

[N cee thirty]

they usually explode when they've been tripped out (both terminals touched with same thing like a spanner)

should be glad your here to tell the tale,heard some nasty stories about batteries goin up
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'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

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[stinkwheel]

Advice:

It's not distilled water, it's strong sulphuric acid. Wash it off everything it got on with lots of fresh water right now if not sooner. It will dissolve your bike, clothes, skin, eyes and garage floor. Especially alloy bits. Wear rubber gloves and goggles.

Frozen battery could potentially have cracked the casing already? Could also have blocked the breather hose on the battery causing any gas top pressurise it.

I'm serious about washing off any acid spills. Do it right now using LOTS of water to dilute the stuff. Worry about ice later. Be careful where you put the battery (in a plastic bucket?) so the stuff doesn't get on anyone/thing else.

EDIT: Having posted that. Before you try it with a new battery, check all the cabling running from the battery to the starter solenoid and from there to the starter motor. As rob yarrr correctly states, one thing that could cause it is a dead short of the battery. Realistically, this could only be caused by the battery positive touching the frame or by one of the big thick leads to the solenoid or starter motor having shorted out to the frame. All the other wiring that comes after the solenoid is protected by a 30A fuse which should have blown well before battery-exploding currents are experienced.
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[Shaane]

Cheers mate, I'm pretty sure they didn't short. Connected both terminals like i should have then as i walked awa 3-4 seconds later it popped. Clips might of slipped or something i suppose?

Stinkwheel - Okay mate, managed to clean most of the mess at the time but couldn't get into a really small gap so pushed a cloth in as much as i could. Battery has been put into a plastic container and sealed off so that my Cat/Dog doesn't get to curious and start sniffing.
____________________
EMRA Roadstock #92 - Paperwork Permitted.
Previous: 1992 DT125R
Current: ~ 2005 ZX6R C1H

[CaNsA]

+1 for the battery splitting due to the acid freezing. The same thing happened to my mate. It had cracked then exploded when he tried to start it.

[neil.]

Hmmm this is scary because I noticed that the distilled water I have in the garage for topping up the battery had frozen. Didn't even think to look at the battery itself.

I would assume the gel acid batteries don't suffer the same fate?

[doggone]

Batteries won't freeze unless discharged (unless it's -40 or something)

[alains]

depense on the degree of charge range between minus 6 until minus 15 (celcius) but if you try charging a frozen battery it will explode
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[ms51ves3]

[baldy]

Get some baking soda put on it. It will neutralize the acid. Once you are sure it's all ok just wash the baking soda off.
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