It's only after a battery has started being charged, such as connected to another good battery in another car, that it might give off enough gas to accumulate hydrogen in a concentration appropriate for exploding in a spark nearby or cigarette burn nearby
Whewwwwww That makes me feel a lot better. Especially if some guy is using booster cables while smoking a cigarette and is taking a long time unhooking the cables attached to my battery which is under the back seat in my new Cadillac Escalade. :sick:
so, my opinion. Walmart is the way to go. even CR's gives them top quality marks (performance), and they are usually the cheapest. A good combo.
Plus, they install for free. And at the local shop to me, they do a very nice job. Clean everything, put the grease on the cable ends, etc. No way I want to mess around with all that.
Besides, there is a core charge, so if I drag it home (and those dang things are heavy) and DIY, then I have to drag the old one back to the store! was too much hassle.
AAA has the scam all figured out though. The trucks they send out to jump you carries batteries, so they can test it for you on the spot and install a fresh one. No need to even go to the store!
Almost stopped at the local lexus dealer today. Was at a store across the street, and they had a BBQ cooker trailer set up out front. and I was hungry. I am 100% not in the market for a new Lexus (or a used one), but if my daughter hadn't been with me, I probably would have stopped anyway!
since you figured out that you were going to get a 'whuppin', we will just leave it at that.
Now I am curious! I have no idea what I said that would make you ask if I have ever changed a battery. I have lifted them and splashed some acid near me. I have changed quite a few flat tires. I have driven cars, taxis when I went to teacher's college that shouldn't have been allowed on the road. I had to add about a gallon of oil a week to an Austin Sprite I once owned. But actually change a battery, no, and that is one reason I would rather get a new one after 5 years before I have to get the old one back to a store and pick up a new one - or mess around with one in the trunk.
Do you have wood sheds in Conneticut? At least let me know what my "whuppin" is for.
Besides, there is a core charge, so if I drag it home (and those dang things are heavy) and DIY, then I have to drag the old one back to the store! was too much hassle.
That reminds me of the time back in about 2002/2003 when I had to replace the battery in the ’95 Monte Carlo that I bought used in ’97. The battery was starting to act up so I decided to buy a battery at the local Advance Auto Parts store and they provided free installation. I knew they wouldn’t provide free installation on that car because the battery was below the engine fuse box and to get at it you had to remove a brace that ran diagonally from the left fender to the firewall. Like you, I didn’t feel like running back to return the core so I did the necessary prep work, even loosened the hold down clamp, to make it easy to remove the battery.
I go the store and this young guy looks up the replacement battery for my car and said, “we have it in stock but we don’t install that battery because it’s buried in the car”. I told him what I had done and he more or less repeated himself. I more or less repeated myself adding that he or someone should take a look for themselves because once you rolled back the fuse box on its wiring harness the battery was starring you right in the face and it would be a very normal installation at that point. A more senior guy waiting on someone else at the counter heard the conversation and said to this young, by-the-book counter guy, “go take a look and tell me what you see. I’ve waited on this gentleman before and I think he knows what he’s talking about”. Out to the car we march and the young guy takes a look and says, “OH, I see what you mean. I think I will be allowed to do this” and he goes back into the store to get the battery and tells the other guy it’s OK and that he’ll put it in, “no problem”. No kidding, ain’t that what I said when I walked in here? :surprise:
I’ve changed many batteries in my day but for some reason I just didn’t feel like running back and forth that day.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
I had a Duralast Gold in my 1988 Buick Park Avenue. It was a super-reliable battery.
I read it ranks in the top 4 (out of a million) in terms of performance and value.
Most people nowadays are throwing away their jumper cables in favor of the $50 portable jump starters. I understand they are safer as they eliminate the possiblity of the battery exploding in your face. Still, how often would one be likely to use it... nowadays maybe 2 or 3 times in a lifetime.
Most people nowadays are throwing away their jumper cables in favor of the $50 portable jump starters. I understand they are safer as they eliminate the possiblity of the battery exploding in your face.
I was thinking about getting one of these too but I never heard about how they, by themselves, would prevent a battery explosion. What I know about these gizmos is that they are pretty powerful for there size and since they have starting power I’d think they are capable of producing a spark. One of the reasons why I haven’t bought one of these is because, at least for the ones I’ve seen, they have pretty short cables which I didn’t think would get you far enough away for the explosive zone of a battery emitting Hydrogen. :confuse:
You know, I think we’re over analyzing (something I try not to do in my daily work) this sparking thing. Batteries aren’t built with vent caps on the very top anymore (although they must vent because that is the law of physics of a lead acid battery) and I think there was a reason for this. I also think that’s why these new jumper gizmos can get away with having short jumper leads. That and to reduce the voltage drop across long cables which long cables will do; bad connections do that too. So, with the new battery designs today, there should be way less of a chance of a battery exploding. Richard go retrieve your jumper cables, I hope they’re not in a land fill by now. I know it will gnaw at you forever for throwing something of value away.
Seriously ‘jip’ there will almost always be a spark when you are jump starting a bad battery. I’ve never jumped a car when this didn’t happen but I guess anything is possible. Any power source worth its salt is capable of providing enough power to produce a spark. Ohm’s theory can prove this.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
We had three jump boxes on our lot but we usually had 650 plus new and used cars.
How often would someone like us have a use for one? It would have to be kept plugged in to maintain it's charge. I can't even remember the last time I had to jump one of our cars.
I hope I haven't made people paranoid here. Even if you make a spark it's pretty rare for a battery to explode. In all of my years around shops I think I've seen this happen maybe ten times and that includes the run of defective Diehards.
Hokey smokes, Bullwinkle. i go away for a long weekend and there are suddenly 87 new posts!
Once I get around the ones talking about batteries it's probably more like 8 posts.
Was up for my buddy's annual Memorial weekend party in New Hampshire. He and my brother went out to get something for the party on Sunday and had their way blocked by a moose in the road. They said he was big enough that they could have driven under him. In 20 plus years of going up that way and to another brother's place in Portland I've yet to encounter a moose. Have seen many moose crossing signs though.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Your welcome Richard -- the problem with the shoes we wore in our youth is that the every single tendon-ligament- sole pad in our feet has deteriorated. Those dogs need tlc now so stick to the tan suede Hush Puppy's. They always make a great fashion statement.
NTB is great for batteries, replaced my 4.5 y/o one before winter set in. This was after my sister's 2003 Focus battery died last summer, it was original at 6 y/o. I helped get her to AutoZone where they put it in free. She had asked me a few months before if she would expect anything else after brake job, and I forgot it was an '03 and not '05 like my car.
So, 4-5 years is plenty and don't try to 'squeeze' more life out of it. Also, don't forget how old a car is,
Seriously ‘jip’ there will almost always be a spark when you are jump starting a bad battery. I’ve never jumped a car when this didn’t happen but I guess anything is possible
Thanks for the correction. Now hopefully none of our Edmunds readers will "lght up", when attaching a portable jump starter to their car, thinking it totally safe because jipster said so. I think the material I read somewhere probably said "reduces" chance of explosion, or maybe safer...oops. :sick:
Did read a bit more about portable jump starters though, and you may want to hold onto those old rusty jumper cables in your car. Seems they don't work that well on completely dead or nearly dead batteries, lose their charge easily, and don't work as well on larger vehicles and trucks. If your going to get one, I'd spend an extra $20 or $30 and get a really good one.
The cheap ones for guys like us and the heavy duty ones the shops buy.
The HD ones will start ANYTHING!
Funny, when I was in the tool business,a s a Regional Manager I got a call from our Marketing Sept one day about this new thing called a "Jump Box"
This would have been in the late eighties. I had never heard of such a thing so he explained how they worked. We were first to market with these and I told him to send a half dozen to all of my District Managers.
This is before Al Gore invented the Internet so I sent out a group message to all of them. I was pretty excited until my guy in Salt Lake City tole me that one of them had exploded the first time it was hooked up.
The JUMP BOX exploded!!
I ammediatly called Marketing who told he it was the second one that had done that. Nobody got hurt but we immediatly put out a "stop sale" on them.
Six monts later they were back on the market but we were too afraid to sell them for quite awhile.
I think we have and since I think you started this by asking, “has anyone seen a battery explode”? I defer to you for the entire blame about all of this. I was only a willing contributor by answering your question.
In all of my years around shops I think I've seen this happen maybe ten times and that includes the run of defective Diehards.
That’s a LOT. Since we’ve been on this subject I’ve asked around work about this and only 4 old timers have ever seen this happen first hand. 2 of them saw the same one back in the 70’s in the parking lot helping a fellow employee and they admit that it was very minor (the battery was still intact) and the car was actually started and the guy drove home. :confuse:
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Did read a bit more about portable jump starters...
So have I since my post to you. I have come across a couple of manufactures of these jumping machines and their design employs a switch so that you make your connections then throw the switch. That means that the arching is done within the switch and not at the point of connection to a battery. From reading that, I hope the switch is an explosion rated device because there will be arching there since that is the point of connection to the load (dead battery).
So, I can see where some are safer than others. I knew everyone out there was waiting for this follow up. :P
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Well, I wasn't actually present when all ten blew. I probably witnessed (or heard) three or four. Thje others were in cars that people brought to my Sears store afterwards.
Sometimes just the caps blew off.
In one case, it was a Chevy Wagon. The terminal ends were still on the posts and the plates were hanging there but the entire case was blown away!
And...the car still started!
I had to write a big check to a detail shop to clean that one up!
Richard, this anecdote is for you then. My husband and I have a beach house in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Lovely, lovely area as you may know.
Now my husband is British and isn't that familiar with American dances and/or terms indigenous to the South.
So one day we were looking through the local paper for things to do that weekend. One hotel advertised a local band and said "Happy Hour, Come learn to shag, 5 - 7 p.m."
I said "Honey, want to learn to shag this weekend?" He looked up startled and said "We've been married for 20 years now; don't you think I already know how?"
(If this didn't make you smile - google "British slang shag" and see what you learn. ;-) )
That's like filling up your tank when it's half-empty, because you might not find another service station within 200 miles...
My step mother was like that. Now I don't know if she was always like that or became that way when she married my dad AKA Mr. "why stop and buy gas if we can at least coast to the next station on fumes?"
Seriously there was not one family trip that my dad did not say at least one time something like "Lets see our gas tank holds 16 gallons and I put in 16.5 gallons. Must of been running on fumes".
And yes he did run out of gas every now and again.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
He and my brother went out to get something for the party on Sunday and had their way blocked by a moose in the road. They said he was big enough that they could have driven under him.
I never knew Babe the Blue Ox had a pet moose too. :surprise:
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
And yes he did run out of gas every now and again.
I have a “get gas story” and I might have told this before but here goes.
When I was in High School my Father was a salesman for an upscale kitchen company. I guess by today’s standards he’d have been a “kitchen designer”. He was on the road quite bit calling on builders of upscale homes and looking for individual homes that he saw along the way that might be interested in his wares. There were plenty of times that he’d come home on nights that I wanted the car and he’d say, “I didn’t want to be any later than I am already. I know you wanted the car tonight so that’s why I didn’t want to stop for gas and spend more time. The tank is pretty low so GET GAS FIRST before you go anywhere. Did you hear me”? I always shook my head yes because I heard that line many times before and I could always get at least one friend before getting gas and then picking up the others on our way to whatever social function was going on that night. Well, not this one Friday night. He was actually right, that time.
I had just picked up my first friend and was headed to the gas station on a narrow 2 lane road around a bend when the car stopped about 2 miles from a gas station. The car behind me went around me and with no power steering or power brakes I backed that car up against the guard rail on the right side. I was so close that I had to get out of the car so that my friend could slide over to get out of the drivers door so that he could go get gas.
Here I was, sitting on a dark narrow road at the worst part of the bend pumping the brakes (no emergency flashers in those days) when I saw head lights in the rear view mirror, hoping like hell that someone wouldn’t be flying around that bend and smack me because I knew what my Father would have done if I got hit.
Needless to say I never did that again. I would always GET GAS FIRST as instructed.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
"I know it will gnaw at you forever for throwing something of value away."
Not to worry. They are in a safe place in one of the garage cabinets. I never throw anything away that might go for a buck at a garage sale. :P Based on what you and Isell are saying, I might just put them back in the car.
As for sparks, I have never jumped a battery that didn't have a few. I always figured that it was the nature of the beast.
Here I was, sitting on a dark narrow road at the worst part of the bend pumping the brakes (no emergency flashers in those days) when I saw head lights in the rear view mirror,
Good gas story.
Here is mine......
My brother in law is the thriftiest person on the planet. He got a $10 gas certificate for a Xmas gift from his wife. He went and bought gas but it came to $9.99 because of course he didn't want to go over and have to pay some cash. The clerk wanted him to take the card, I guess knowing how thrifty he was, and of course he still had 1 cent left. The card was on the kitchen table and his son wanted to use his dad's Ranger that day...he spotted the card and his father said "Oh, you can have the gift card"
His son was very excited at the prospect of getting $10 worth of free gas.
He was really surprised when the clerk swiped the card and he still had to pay $9.99!
The last time I was in Wales I asked for Tea and Crumpets just to see what they were. The waitress said "I'd give you a smack, but I honestly don't think you knew what you were asking for". I didn't.
My mother had a very good friend that immigrated from England who when she first came here kept using the British term "keep your [British slang for nose] up" not knowing that that word is slang for a particular male organ here in the US. Not sure if the hosts would allow me to use the slang word
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I never throw anything away that might go for a buck at a garage sale.
Ah shucks and here I had visions of you rummaging through a heaping pile at the land fill.
As for sparks, I have never jumped a battery that didn't have a few. I always figured that it was the nature of the beast.
It is the "nature of the beast". Not to get too technical but when an electrical circuit draws a sufficient amount of current a spark is produced. It can't be avoided. If you could crawl inside the switches in your house you'd see this happen every time if there is a device that is drawing enough current that is actuated by the switch. This is also why you shouldn't pull the plug on a device that is operating. You'd get an even bigger spark than when the device is plugged in. This gets involved so I'll stop here.
End of electrical lab 0.01.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Since it was my battery woes that produced the long out-gassing of discussion maybe I can move it to another topic.
Yesterday, my wife received a "non-compliance recall" from Toyota for her Scion xB. After some initial hand-wringing about having to take the car in for "something" our thought was when will Toyota's recall misery end.
As I read through the letter I discovered that the vehicle won't need to be taken to the Scion dealership. Instead we will have to affix the provided addendum sticker to the driver door jamb next to the factory sticker containing information about weights and tire pressure. The new bright yellow warning label states: "Caution: Load Carrying Capacity Reduced. Modifications to this vehicle have reduced the original load carrying capacity by 19 lbs." (my underline)
Gun shy? A government bureaucracy run amok? A sensible extra piece of information, which no future owner will notice? Covering one's corporate butt? Do you get the sense that Toyota is running scared?
How many of you know--within 100 lbs--the load carrying capacity of what you drive or own? I realize that we fat Americans are continually pushing the occupant and cargo limits, still...
To me, this seems excessive, but it's the world we live in. I should have my wife take the sticker to the dealership to have them "install" the sticker (just kidding).
What modifications? Yours? Theirs? What type of modification? What will they do if you throw the sticker in the trash? Does this sticker lower the car's value? Does this sticker change any part of the car's warranty? I would ask the regional Toyota representative all of these questions. (This is called "Being Nasty But Having Fun".) :P
I remember, some of the 1997 Honda Accords got recalled so they could check some wiring harness clip.
It said something like this. If not properly attached, the clip could become dislodged, which could cause the wiring harness to become abraded which under some conditions could cause a fire.
Of course my Mother-in Law who owns such a car panicked and was afraid to drive it in or even to the grocery store.
After the recall was over, I asked the guys in the shop how many cars had they found where the clip was out of place? Answer? NONE!
And, they saw no real purpose for the clip in the first place and they had no idea just how a missing clip could have resulted in a fire!
I'll be in Chicago August 7-10. Do you have any favorite restaurants? Also, does the opera house run a summer schedule? BTW, the hotel rates for the down town area are outrageous.
hotel rates for the down town area are outrageous.
All I know is don't stay at the Congress Hotel on Michigan Avenue no matter what the price is. They have had picketers outside marching for about 10 years now. The lobby and restaurant are fine, but the rooms are dreary with mould growing around the bathtubs and rusty faucetts. You won't be able to sleep because of the lack of sound proofing combined with the noisy traffic especially motorcycles that seem to keep circling the blocks...then if you don't hear it every 5 minutes you get up wondering what happened to the bike rider.
The Sheraton down the street is much more expensive but is well worth it.
Load Carrying Capacity Reduced. Modifications to this vehicle have reduced the original load carrying capacity by 19 lbs."
That's funny! Like what if you bought the car just to carry that exact maximum weight because that is what you and your wife weigh. Then you get that notice. What are you supposed to do, join Jenny Craig?
As I read through the letter I discovered that the vehicle won't need to be taken to the Scion dealership. Instead we will have to affix the provided addendum sticker to the driver door jamb next to the factory sticker containing information about weights and tire pressure.
In my opinion if this was so important the dealer would have to affix the sticker so that they could document this was done for a particular VIN. Based on that, I'd consider this request as "informational junk".
Even so, for such "junk" I'd like to have the money that was spent for essentially nothing.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Back in the 80's I bought a Dodge Omni. About three years into ownership of this car I got a letter from Chrysler stating that they forgot to place the horn emblem on the steering wheel. It went on in detail explaining where the little horn emblem was supposed to be and how to operate the horn.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
There are plenty of great restaurants in and around Chicago. It all depends on what you want to eat and how much you are willing to spend. So give me what type of food and price range and I might be able to help you.
But I really suggest that you slum it once and go to Billy Goats Tavern. Its just off of Michigan Ave. in the underground area of the city just north of the river. Back in the 20's all the way into the 60's thats where all the big names in Chicago newspapers would hang out. It was made famous on Saturday Night Live as the restaurant where you heard "Cheezeburger, Cheezevburger, Cheezeburger".
I would really recommend a boat cruise up and down the river and out onto the lake. Also if you can check out Navy Pier, and if your wife is with you let her loose on the Mag Mile.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
well the way things are going this week, between people recommending swapping out perfectly good 5 year old car batteries and supposed Fusion floor mat/accelerator pedal problems, i am getting the 'whuppin'.
2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
Lucky you! If you see a not-so-young woman driving around in a Redline 350Z, in and around Nags Head and Manteo, that would be me. Beep and I'll give you a wave. ;-0
we will headed right down Route 12 to Hatteras on Saturday July 20. if you see a blue explorer with a big silver cargo box on the roof and 2 bicycles on the rack in the back, that's me (us)!
2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
We were there for three days, just last summer.. We stayed at a nearly new SpringHill Suites/Residence Inn, downtown.. Very, very nice... they had a special that included valet parking at the time..
If you like Italian, we had a great meal at Rosebud on Rush... Wouldn't wait 2 hours for Chicago style pizza, anywhere (our wait was at Giordanos on Rush)... Portillos is just a few blocks away, if you want typical Chicago lunch fare (italian beef, hot dogs, etc..) Al's Italian Beef in the UIC area (about two miles from downtown) has a lot of local flavor..
I'll second the boat cruise... We did one up and down the Chicago River... billed as an architectural cruise... about an hour, with lots of interesting history..
Navy Pier is good.. skip the aquarium... John Hancock tower is pretty cool, as well..
Comments
Whewwwwww That makes me feel a lot better. Especially if some guy is using booster cables while smoking a cigarette and is taking a long time unhooking the cables attached to my battery which is under the back seat in my new Cadillac Escalade. :sick:
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
so, my opinion. Walmart is the way to go. even CR's gives them top quality marks (performance), and they are usually the cheapest. A good combo.
Plus, they install for free. And at the local shop to me, they do a very nice job. Clean everything, put the grease on the cable ends, etc. No way I want to mess around with all that.
Besides, there is a core charge, so if I drag it home (and those dang things are heavy) and DIY, then I have to drag the old one back to the store! was too much hassle.
AAA has the scam all figured out though. The trucks they send out to jump you carries batteries, so they can test it for you on the spot and install a fresh one. No need to even go to the store!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
hey, free food is free food.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Now I am curious! I have no idea what I said that would make you ask if I have ever changed a battery. I have lifted them and splashed some acid near me. I have changed quite a few flat tires. I have driven cars, taxis when I went to teacher's college that shouldn't have been allowed on the road. I had to add about a gallon of oil a week to an Austin Sprite I once owned. But actually change a battery, no, and that is one reason I would rather get a new one after 5 years before I have to get the old one back to a store and pick up a new one - or mess around with one in the trunk.
Do you have wood sheds in Conneticut? At least let me know what my "whuppin" is for.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
That reminds me of the time back in about 2002/2003 when I had to replace the battery in the ’95 Monte Carlo that I bought used in ’97. The battery was starting to act up so I decided to buy a battery at the local Advance Auto Parts store and they provided free installation. I knew they wouldn’t provide free installation on that car because the battery was below the engine fuse box and to get at it you had to remove a brace that ran diagonally from the left fender to the firewall. Like you, I didn’t feel like running back to return the core so I did the necessary prep work, even loosened the hold down clamp, to make it easy to remove the battery.
I go the store and this young guy looks up the replacement battery for my car and said, “we have it in stock but we don’t install that battery because it’s buried in the car”. I told him what I had done and he more or less repeated himself. I more or less repeated myself adding that he or someone should take a look for themselves because once you rolled back the fuse box on its wiring harness the battery was starring you right in the face and it would be a very normal installation at that point. A more senior guy waiting on someone else at the counter heard the conversation and said to this young, by-the-book counter guy, “go take a look and tell me what you see. I’ve waited on this gentleman before and I think he knows what he’s talking about”. Out to the car we march and the young guy takes a look and says, “OH, I see what you mean. I think I will be allowed to do this” and he goes back into the store to get the battery and tells the other guy it’s OK and that he’ll put it in, “no problem”. No kidding, ain’t that what I said when I walked in here? :surprise:
I’ve changed many batteries in my day but for some reason I just didn’t feel like running back and forth that day.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Richard
I read it ranks in the top 4 (out of a million) in terms of performance and value.
Most people nowadays are throwing away their jumper cables in favor of the $50 portable jump starters. I understand they are safer as they eliminate the possiblity of the battery exploding in your face. Still, how often would one be likely to use it... nowadays maybe 2 or 3 times in a lifetime.
I was thinking about getting one of these too but I never heard about how they, by themselves, would prevent a battery explosion. What I know about these gizmos is that they are pretty powerful for there size and since they have starting power I’d think they are capable of producing a spark. One of the reasons why I haven’t bought one of these is because, at least for the ones I’ve seen, they have pretty short cables which I didn’t think would get you far enough away for the explosive zone of a battery emitting Hydrogen. :confuse:
You know, I think we’re over analyzing (something I try not to do in my daily work) this sparking thing. Batteries aren’t built with vent caps on the very top anymore (although they must vent because that is the law of physics of a lead acid battery) and I think there was a reason for this. I also think that’s why these new jumper gizmos can get away with having short jumper leads. That and to reduce the voltage drop across long cables which long cables will do; bad connections do that too. So, with the new battery designs today, there should be way less of a chance of a battery exploding. Richard go retrieve your jumper cables, I hope they’re not in a land fill by now. I know it will gnaw at you forever for throwing something of value away.
Seriously ‘jip’ there will almost always be a spark when you are jump starting a bad battery. I’ve never jumped a car when this didn’t happen but I guess anything is possible. Any power source worth its salt is capable of providing enough power to produce a spark. Ohm’s theory can prove this.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
How often would someone like us have a use for one? It would have to be kept plugged in to maintain it's charge. I can't even remember the last time I had to jump one of our cars.
I hope I haven't made people paranoid here. Even if you make a spark it's pretty rare for a battery to explode. In all of my years around shops I think I've seen this happen maybe ten times and that includes the run of defective Diehards.
Once I get around the ones talking about batteries it's probably more like 8 posts.
Was up for my buddy's annual Memorial weekend party in New Hampshire. He and my brother went out to get something for the party on Sunday and had their way blocked by a moose in the road. They said he was big enough that they could have driven under him. In 20 plus years of going up that way and to another brother's place in Portland I've yet to encounter a moose. Have seen many moose crossing signs though.
So, 4-5 years is plenty and don't try to 'squeeze' more life out of it. Also, don't forget how old a car is,
Thanks for the correction. Now hopefully none of our Edmunds readers will "lght up", when attaching a portable jump starter to their car, thinking it totally safe because jipster said so. I think the material I read somewhere probably said "reduces" chance of explosion, or maybe safer...oops. :sick:
Did read a bit more about portable jump starters though, and you may want to hold onto those old rusty jumper cables in your car. Seems they don't work that well on completely dead or nearly dead batteries, lose their charge easily, and don't work as well on larger vehicles and trucks. If your going to get one, I'd spend an extra $20 or $30 and get a really good one.
This is certainly true of mine. If it is stone cold dead, the box is useless. I have to use a real charger instead.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
The cheap ones for guys like us and the heavy duty ones the shops buy.
The HD ones will start ANYTHING!
Funny, when I was in the tool business,a s a Regional Manager I got a call from our Marketing Sept one day about this new thing called a "Jump Box"
This would have been in the late eighties. I had never heard of such a thing so he explained how they worked. We were first to market with these and I told him to send a half dozen to all of my District Managers.
This is before Al Gore invented the Internet so I sent out a group message to all of them. I was pretty excited until my guy in Salt Lake City tole me that one of them had exploded the first time it was hooked up.
The JUMP BOX exploded!!
I ammediatly called Marketing who told he it was the second one that had done that. Nobody got hurt but we immediatly put out a "stop sale" on them.
Six monts later they were back on the market but we were too afraid to sell them for quite awhile.
I think we have and since I think you started this by asking, “has anyone seen a battery explode”? I defer to you for the entire blame about all of this. I was only a willing contributor by answering your question.
In all of my years around shops I think I've seen this happen maybe ten times and that includes the run of defective Diehards.
That’s a LOT. Since we’ve been on this subject I’ve asked around work about this and only 4 old timers have ever seen this happen first hand. 2 of them saw the same one back in the 70’s in the parking lot helping a fellow employee and they admit that it was very minor (the battery was still intact) and the car was actually started and the guy drove home. :confuse:
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
So have I since my post to you. I have come across a couple of manufactures of these jumping machines and their design employs a switch so that you make your connections then throw the switch. That means that the arching is done within the switch and not at the point of connection to a battery. From reading that, I hope the switch is an explosion rated device because there will be arching there since that is the point of connection to the load (dead battery).
So, I can see where some are safer than others. I knew everyone out there was waiting for this follow up. :P
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
True. And they can get darned expensive!
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Sometimes just the caps blew off.
In one case, it was a Chevy Wagon. The terminal ends were still on the posts and the plates were hanging there but the entire case was blown away!
And...the car still started!
I had to write a big check to a detail shop to clean that one up!
Richard, this anecdote is for you then. My husband and I have a beach house in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Lovely, lovely area as you may know.
Now my husband is British and isn't that familiar with American dances and/or terms indigenous to the South.
So one day we were looking through the local paper for things to do that weekend. One hotel advertised a local band and said "Happy Hour, Come learn to shag, 5 - 7 p.m."
I said "Honey, want to learn to shag this weekend?" He looked up startled and said "We've been married for 20 years now; don't you think I already know how?"
(If this didn't make you smile - google "British slang shag" and see what you learn. ;-) )
Explosive topic, explosive postings.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
My step mother was like that. Now I don't know if she was always like that or became that way when she married my dad AKA Mr. "why stop and buy gas if we can at least coast to the next station on fumes?"
Seriously there was not one family trip that my dad did not say at least one time something like "Lets see our gas tank holds 16 gallons and I put in 16.5 gallons. Must of been running on fumes".
And yes he did run out of gas every now and again.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I never knew Babe the Blue Ox had a pet moose too. :surprise:
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
I have a “get gas story” and I might have told this before but here goes.
When I was in High School my Father was a salesman for an upscale kitchen company. I guess by today’s standards he’d have been a “kitchen designer”. He was on the road quite bit calling on builders of upscale homes and looking for individual homes that he saw along the way that might be interested in his wares. There were plenty of times that he’d come home on nights that I wanted the car and he’d say, “I didn’t want to be any later than I am already. I know you wanted the car tonight so that’s why I didn’t want to stop for gas and spend more time. The tank is pretty low so GET GAS FIRST before you go anywhere. Did you hear me”? I always shook my head yes because I heard that line many times before and I could always get at least one friend before getting gas and then picking up the others on our way to whatever social function was going on that night. Well, not this one Friday night. He was actually right, that time.
I had just picked up my first friend and was headed to the gas station on a narrow 2 lane road around a bend when the car stopped about 2 miles from a gas station. The car behind me went around me and with no power steering or power brakes I backed that car up against the guard rail on the right side. I was so close that I had to get out of the car so that my friend could slide over to get out of the drivers door so that he could go get gas.
Here I was, sitting on a dark narrow road at the worst part of the bend pumping the brakes (no emergency flashers in those days) when I saw head lights in the rear view mirror, hoping like hell that someone wouldn’t be flying around that bend and smack me because I knew what my Father would have done if I got hit.
Needless to say I never did that again. I would always GET GAS FIRST as instructed.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Not to worry. They are in a safe place in one of the garage cabinets. I never throw anything away that might go for a buck at a garage sale. :P Based on what you and Isell are saying, I might just put them back in the car.
As for sparks, I have never jumped a battery that didn't have a few. I always figured that it was the nature of the beast.
Richard
Good gas story.
Here is mine......
My brother in law is the thriftiest person on the planet. He got a $10 gas certificate for a Xmas gift from his wife.
He went and bought gas but it came to $9.99 because of course he didn't want to go over and have to pay some cash.
The clerk wanted him to take the card, I guess knowing how thrifty he was, and of course he still had 1 cent left.
The card was on the kitchen table and his son wanted to use his dad's Ranger that day...he spotted the card and his father said "Oh, you can have the gift card"
His son was very excited at the prospect of getting $10 worth of free gas.
He was really surprised when the clerk swiped the card and he still had to pay $9.99!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
Richard
Richard
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Probably not.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
Ah shucks and here I had visions of you rummaging through a heaping pile at the land fill.
As for sparks, I have never jumped a battery that didn't have a few. I always figured that it was the nature of the beast.
It is the "nature of the beast". Not to get too technical but when an electrical circuit draws a sufficient amount of current a spark is produced. It can't be avoided. If you could crawl inside the switches in your house you'd see this happen every time if there is a device that is drawing enough current that is actuated by the switch. This is also why you shouldn't pull the plug on a device that is operating. You'd get an even bigger spark than when the device is plugged in. This gets involved so I'll stop here.
End of electrical lab 0.01.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Yesterday, my wife received a "non-compliance recall" from Toyota for her Scion xB. After some initial hand-wringing about having to take the car in for "something" our thought was when will Toyota's recall misery end.
As I read through the letter I discovered that the vehicle won't need to be taken to the Scion dealership. Instead we will have to affix the provided addendum sticker to the driver door jamb next to the factory sticker containing information about weights and tire pressure. The new bright yellow warning label states: "Caution: Load Carrying Capacity Reduced. Modifications to this vehicle have reduced the original load carrying capacity by 19 lbs." (my underline)
Gun shy? A government bureaucracy run amok? A sensible extra piece of information, which no future owner will notice? Covering one's corporate butt? Do you get the sense that Toyota is running scared?
How many of you know--within 100 lbs--the load carrying capacity of what you drive or own? I realize that we fat Americans are continually pushing the occupant and cargo limits, still...
To me, this seems excessive, but it's the world we live in. I should have my wife take the sticker to the dealership to have them "install" the sticker (just kidding).
Gogiboy
Richard
Most "recalls" are pretty similar.
I remember, some of the 1997 Honda Accords got recalled so they could check some wiring harness clip.
It said something like this. If not properly attached, the clip could become dislodged, which could cause the wiring harness to become abraded which under some conditions could cause a fire.
Of course my Mother-in Law who owns such a car panicked and was afraid to drive it in or even to the grocery store.
After the recall was over, I asked the guys in the shop how many cars had they found where the clip was out of place? Answer? NONE!
And, they saw no real purpose for the clip in the first place and they had no idea just how a missing clip could have resulted in a fire!
Richard
All I know is don't stay at the Congress Hotel on Michigan Avenue no matter what the price is. They have had picketers outside marching for about 10 years now. The lobby and restaurant are fine, but the rooms are dreary with mould growing around the bathtubs and rusty faucetts. You won't be able to sleep because of the lack of sound proofing combined with the noisy traffic especially motorcycles that seem to keep circling the blocks...then if you don't hear it every 5 minutes you get up wondering what happened to the bike rider.
The Sheraton down the street is much more expensive but is well worth it.
Good luck...great city to visit!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
That's funny! Like what if you bought the car just to carry that exact maximum weight because that is what you and your wife weigh. Then you get that notice. What are you supposed to do, join Jenny Craig?
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
In my opinion if this was so important the dealer would have to affix the sticker so that they could document this was done for a particular VIN. Based on that, I'd consider this request as "informational junk".
Even so, for such "junk" I'd like to have the money that was spent for essentially nothing.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
But I really suggest that you slum it once and go to Billy Goats Tavern. Its just off of Michigan Ave. in the underground area of the city just north of the river. Back in the 20's all the way into the 60's thats where all the big names in Chicago newspapers would hang out. It was made famous on Saturday Night Live as the restaurant where you heard "Cheezeburger, Cheezevburger, Cheezeburger".
I would really recommend a boat cruise up and down the river and out onto the lake. Also if you can check out Navy Pier, and if your wife is with you let her loose on the Mag Mile.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
if you see a blue explorer with a big silver cargo box on the roof and 2 bicycles on the rack in the back, that's me (us)!
We were there for three days, just last summer.. We stayed at a nearly new SpringHill Suites/Residence Inn, downtown.. Very, very nice... they had a special that included valet parking at the time..
If you like Italian, we had a great meal at Rosebud on Rush... Wouldn't wait 2 hours for Chicago style pizza, anywhere (our wait was at Giordanos on Rush)... Portillos is just a few blocks away, if you want typical Chicago lunch fare (italian beef, hot dogs, etc..) Al's Italian Beef in the UIC area (about two miles from downtown) has a lot of local flavor..
I'll second the boat cruise... We did one up and down the Chicago River... billed as an architectural cruise... about an hour, with lots of interesting history..
Navy Pier is good.. skip the aquarium... John Hancock tower is pretty cool, as well..
Oh yeah! Go to a Cubs game!
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