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Tore Battery apart!!!

J

JD Seller

Well-known Member
I had some time this afternoon to take the cover off the dead battery out of the 2010 Impala. There is a bar that links the plates between the middle cells. It is brunt through. I hooked jumper wire across the break and the battery then has continuity. So I am wondering if there is a vibration issue effecting the batteries??? The car doe not have any vibration issues you can feel but maybe it is amplified up through the fender skirt to the battery box. I have some dense foam sheets that are maybe 3/8 of an inch thick. I think I am going to put a sheet the size of the battery under the battery to see if it makes any difference.
 
(quoted from post at 22:06:47 03/02/16) I had some time this afternoon to take the cover off the dead battery out of the 2010 Impala. There is a bar that links the plates between the middle cells. It is [b:7cea6547d6]brunt [/b:7cea6547d6]through. I hooked jumper wire across the break and the battery then has continuity. So I am wondering if there is a vibration issue effecting the batteries??? The car doe not have any vibration issues you can feel but maybe it is amplified up through the fender skirt to the battery box. I have some dense foam sheets that are maybe 3/8 of an inch thick. I think I am going to put a sheet the size of the battery under the battery to see if it makes any difference.
Click to expand...
I'm assuming you mean "burnt". Does it looks like it flexed and created a crack that then allowed an arc to jump the gap and burn the bar? What are the dimensions of the bar? Is it pretty thick? A battery is a pretty massive component and I wouldn't think a vibration could cause the bar to fail if it's solidly connected at both ends but... maybe if you get just the right harmonic frequency ringing through it? who knows?
 
It has about a 1/4 of an inch burnt out of the abr. The bar is about a 1/2 inch wide and 1/8 inch thick. I am thinking about a flexing/crack then short.
 
Could one cell have been weak enough to have frozen? Bulged out sides or bulged cell dividers is a symptom of freezen electrolyte.
 
Use the hi density poly foam, bends 180 degrees without breaking. Not the blue had insulating "foam" that is stiff and breaks easily.
 
JD Seller- I think the 'bar' is the weakest "link". That's why it blew first.

I don't feel vibration was the cause. Maybe, look deeper into the battery for a short or poor connections for the ground or the starter. These may cause stress on the battery and cause the problem.

You may ask..."Shouldn't the fuse blow first?". I've seen fuses that held and the wire burn before the fuse blew.

JMHO
 
If it looks burned, I think you are lucky there wasn't a small explosion fueled by the hydrogen that is generated by a charging lead acid battery. I don't think that vibration is the culprit if the battery had a hold-down installed. It is most likely due to flawed materials or build process.
 
George they will not fit the battery box. They really saved on space and made the battery area so tight you have almost zero choices other then the battery called for the darn thing.
 
What about the possibility that there is tension on the cable when connected that is causing mechanical stress on the battery? The burnt appearance could be from when the internal connection gave way, and arced momentarily as connection was being lost.

Just a thought/guess.
 
Jim the cables are not in tension they have a loop in them and lay right along the battery. I agree that the burnt spot is when it arced as it failed. I think it cracked and then arced. The mystery is why would it crack??? Also is this what happened to the other batteries???
 
Is this a standard battery or one of the newer type. Have you contacted the parts store where you purchased the battery? They may have contact with someone in battery business who can help. I know the people we get ours from has 1.
 
That is what I thought you would find, but I was thinking at the end where the post connects, not the middle.

I can't see vibration being a factor in a smooth riding passenger car. Something off road, rigid suspension, maybe...

Any way to post a picture? I'm thinking some type lateral expansion/contraction stressing the bar. Any sign of the plates warping or swelling? Anything pushing up in the middle of the bottom when it's clamped down in the tray? Or squeezing the case from the sides?
 
Also be sure that the battery is firmly clamped down. The Delco rep used to remind us on every visit to make sure that all batteries in the fleet were clamped down securely. A battery that can move a bit will live less than half as long as s secured battery- or so he told us.
 
Dick2- Yup, kinda like the batteries that are "clamped" down on our tractors.

I travel over very rough ground and 'beat' my batteries to death but they last many years. Also, the batteries are usually held down by 'Bungee' cords.
 
If nothing else run you some ground wires so you know there is extra grounds ! Right from the battery to the alternator for sure.
I worked in the parts dept. at a GM dealer and the techs had used ground wires in the past to cure so of GM's weird electrical issues.
Still sounds like GM is still making inferior products just like before the bail out.
 
We had an 85 cavalier that did the same thing a couple of times, dealer thought vibration too. Perhaps a Strong box implement battery might hold up better?Mike
 

That is a fuse that has blown. It is manufactured into the battery so that the battery will melt an internal fuse instead of blowing up and causing major damage and-or injury. You need to find the intermittent heavy load.
 
check the draw of the starter --it might be taking the battery to its limit every time you start it -- and feel the cables -are they warm after 30 seconds -- you need to disable the engine some where so it doesnt start to do this --just a thought -- good luck -- Roy
 
Is it possible the tires are out of balance? I'm thinking you have a vibration issue or bad luck.
 
That single bolt hold down isn't pulling the center of the case down, is it? Is the batt box distorted maybe allowing the clamp to pull hard in the center? Try running it with just a bungee.
 
JD,this is an interesting problem.I worked on trucks for 40 years,and thought I had seen it all.In the winter,jump starting ,cranking while charging 300amps into dead batteries-we abused a lot of batteries.I have seen some with almost no voltage,but not that I remember totally open circuit;in fact I doubt I ever checked for open circuit between + and - . I have replaced a lot of batteries,only saw a few blow up,most were just weak or dead. I guess its possible the bar connecting plates is designed to be a fuse,I never heard that before.I would guess its more of a distortion thing when clamped down that weakened the bar,and then caused failure under cranking load.We had owned a '99 Monte Carlo once that the battery failed in; no warning-in fact it was in the garage.I just replaced it,and had no more problem.That car went on to have several frontal deer collisions,and no battery problems.I just don't think you have a vibration issue.I googled battery construction but did not see anything helpful,but maybe something would pop out for you.I was wondering if you could contact a battery rep from a supplier that you would be familiar with.Good luck,Mark
 
At first guess, I might want to blame a problem with the material that the battery is made from. BUT, since the problem seems to involve several batteries, I would suspect that either there is still something with the car causing it. Possibly a design defect that carries through all of that battery group? It simply isn't normal to have that many batteries fail in service. Also, since others have suggested that the link that was open may have been some sort of fuse, I suspect that something could be sending (or allowing) voltage spikes to occur. I also might suspect the ECM. I have heard of some vehicles having the voltage regulator built into the ECM rather than the alternator.
The car I drive was purchased at an auction 5 years ago. It still has the same battery that was in it when I bought it. Age unknown.
My observation has been that batteries that are used regularly tend to last a good long time - usually well past the warranty periods.
 
couldn't find info on a battery with a built in fuse, did find info on 40amp battery fuses in the fuse block. Bill
 
I put styrofoam between and some times under my truck batteries but they have large boxes also. It seems to cushion the batteries.
 

Whut MARK ROBKE and jimg.allentown said... I have never see this and have see a many battery flopping around. I ran automotive bats in my boats and never suffered a issue from beating them to death... Even my ATV's never had a issue with this and I have put it to the test...

Its not a built in fuse either even if it was it would have to fused at 1200 amps its not gonna happen...
 
I'd try a optima battery and see if that will last? I know they will take more of beating than acid batteries , different colored tops for different applications.
 
I can't imagine vibration being an issue. Otherwise all the batteries on our Farmall's would have blown up many times over. We just use a simple car battery in them, and they just shiver when they run.

If it's due to distortion, don't clamp it down so hard, just enough to hold it.
 
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