Replace ctek?

[pvr]

As usual, the Golf is on the ctek charger at all times and I put it back when I have taken the car out. I have been out in it 3 times this month and was planning to take it out on Thursday.

Roof opened fine as usual, but when starting the car the battery exploded. Very loud bang indeed and a lot of mess.

I have replaced the battery and the car starts and runs fine again, but should I replace the ctek? The battery was probably 10-12 years old (can’t find a date). Wasn’t pleasant to hear the acid sizzle on the engine mount

 

[pvr]

Car pic for context :lol:

 

[TIMMOS29]

If that was me I would take it back to Halfords and ask why it has done this....

 

[Pondrew]

I would replace the charger, just in case it is faulty and caused the battery to go pop. They are not very expensive (in the grand scheme of things).

 

[Mr Tidy]

Your Golf looks great pvr.

Like Pondrew I'd replace the charger, but as TIMMPOS29 said I'd also be asking Halfords to explain why that happened!

 

[pvr]

As you asked for more pics (oh, you didn’t :lol


Will replace the ctek as once you have a nagging feeling, it will never leave you so for peace of mind I will do that.

Halfords - hmm. Would they not just blame me, overcharging or whatever. Warranty expired of course but it was quite a shock and having my hands full of acid wasn’t what I wanted either.

 

[buzyg]

I would be replacing the Charger after that. I Have recently changed mine after the old one stopped charging the battery. I have bought a Ring charger this time. Seems both good quality and was a good price.

 

[Usel]

Charging a battery produces hydrogen gas. You should leave a battery to vent for 10mins or so before using it. I and many others never do this, I feel you were just unlucky. This is why the warning about charging batteries is to do it in a well ventilated area.

For some reason you had a build up of gas, at least it didn't explode into your face, that does happen.

 

[Mr Tidy]

That's true but most batteries have a vent tube, presumably to avoid exactly that scenario!

 

[pvr]

My bonnet is wide open in the garage so I guess it will have had plenty of ventilation. It was working when lowering the roof, just exploded when starting

 

[Usel]

That's true but most batteries have a vent tube, presumably to avoid exactly that scenario!

It's possible that crud off the plates blocked the tube?

 

[Bmwz4ruby]

Nice car, I have have nothing to add about battery, but: I used to have a GTi cab in Paprika red, it was 2 owner, 90,000 miles and zero rust. They were so well made back then. It’s still knocking around where it was sold and still in amazing condition.

 

[Usel]

My bonnet is wide open in the garage so I guess it will have had plenty of ventilation. It was working when lowering the roof, just exploded when starting

Starter motor is closer than the roof motor considering the battery is in the engine bay?

 

[pvr]

Starter is about 30cm from the battery yep.

I thought as the battery was being aired with the bonnet open that nothing would linger around it. I wasn’t aware of the need to let it rest

 

[Usel]

Starter is about 30cm from the battery yep.

I thought as the battery was being aired with the bonnet open that nothing would linger around it. I wasn’t aware of the need to let it rest

You were just unlucky. You had one of those '1 in a million' scenarios where everything was aligned for this to happen.

The hydrogen to air volume mix only needs to be above 4% for there to be a chance for it to ignite from a spark.

I'd say if the ctek is faulty it would have happened whilst charging. However the price of a new charger compared to the value of your car collection is quite low, so I'd replace it.

I handle more batteries than the average person but have never had one explode, I have heard of it happening to people locally. I even charge upto 8 batteries at a time, all daisy chained together, off a single charger, which would likely raise eyebrows, but it's been good for 20 years.

The only battery incident we've had on site was with the bosses wife's car. She'd had this ctek style battery charger for a very long time. It connected onto the battery with crocodile clips. Everytime she took it off the battery it would rotate the same way so that the wires were getting twisted.

Eventually the insulation got old and cracked, whilst she was about to disconnect the wires with the charger in her hand, the final twist made the wires connect. As the wires were still connected to the battery they instantly got red hot, she freaked out and just dumped the lot and ran. Luckily I was close by and she got my attention asking for help. I ran to the car, which was now bellowing black smoke and unclipped the wires.

It caused quite a lot of damage, as the car was a 911 with the battery just below the windscreen in the front (obviously) boot. It melted all the plastics and the carpet along with front bumper. Could have been worse as the car was in the garage, with another car next it and with it connected to the house.

It's quite a scary situation because when it happens the panicking stops you thinking straight. Nothing will stop it until you break the circuit. It's similar to the those diesel runaway videos you see on YouTube. As a spectator watching you can think of a few ways to shut the engine down but when it's happening to you I can understand why everyone is standing watching it bellowing out smoke

All chargers now have an inline fuse on the positive as close as possible to the battery terminal or if they have a fancy split connector block then a fuse is placed there.

 

[TitanTim]

The CTEK shouldn't overcharge a battery but they can get overly hot when pulsing and make a sizzling sound from the charger itself. I queried CTEK and they said its normal :? I think if the charger gets too hot it can't be doing it any good long term. I think next time around I'll try the Ring charger which are cheaper and just as good apparently.

At least it wasn't an EV letting go that would toast you're whole neighbourhood

Tim.

 

[pvr]

Thanks for that info Usel

Being very careful in always disconnecting it the right order of wires so there is never a chance of shorting it, I will add some resting time as well to the process now. Got a new msx5.0 coming to replace the old xs3600. New battery is a Varta, as always a great price from Tayna and next day delivery.

 

[Pondrew]

Halfords - hmm. Would they not just blame me, overcharging or whatever. Warranty expired of course but it was quite a shock and having my hands full of acid wasn’t what I wanted either.

Halfords won't be interested IMO. Why would they be? It's a ten year old battery and there are warnings that batteries can explode if not 'looked after' properly.
You may get a Halfords employee who looks at it and says "wow that's awesome dude" if you are lucky, but that's about it. :roll:

 

[roblightbody]

I would personally consider a 10-12 year old battery to be very, very old, no matter how well it's been cared for.

 

[TIMMOS29]

Halfords - hmm. Would they not just blame me, overcharging or whatever. Warranty expired of course but it was quite a shock and having my hands full of acid wasn’t what I wanted either.

Halfords won't be interested IMO. Why would they be? It's a ten year old battery and there are warnings that batteries can explode if not 'looked after' properly.
You may get a Halfords employee who looks at it and says "wow that's awesome dude" if you are lucky, but that's about it. :roll:

who knows without asking....