Battery Exploding Problem

[Rosenmontag]

FolksHope you guys can help.I drive 318i E46 2000 model. Recently my battery exploded..!! yeah, it was quite a shock. When my mechanic checked (not a BMW specialist), he said that this is not something unusual in BMW or even Benz. Apparently the gas builds up in the battery and when there is a small spark, it explodes. It doesn't happen in other cars but since BMW's battery is at the back of the car, there is no outlet for the gases to escape.I am not sure of this explanation. Can someone shed some light on this ?

 

[keray]

It happened to mine a few years back, were you using a maintainence free battery or a normal battery. For mine it was a normal battery, think the water level was too low or that the outlet was blocked or the second hand car dealer I bought it from put in a screwed up battery.

 

[burn]

first time gua dengar tentang perkara begini. dah kat 20 tahun bawa kereta, tak pernah gua kena. takut jugak bila dengar pasal meletup! ada sesiapa lagi member yang pernah experience pasal bateri meletup! better check gua punya bateri tumolo morning...

 

[jsen]

bring back to the factory n claim for indeminity..

if under warranty lagi shiok..!

i also never heard of tat, dangerous wei!!!..

 

[Mouse]

Originally posted by Rosenmontag@May 21 2006, 12:32 AM
Folks

Hope you guys can help.

I drive 318i E46 2000 model. Recently my battery exploded..!! yeah, it was quite a shock. When my mechanic checked (not a BMW specialist), he said that this is not something unusual in BMW or even Benz. Apparently the gas builds up in the battery and when there is a small spark, it explodes. It doesn't happen in other cars but since BMW's battery is at the back of the car, there is no outlet for the gases to escape.

I am not sure of this explanation. Can someone shed some light on this ?

anything destroy or burn mark in your boot?

 

[chubby]

Hmm..first time heard about this exploding battery thing...i'm sure its not common however im sure yours is one of those unique cases la...at least i hope so for everyones sake!

 

[Rosenmontag]

Folks

Thanks for the feedback.

I have been driving for more than 2 decades but this is the first time such thing had happened. In fact I have been driving E36 for many years before but never encountered the problem.

I bought this car a few months ago and have been using the same battery that came with the car. It was a MF one but I had no reason to suspect as the car came with a full AB service record. The 2nd hand car outlet is a reputable one too.

The mechanic told me that he has seen similar cases in E46 and the new S-Class recently and wasn't as surprised as I was.

But the explanantion did not really satisfy me, that's why I am checking with other owners.

 

[wglee]

Originally posted by Rosenmontag@May 21 2006, 12:32 AM
Folks

Hope you guys can help.

I drive 318i E46 2000 model. Recently my battery exploded..!! yeah, it was quite a shock. When my mechanic checked (not a BMW specialist), he said that this is not something unusual in BMW or even Benz. Apparently the gas builds up in the battery and when there is a small spark, it explodes. It doesn't happen in other cars but since BMW's battery is at the back of the car, there is no outlet for the gases to escape.

I am not sure of this explanation. Can someone shed some light on this ?

I could be wrong but I thought the E46 318i's battery is in front in the engine compartment and only 6 cylinder E46s have their batteries in the boot?

Too lazy to check my manual...

 

[vincent]

wah , can explode meh . have to check wit , the battery manufacturer .....jsen go ask your fren lar .....

 

[Raymond@M-BeasT]

first time heard this...didn't know battery will explode also.

 

[Rosenmontag]

Yo wglee

No, the battery is in the boot.

 

[wglee]

Originally posted by Rosenmontag@May 22 2006, 07:57 AM
Yo wglee

No, the battery is in the boot.

This is the info which I got from my pre-facelift 2001 E46 owners manual about the battery:

"Location in BMW 316i, 318i

The battery is at the front right of the engine compartment. Cars for certain
national markets or with other equipment specifications have the battery in
the luggage compartment – see next column. Keep the top of the battery clean and dry."


And the "next column" is info about the battery's location in BMW 320i, 325i, 325xi,330i, 330xi, 320d, 330d, 330xd:-

"The battery is on the rear right in the luggage compartment..." etc. etc.

 

[c-square]

now, this is indeed scary :beaten:

 

[khalidm3]

my CRV's battery exploded too. when i opened up the bonnet, the cover of the battery was gone. i thnik its just the life span of the MF battery...

 

[c-square]

Originally posted by Rosenmontag@May 20 2006, 11:32 AM
Folks

Hope you guys can help.

I drive 318i E46 2000 model. Recently my battery exploded..!! yeah, it was quite a shock. When my mechanic checked (not a BMW specialist), he said that this is not something unusual in BMW or even Benz. Apparently the gas builds up in the battery and when there is a small spark, it explodes. It doesn't happen in other cars but since BMW's battery is at the back of the car, there is no outlet for the gases to escape.

I am not sure of this explanation. Can someone shed some light on this ?

so, the explosion was due to gas build-up. How to prevent such thing (gas build-up) from happening?

 

[flash]

Originally posted by c-square+May 22 2006, 10:17 AM-->QUOTE (c-square @ May 22 2006, 10:17 AM)

 

[Rosenmontag]

The mechanic told me that there was no outlet for the gases to escape. So what he did was to drill a channel to allow the gases to be released.

On the cause of the explosion the mechanic says that it could have been a small spark that caused it. He says that this is a design issue. Apparently even the new S-Class has the same problem.

However I shudder to think if the explosion had happened in a petrol station or somewhere equally risky. I could have been history....!!

 

[c-square]

Originally posted by Rosenmontag@May 22 2006, 12:09 AM
The mechanic told me that there was no outlet for the gases to escape. So what he did was to drill a channel to allow the gases to be released.

Does it then allow the battery water to evaporate at a faster rate?

 

[wglee]

If the gas build-up is in the battery itself, does it matter whether the battery is in the engine compartment or in the boot?

An AB staff once told me that there is an outlet of sorts for the battery compartment in the boot, but I must confess I didn't bother to check that out.

BTW, if my memory serves me right, I was once loaned a pre-facelift E46 318i 1.9 (year 2001) by AB and I noticed its battery was in the engine compartment. This is also corroborated by my car's owner's manual, unless the 318i under discussion here - apparently an AB-supplied model - belongs to the category of "Cars for certain national markets or with other equipment specifications (which) have the battery in the luggage compartment" (quoted from the manual).

 

[wglee]

Originally posted by c-square+May 22 2006, 01:44 PM-->QUOTE (c-square @ May 22 2006, 01:44 PM)