So ya know how i wanted to relocate the battery?

[IwantMKIII]

Well if you've been up with my other threads you'd know i was in the process of trying to find a battery location in the trunk so my targa would fit. Someone told me Optima's fit well on there side. So yesterday i took out my old battery case and the supports in my trunk while i was test fitting the battery i already had (non-gel/optima). Well i've been driving it around today forgetting it wasn't braced and on a straight road all of a sudden i hear a loud spraying/exploding sound :cry: . Well i looked in my mirror and see water everywhere, except i didn't have water in the back...only the battery...then it hit me :aigo: . My battery tipped out and SPEWED acid all over the back. It ate through the rug in seconds :wtc: :wtc: :wtc: :wtc: . THis sucks so bad. I was on my way to work. Luckily i was in front of a sears hardware and they had baking soda to help neutralize the acid. The battery still worked so i imidiately went to the closest auto store and picked up an optima for $160!! :cry: This is terrible...expecially as its my new car...BTW, AAA did nothing for me, they wouldn't even send a tow truck with some type of cleaning supplies so help with the odor so i didn't pass out on the way home....THANKS AAA :ugh2:

Anyone happen to have a spare grey rug for the trunk??? :naughty:

 

[CampbellsChunkySoupra]

ouch. shitty luck for you. im running through a phase of that too. i would definatly look into those ultra small racing batteries. i know alot of batterie relocations go to those. i cant think of the brand of them off the top of my head though.

 

[IJ.]

ummmm errr well...... :nono:

 

[IwantMKIII]

well atleast i got an optima so i dont have to worry bout that happening again any time soon...hopefully EVER

 

[IJ.]

LOL are we learning yet?

You really want to make sure you've neutralised the acid before it eats the car.

 

[IwantMKIII]

^^yea, i still hear it eating the metal...im on my way to the store for more baking soda...im out.

its still eating at the carpet as well...the baking soda cant get into the carpet like the acid can

BTW the carpet is OUT of the car...its sitting next to the street as it slowly disinegrates

 

[IJ.]

I think I'd lift the carpet out and hose it off for awhile then pull the spare out there's a rubber plug under it remove that and mix up a few gallons of water and baking soda and wash the inside of the hatch a LOT.

 

[mkIIIman089]

You can HEAR it eating the metal? Huh... more potent then I imagined.

I have a carpet in my spare parts room, if you want it, you can't have it; you're too careless.

 

[Boost Lee]

^Mmm Hmm.

I've got a super small battery that I've repeatedly used for almost 3 years now. Buuuut, I don't have a targa top, So I guess my problems never started. :biglaugh:

Good luck, hope you work something out.

-Jeff

 

[IwantMKIII]

You can HEAR it eating the metal? Huh... more potent then I imagined.

I have a carpet in my spare parts room, if you want it, you can't have it; you're too careless.

If its in good shape and grey, definately...

BTW...its now about 6HRS after the incident and its STILL eating away...i just got more bakind soda and poured it direcly on and it still sizzled quite a bit...i got the majority or it out of the body but the carpet is still getting eaten

 

[yaitsme]

Jeg's part number: 555-10240 ... other than cutting the pressboard 'floor', nothing special about the install.

Well if you've been up with my other threads ...

oh and - no ... I haven't - sorry this came too late for your sizzled carpet !!

 

[Tim]

Man, that sucks. I was hauling some batteries in my DD and when I got to my destination I looked in the back and they tipped over and ate up the carpet too!! Thats the worst!:cry:

 

[AF1JZ]

Here's what I did with mine. I got the battery box from advanced even though I don't use the top. But, it isn't moving anywhere. You just have to take out that little parts tray and cut some of the panels back there to let the box and battery slide in there. That didn't bother me since you can barely tell that I cut and it will be back there for the life of the car.

The carpet is actually tucked down. Looks a lot cleaner now.

 

[PROJECT N00b]

PICTURES OF THE CARPETS DEMISE!!!

 

[drjonez]

yikes. yet another reason to do things right the first time kiddies....

 

[flubyux2]

you sir... are an idiot. MIX THE BAKING SODA WITH WATER BEFORE YOU APPLY IT TO THE ACID.

you shoulda done it like me, with the RIGHT battery for the job.

 

[IwantMKIII]

you sir... are an idiot. MIX THE BAKING SODA WITH WATER BEFORE YOU APPLY IT TO THE ACID.

First off...no need for personal attacks. Second NO YOU DON'T need to mix the baking soda. The battery acid was too much and too strong, if it wasn't pure form it would have taken forever to neutralize. It took me 1.5 large boxes before it started to show some control and another half mixed with water to finish the process.

 

[flubyux2]

dont get so butt hurt. its just a little light humor. its the internet; the day you take something said online personally is the day you lose

and yes, making a mixture of water/baking soda is more effective as an acid neutralizer since it disperses the molecules and allows them to penetrate further into your carpet shag. it increases the amount of surface area accessible to be neutralized thanks to its enhanced fluidity. i mean, the old trick of removing battery terminal crust/corrosion doesnt say "pour the box of arm and hammer on your shit". youre supposed to mix it with water and pour the solution onto your battery terminals.

listen, if you dont have enough sense to NOT run a lead-acid battery unsecured in your trunk, itll be hard enough for us to beleive you know what youre talkinga bout when you say that pouring a powder on a semi-dried liquid will be more effective than making a solution.

kind regards
chris

 

[IwantMKIII]

While you are right...in the sense it will get to all the nook and cranies. But you are wrong in saying its more effective. When a battery spills (mine imparticular) it leaves PUDDLES of acid. I'm am not worried about nooks and cranies at this point first of all, i'm worried about the large quantities effectively eating just about anything it comes in contact with. The fact is if i add water to the baking soda and DILUTE IT, not only will it greatly limit its effectiveness to the large amount of acid areas, it will cause the acid TO SPREAD, all at the same time not maintain enough baking soda to neutralize it causing ALL THE MORE DAMAGE. I don't know about you and anyone else but im trying to PREVENT more damage. Now you could simply stand there pouring diluted baking soda all over your trunk for an hour or you could just pour the baking soda over the trouble spots (which are easily located at any size since it eats through the carpet almost imediately) and let it sit for 15 minutes then add more baking soda where needed. Baking soda alone can get into enough small cracks as it is. Once the worst of it is neutralized which for me took about an hour or so, then you can use the diluted, solution form and get all those small tiny places the baking soda alone may not have gotten but where there is not quite enough acid to do much harm anyway. Now if you come across an area you can't get the baking soda alone in then use the solution all you can cause obvously its the only choice you have.

 

[Doward]

Keep in mind, the water itself will react with the acid to help break down the actual acid into weaker acid.

It's Sulfuric acid in the battery, right? Well, the problem with that, is a) it's one of the strongest acids known and b) when it breaks down from H2SO4 into HSO4- and that HSO4- is STILL acidic, so it breaks down into SO4-2 (damn, I don't know how to get the sub and superscripts working)

Either way - do it once, and do it RIGHT - if you can't do it right, then don't do it man - it's not worth the consequences!

Pics of the carpet now?