<VV> Battery on fire

[Charles Lee]

Mark,

Could it have been the battery cable ?  If the cable rubs on the
chassis, after wearing through the grommet, it could try to do an "arc
weld" and set a fire ?

I had this happen to me in a late model, where there is a lot more room
for the battery to move, and it actually cut about a 3" hole as it
"sawed" through the chassis, and finally burst into flames.

I too thought it was someone else, until I stopped and saw the billows
of black smoke out the rear vents !

I didn't have any water, and I blew it out.  Good thing I don't smoke !

Charlie

-----Original Message-----
From: virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org
[mailto:virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org] On Behalf Of Mark Clarke
Sent: Saturday, October 04, 2008 8:24 PM
To: Virtual Vairs
Subject: <VV> Battery on fire


I had a rather unusual experience today while driving my '63 Monza
convertible.  After driving my car for about 5 minutes, I thought that I
smelled a burning odor.  I was hoping that it was another car, but since
the odor persisted, I decided to pull over to make sure that I hadn't
thrown a fan belt.  Much to my surprise (and horror), my battery was on
fire in the engine compartment.  I am not talking sparks, but rather
shooting flames and smoke.  I immediately shut the car off and doused
the flames with a bottled water that I had on hand.  Since I was only
about 2 miles from home, I decided to see if the car would start so that
I could get it back home.  It started with no problem and I was able to
make it home without further incident.

I wanted to see if anyone has any thoughts as to what may have caused
the battery to go up in flames.  I have heard of exploding batteries,
but have never heard of one catching on fire.  As far as background
information, the battery (an Interstate model) was approximately 3 years
old.  I must confess that I had not recently checked it to make sure the
cells had plenty of water, but neither had I experienced any issues with
starting the car. Although not a daily driver, I had just taken it on an
800 mile round trip to Oklahoma City (from Houston) for the Great Plains
roundup and I experienced no problems on the trip.

Any thoughts, comments or input is greatly appreciated.

Mark Clarke
President. Corvair Houston
'63 Monza Convertible, 84 hp, pg
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