Battery Explosion - How just turning the ignition key can ruin your day!

[tscaptain]

As mine always is plugged in to a Ctek 3600 when in the garage, I have followed Richard's example and bought a voltage tester (cigar lighter plug in). With the green Ctek light on the voltage read 12.7 - phew! Will keep an eye on it in future though rather than just assume it's doing a "proper job". I think "gassing" is only a problem when the charging voltage exceeds 14.3?

 

[Steve_996_4S]

Battery Explosion Update: Thank you for all the responses, comments and suggestions both on this forum and through email and personal contact. The consensus of opinion seems to be hydrogen build-up due to over-charging. As suggested in this thread, it seems a very good idea to purchase a cheap volt meter that plugs into the cigarette lighter socket to keep an eye on what is going on with both the external charger/conditioner and the alternator. My Porsche battery conditioner is currently plugged into the cigarette lighter socket so I plan to replace it with a CTEK conditioner that connects directly to the battery, then I can use a plug-in volt meter to check that both the conditioner and alternator are not over-charging. I will keep this thread updated with any further information that comes to light regarding this subject.

 

[Steve_996_4S]

For those that are still interested in this subject, here are a couple of links to reports of exploding Porsche OEM batteries in the USA; one was actually being carried when it exploded! [link]http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/gt3-gt2-gt/240920-exploding-porsche-batteries-warning-2.html[/link] [link]http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/997/277976-oem-battery-exploded.html[/link]

 

[George Elliott]

I look forward to receiving your comments or adding any other theory that you may have

Theory E Porsche Battery & Electrical engineering sub-assys department have squeezed so much cost out of the Battery Unit Cost that they have become unstable and dangerous. They are the only Co I am aware of who have not seen battery technology progress in recent years. Theory F That dept are now responsible for Procurement & Testing of Con Rods Theory G A GTR Nissan electrical system would not drain its battery if parked for 6 weeks.Why does a Porsche do this? Good to see you have no lasting damage George

 

[924nutter]

Never used a battery conditiioner in my life, never had a battery blow up. The battery in my 996 was just "nearly new" when I bought it in March 2012. I have just replaced it with a bosch 110t for £102 inc. considering the price of the C-Tek conditioner in the first place and the potential for damage and personal injury I an happy to fork out 102 odd every two years or so. Mind you I am lucky in that the car can be locked up in a garage with a huge hasp and staple set into the concrete, so I only lock it when I am out in it. I have to say that no matter what electricla systems exist in a car they do not put extra strain on the battery. The battery is just a giant capacitor/buffer to supply 350 amos in a short burst to turn the engine over where upon the alternator takes over and supplies the current for all the appliances, unles you do what my Step cousin Stanley does on a cold winter's day which is to turn on the heated screen and seat about ten minutes before he tries to start the car. Sometimes he has to take the train due to a flat battery, I wonder why? If the battery is producing more hydrogen (and oxygen don't forget) than can vent away then perhaps the trick is to disconnect the conditioner the night before, i.e come home Friday disconnect ready for a Saturday blat to allow the excess gas to dissipate. If the Battery can't hold a charge for those 12 hours or so then it has had it anyway. How many journeys last three weeks? The plates can only arc if they are not covered by the electrolyte surely so there is the question of whether being contiually charged discharged and generally being in use for durations much longer than the average car journey, even if the current is low, can lead to the water content of the sulphuric acid solutioin being gadually boiled off and in thse days of maintenance free batteries you have no way of knowing.

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

The system uses slightly less power when locked than unlocked, and Porsche state about 40mAh with everything shut down. In my experience, it is more like 50-60mAh. That equates to about 18 hours per amp, so in 3 weeks it will lose around 30 of its 80 amps, and will struggle on the starter. Most likely it will drop a fair bit below 12 volts, which is likely to trigger the alarm. I also think my Cayman consumes more than my 996s did, so in the summer when I'm using the 3.2 most of the time, a conditioner helps a lot. I can leave the 3.2 for weeks on end without a problem, but do plug it in when it is off the road for the winter months.

 

[924nutter]

From practical experience my 996 t can go longer than three weeks, I remember posting something to that effect on here somewhere.

 

[chriscoates81]

ORIGINAL: 924nutter From practical experience my 996 t can go longer than three weeks, I remember posting something to that effect on here somewhere.

What capacity/make do you have?

 

[geoffpfc]

I would recommend a more sophisticated CTek charger than the Porsche one, the other additional drain is if you have a Tracker system fitted as, depending on type, they will be continuously in contact with the base station.

 

[minny]

I use a CTEK MXS 5 and MXS 7 and have never had a problem although I'm using a Bosch S5 in my car.

 

[36270k]

I have been following this thread with interest as I have come across battery explosions before on boats where no regulator has been fitted to solar panels. Usually set off by an arc from the battery switch contacts. I bought a 2000 Boxster S a couple of weeks ago and I thought I would check the battery. It is a Bosch S5 and has a vent tube leading from the battery to underneath the car. When charging a battery, I always leave the bonnet open to vent any gases.