I went to drive the GT2 this morning,took off the Porsche trickle charger, turned the key & POW a semi loud explosion from under the hood, everything went dead & smoke was coming out from under the hood.
I finally was able to jump the hood open using my other battery tender. The Battery was in pieces and I started pouring baking soda mixed with water over everything. I have no idea what happened,maybe someone might have some insight?

 

OMG! Sorry to hear Paulie, lucky you weren't in front of it when it blew. My dads friend lost alot of hearing when his battery exploded, thats some scary stuff. Did it hurt anything else?

 

The same thing happened to me on my Supra. It was also on a tender. Sorry to hear about that buddy!

Justin

 

Not sure yet,nothing looks messed up except the remains of the Battery. I will have the car towed to Akram to check everything. I think I was able to pour water with baking soda over everything before any damage to the parts next to the battery. I am waiting for some more baking soda & I will pour some more over everything just to make sure all acid is neutralized.

 

Yes mine has been sitting on a tender quite awhile. Justin did it do any other damage other than the battery?

 

Sorry to hear that Paulie - Glad you weren't hurt and hope you get it cleaned up with no residual damage.

 

It is the Mexican Mafia....you were greenlit for headbutting your labor force. They are just working out some kinks in their hit man program

Sorry, couldn't ressit...call Akram, he has that nice enclosed trailer.

 

Man, you guys down there are always "blowing" things!!!

Probably due to hydrogen gas buildup from charging and then something sparked it. May have had a loose connection that created a spark and ignited the hydrogen gas...

 

wow honestly never heard of this!!

 

Most likely hydrogen gas buildup, ideally the compartment should be well ventilated during stationary charging. A low rate charge like the Porsche unit shouldn't make a lot of gas but does nonetheless.

After taking the car off trickle I've taken to opening the hood & battery cover, venting the battery area before starting.

There are (rare) incidence of battery explosions caused just by the sudden surge of current. The charging just raises the probability.

Mehmet

 

If the tender was on for a long time - say several weeks - and the battery vent tube was crimped or blocked a build up of hydrogen gas could be the culprit - if I use a tender I always open the boot, take off the cover on the battery compartment and let it air out for 10 minutes or so to purge any possible hydrogen gas buildup - since these cars have the battery confined to small space the chance for buildup is greater then in most vehicles. I don't like battery tenders on Porsche's for this reason. If I am not going to drive the car for a long time (more then a month) I will diconnect the battery. If the battery does go down I just use a real chanrger to bring it back to life.

 

Hey thanks guys for the Hydrogen theory I would of never of thought of that. My car can sit for months at a time. I will start to vent before starting in the future. I will also think about driving it on a regular basis. I hope I have drenched it enough with water & baking soda to stop any acid damage under the battery cover,any other recommendations?

 

I have been telling you this for years now: For your and the cars benefit, take her out at least once a week!

 

You did the best thing you could have done straight away.
Maybe stating the obvious; use rubber gloves to remove the remains, cover the wing and trunk area doing this. Wash down with a hose then use a spray bottle, spray everything with the baking soda mixture - spray all the metal parts in the area, on the hood. Let it sit 5 - 10 min then rinse down everything again.

 

The same thing happened a few years back at a local dealership in my area. The fire took 3 brand new cars with it.