Battery exploded

[harriswallace]

I washed the cart really didn't wet the controller or batteries . Went down the street and something blew look at everything didn't see anything the controller was blinking the red and yellow together Curtis 1238 72volts. So I pushed it home checked battery voltages 8 were 8.7 and one was 6.1. I went inside read the manual and it said to cycle the key switch and thats when it blew top off the battery. I disconnected that battery and it now reads 8.7 inside the battery is all black. So now i am scared to hook it back up i got acid all over me and it took my breath away very smokey lol. The batteries are Us batteries 8volt 205ah mabey 2 months old the hour meter says a little under 6 hours. My question is do batteries sometimes do that
Thanks

[ARKSoft84]

Still under warranty?

[hunt365]

no way I'd hook that battery back up. something had to have shorted out inside the battery or an external spark ignited the gas. water levels ok in other batteries? any loose connections? Should be warrantied after only 2 months. Just glad you didn't get hurt too bad.

[harriswallace]

The battery reads 4.2 now so definitely bad battery must have 2 bad cells. Everything else seems fine I disconnected the motor then hooked the controller up to 12 volt power supply and plugged the programmer in the fault code was severe under voltage. Hooked all the batteries up except the bad one got 69.9 volts put it on jack stands and reconnected the motor no codes . The water levels are good except for the one that blew one cell the plates are barley showing. Very scary i had the seat off and the fill cap hit the roof of the cart and blew acid all over the side of my face and neck it was very loud like a gun I never had a battery explode on me new respect went and got safety glass gloves and new pair of underwear to finish diagnosing the problem

[hunt365]

That's some scary stuff, glad your ok. Hopefully they'll take care of that battery for you. I think mine had a 1 year replacement. Im sure they'll take care of it but your probably on your own with the underwear.

[nosaj2]

This makes me wonder if the plywood and seat cushion would contain a full on battery explosion. Maybe I should have a kevlar blanket attached to the under side of the seat

[kgsc]

Ya mean like this one ?

This one lifted a 340 lb man off the seat but contained it somewhat.

[nosaj2]

Yeah I think I may at least put an extra 3/4 piece of plywood under there.

[harriswallace]

Got new battery under warranty the guy and the battery place said there is only two reasons battery blows low water or loose wires. I had water and all the wires were tight but he says it had to be the wires. Is there other thing that will cause this or just a bad battery. I'm glad that it wasn't that bad as the picture kgsc posted

[kgsc]

No damage to the seat on this one. The previous one actually stamped an impression of the battery cap in the seat bottom.