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The Car Care Clinic

Pop Goes the Battery

by Bob DeP.
AskBob@stretcher.com



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Bob,
I drive a 1991 Mercury Sable. A few days ago my battery blew up. The battery was about 2.5-3 years old and never had any problems. Until then. I've heard that temperatures can have an effect on batteries. It was about 65 degrees out that day and I had been driving for less then 15 minutes. I shut the car off and went into a store, came out and the second I turned the key......Boom! Then some "smoke" came out from the hood so I opened the hood to find my battery in pieces. The top was in about 5 pieces and one side was blown off. I put a new battery in and now its fine. Please help me. I have worked in a junk yard and have seen just about everything but this is new.
John

John,
Generally batteries explode like that when they are shorted. They heat up very fast and ignite the fumes inside. I would check the starter for a short. Good Luck!
Drive Safely!
Bob, The Auto Answer Man


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