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Message started by thecoolerking on 07/11/13 at 23:39:55

Title: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery cable
Post by thecoolerking on 07/11/13 at 23:39:55

Positive cable snapped right off at the cable end. Never saw that before. Of course I was on a country road a few miles away from civilization at the time - my luck. I figured it out right away but I had removed the tool kit and didn't have what I needed handy. Had a friend bring me some heavy gauge wire to splice just to get me home.

Anyone ever had that happen? I have an '05 S40 with just over 3k on it so the battery must have been jostling around for a while for the cable end to break. I did put a trickle charger on it recently. I'm going to put together a new cable and try to get the battery stable. Have any suggestions that you've tried?

Thanks

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by Serowbot on 07/12/13 at 00:10:31

Could be just bad luck...
...but, I have noticed... cables do get brittle when they are shorted...
I don't know the chemistry involved... :-?...

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by oldNslow on 07/12/13 at 09:17:02

The oem battery is a pretty snug fit in the battery box if everything is still stock. Shouldn't move much at all. If yours is bouncing around then yeah, you need to stuff something(packing foam maybe) in there to keep it still. Sounds like maybe you have a replacement battery that's too small for the box.

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/12/13 at 09:37:08

Ive got a battery for the W-650 in my 4 wheeler. No way is it a "fit", but, some cut to fit bits of foam rubber, it sits in place & is probably " happier" than the stock battery would be. it doesnt get quite the harsh direction changing, jouncing & bouncing. but you dont want a battery sitting where it has room to bounce around. that will create very harsh direction changes. not good for their little guts,,

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by thecoolerking on 07/12/13 at 12:48:28

Thanks all. It is definitely an aftermarket battery, not very snug. Appreciate the feedback. Digging around I found some garden host to cut and fit. Snug as a bug.

Now, I need to get bags so I can store some decent tools.

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/12/13 at 16:30:14

tool kit needs can be put in a pretty small bag. i think serobot has a bag low, by the motor, there are bags to hang under the headlite. get yer bags, yea, but theyre for hardware store or grocery runs,

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by thecoolerking on 07/13/13 at 18:45:27

Good to know. I was planning to use the bags for tools. I now have the original tool-kit and managed to squeeze it in the small side tool box. I had it out because the bag was bigger than the opening. Those items seem sufficient when I add a knife, piece of wire and some electrical tape.

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/13/13 at 21:43:56

Mite wanna swap good tools for their cheezy stuff,,

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by savagerider87 on 07/14/13 at 04:57:28

i got a small stanley 1/4 inch socket set that fits nicely in my handlebar bag, sad part is that my ex gf that wouldnt let me buy a bike bought it for me for xmas a few years back. I think she got it at walmart, but im not gonna ask ;) If only she could see where it is now ;D theyre pretty cheap, but very good quality tools, i think she paid like $20 for it, and it has helped my friends Vmax on a roadside fix once. People laugh as to why I carry tools, and this is the exact reason why i do. you never know when you or someone else may need them :)

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by Grayowl on 07/14/13 at 08:22:28

I have used my tools once on my bike and they have used many more times on someone else’s bike. Upgrading the tools and combining as many functions as possible helped me in getting the tools I thought I needed into the space I had. Small tool pouch that is below the head light, but I am looking for a better location.

As for the battery, you do not want it moving around or getting jarred and a regular basis. Two days ago on our rescue truck (Ford F550) in the fire department, I turned the key on to start the truck and waited a few seconds listening to the radio and when I hit the start the passenger side battery exploded (raising the hood about two inches and almost filling my pants) and the driver’s side battery ruptured. I have never had or seen that happen before on starting anyway, it was attributed to the plates being banged around inside the battery (this truck has seen a hard life) and two plates finally getting close enough to short / arc together during that start sequence, igniting the hydrogen on top of the battery. The batteries were only one year old no maintenance type when they failed. Had the hood not been closed there would have been battery acid everywhere and a very dicey situation would have occurred for anyone around the truck at the time. I hate to think of that happening on my bike, my body parts close to the battery are bad enough, but the acid all over the back of the engine and under the seat would be a major pain to clean, inspect, and repair. :'(

Whole new respect for batteries and hydrogen after that little episode.

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/14/13 at 08:37:38

if youve never seen one explode, keep it that way. ive seen 2, not funny

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by Grayowl on 07/14/13 at 08:48:36

This is the first I have seen explode on starting, I have seen and heard of them coming apart during jumping batteries or on a charger. We have a battery maintainer on the truck that supposedly conditions the batteries continuously, I am thinking that it causes the water to go away over time and that is where we got the hydrogen build up. As for the plates shorting / arcing the battery was way to damaged to tell if that was the case or not. I am still looking for possible scenarios for the battery exploding on start up. Got any ideas ?

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/14/13 at 08:59:39

The first one I saw explaode was probably my fault. Was a welder mounted on the back 1/2 pickup frame trailer,, no real ho9ld down for the battery included. I made one out of seat belt & tightened too tite, bowed it a hair, after a coupla months, it just blew up, no start, no move, nothing, just sitting, sounded like a shotgun,

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by Grayowl on 07/14/13 at 09:11:14

Wow just sitting there that is stranger than mine. I just am not sure what happened with this one and will probably never know for sure how and why it departed the living. I do know that I do not want to be around another one exploding. That could have been a real issue had the hood been up and doing maintenance of the truck when it happened.

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/14/13 at 09:14:37

You gotta hose everything under there with something,, talk about rust!

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by Grayowl on 07/14/13 at 09:21:45

We covered everything under the hood with boxes of baking soda, it looked like it had sat out in a snowstorm. When we pressure washed the whole engine bay and one more light coating of baking soda to see if we missed anything the first go around and washed it a second time. I am sure we will see some rust later down the road, but cleaned it the best we could. The jeans and tee shirt I had on have pin holes all over then from the battery acid just pressure washing it after the fact.

Title: Re: Lost all power tonight from a broken battery c
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/14/13 at 09:31:02

ospho, dilute phosphoric acide, turns iron oxide to iron phosphate, available at kelly moore, quart bottles, 10ish bux, recent name change from ospho, dont get the gel,, yukk..