Battery went KABOOM

[dudemancool1904]

Picked up the wife from a medical thing, of course she doesn’t like to passenger princess in her AMG but prefers my LC instead. Anyway got home parked and forgot something so went back to start the truck. Heard and felt a slight BOOM (maybe a POOF?). Popped the hood and one of the battery cell covers was popped off along with a little bit of zesty sulfuric acid fumes. I let the car sit for about 20 mins and tested the battery; it showed 11.8V. Again tried to crank it and it fell to 10.3V.

Checked the stickers and the paperwork, from what I can tell it’s the original 2019 battery warranted for 84 months. Did the math and it’s 86-87 months old.

Dealer has a Truestart 27F for $150. Seems like a no brainer? I mean this battery got me all over Johnson Valley, the sierras, bumfuck Nevada, etc. I love the idea of an odyssey but don’t want to mess with diodes etc.

 

[prharper]

Picked up the wife from a medical thing, of course she doesn’t like to passenger princess in her AMG but prefers my LC instead. Anyway got home parked and forgot something so went back to start the truck. Heard and felt a slight BOOM (maybe a POOF?). Popped the hood and one of the battery cell covers was popped off along with a little bit of zesty sulfuric acid fumes. I let the car sit for about 20 mins and tested the battery; it showed 11.8V. Again tried to crank it and it fell to 10.3V.

Checked the stickers and the paperwork, from what I can tell it’s the original 2019 battery warranted for 84 months. Did the math and it’s 86-87 months old.

Dealer has a Truestart 27F for $150. Seems like a no brainer? I mean this battery got me all over Johnson Valley, the sierras, bumfuck Nevada, etc. I love the idea of an odyssey but don’t want to mess with diodes etc.

Was your OEM Panasonic? They are pretty solid. Wish we could get replacements stateside.
Skip the Odyssey AGM, the diode hack doesn't work on 2016+ years.

 

[ToothDr]

Was your OEM Panasonic? They are pretty solid. Wish we could get replacements stateside.
Skip the Odyssey AGM, the diode hack doesn't work on 2016+ years.

I believe all OEM batteries sold in new 200s stateside were Panasonic. Wish they sold them in the USA. The original OEM battery will have 6 round covers that unscrew to add distilled water.

 

[dudemancool1904]

I believe all OEM batteries sold in new 200s stateside were Panasonic. Wish they sold them in the USA. The original OEM battery will have 6 round covers that unscrew to add distilled water.

Ok I looked at pics on BaT and I don’t have an OEM battery with the 6 round covers; looks like I had a TrueStart replacement probably put in when I bought the truck CPO from Toyota. Hopefully I can get them to honor the warranty.

 

[dudemancool1904]

AAA came by this morning and tested the battery, had several bad cells on the side that went boom. We added water and juiced it again but it made no difference. He gave me a jump and I drove up to the dealer. They were super helpful. Looked up the vin found the battery was barely 2 years old. Honored the free replacement and got me on my way.

 

[bloc]

Another truestart doesn't live up to it's name... A few years ago my friend had two fail in his 4runner in a matter of 3 months.

I have moved on to Interstate on a handful of vehicles by now and have been really happy with them.

 

[GrouchyTech]

Make sure you don't have an overcharging alternator.

 

[gasman4u]

@dudemancool1904 that’s wild! Good on the dealer for swapping it on the spot, but my God I don’t know how they’d try to shirk that responsibility given what happened. I have a trustart and it’s fine so far. I replaced my panny when it showed a few times it was starting to get sluggish on starting at the 48-52 month mark.

EDIT: I’m thinking you did, but get that sulfuric acid spray neutralized before it causes issues with your paint, etc.

@bloc I’ve had decent luck with the Costco interstates. Most seemingly are Korean made on their shelf’s though fwiw. I am on a 3 year rotation for vehicle batteries that I don’t drive given I wouldn’t be able to jump those cars when I’m not driving them. I have yet to get more than 4-5 years out of a battery where I am.

@GrouchyTech would a decent battery “tester” show alternator overcharging? Or is this another specialty test?

 

[GrouchyTech]

@GrouchyTech would a decent battery “tester” show alternator overcharging? Or is this another specialty test?

Put a multimeter on it while engine is running, around 14.5 volts or less.

There's probably just a bad cell in that battery. OP do not continue to use it or try to charge it, time to replace!

 

[dudemancool1904]

Put a multimeter on it while engine is running, around 14.5 volts or less.

There's probably just a bad cell in that battery. OP do not continue to use it or try to charge it, time to replace!

Yea I replaced it the next morning. I’m not that dumb. Like I said the AAA guy had a fancy battery tester and we were able not only show the battery was bad but actually which cells were blown.

I checked the voltage after replacement and it was around 14 after cold start and fell to high 13’s once we reached operating temp.

@gasman4u luckily no spray but I did clean the terminals and the tray with a can of battery terminal spray/acid neutralizer then doused it all with distilled water. If anything it was mostly just dirty from off road adventures.

 

[gasman4u]

Yea I replaced it the next morning. I’m not that dumb. Like I said the AAA guy had a fancy battery tester and we were able not only show the battery was bad but actually which cells were blown.

I checked the voltage after replacement and it was around 14 after cold start and fell to high 13’s once we reached operating temp.

@gasman4u luckily no spray but I did clean the terminals and the tray with a can of battery terminal spray/acid neutralizer then doused it all with distilled water. If anything it was mostly just dirty from off road adventures.

I did the decontamination after my panny swap. I was surprised at the amount of acid that thing “spewed” during its use. My battery hold down and tray had some areas that reacted to the base in the can of “battery _____ cleaner”

Nonetheless, im glad you got it sorted right and quickly.