Are normal car batteries unsafe in MX5?

Mike - Wellington MX5 ... · Post by **Mike - Wellington MX5 ...** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 2:02 pm

Hi, I had the battery in my mx5 replaced during an AA call out. Yesterday
at the Mazda dealership, while it was being serviced, they claimed that it
was an inappropriate battery, and could cause an explosion. They
recommended that I change it immediately as a safety issue. (Just what I
need to hear before I hit the road around the South Island).

Their opinion seems to be backed up by some research;

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My battery is dead. Do I have to buy a new one from the dealer?
The small "gel cell" battery is manufactured exclusively for the Miata and
should be replaced with the factory part.

Before you install a normal battery, be aware of the following: All
batteries produce dangerous gases. In most cars, the battery is located
under the hood where it can escape to the outside. In the Miata, with the
battery located in the trunk, there is no place for the gases from a normal
battery to vent. On the factory battery, there is a rubber hose leading from
the battery to the outside so that gas does not accumulate the trunk and
explode. If you decide not to use a factory battery, you should consider
using a container to enclose it that attaches to the factory vent hose.
Failure to do so could possibly cause caustic gasses to rust the metal of
the trunk, cause an explosion when exposed to heat, cause an explosion in an
accident, or worse.

http://www.miata.net/garage/battery.html

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What is the experience of club members about this topic?

Regards Mike

bert wouda · Post by **bert wouda** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 5:00 pm

What about the old Mini's they had lead acid batteries in the boot for
yearrrrrrrs !

BW

********

Jon Addison · Post by **Jon Addison** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 5:13 pm

I was told about the potential rusting problem from gases condensing in
the boot compartment. The other point to consider at replacement time
is that while the factory Panasonic battery is expensive (c$165) they
seem to last considerably longer than standard ones. Also they don't
sulphate if run flat, which will usually kill a good ordinary battery.
I had a Panasonic as dead as a post and it returned to life completely
when recharged, even though the auto sparky assured me it was too dead
to do a Lazarus.
The other advantage of the Panasonic is that it's a genuine
maintenance-free. There's nowhere to add distilled water.
Jon Addison

On 07/04/2006, at 2:02 PM, Mike - Wellington MX5 Coordinator wrote:

[...]

joanie · Post by **joanie** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 5:31 pm

What about the old Mini's they had lead acid batteries in the boot for
yearrrrrrrs !

You took the words right out of my mouth...and as an ex mini owner for many
many years I can say we never had any probs there either. I think it is more
likely you could get corrosion rather than explosion, and I do recall in one
very old Mini we had - the recess the batty was in was a tad rusted out.
I have a lead acid batty in the MX5 - it was there when I bought it (recently
replaced) so have just left it. Its been good as gold for 3+ years

Mind you the boot is often open - so the nasties can't build up

Joan H

skams · Post by **skams** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 5:57 pm

Yep! I had a mini for quite a while too and didnt have too much trouble
except of course rust in the battery box. Not unheard of though is the
suicidal battery syndrome. Upon investigation the battery was usually found
dead, hanging from its leads, its bottom ripped out by the road after
falling through the bottom of the rusted out battery box.
Cheers Simon Senior
MX5A

bert wouda · Post by **bert wouda** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 6:28 pm

It's not so difficult to make a Plastic tray and drain hose/pipe for the
battery to collect the " Spill " if there's any ... When my battery
dies , I have not problems to go for the Lead acid .

BW NB '99

*********

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 6:53 pm

Both my cars have standard (not Panasonic 'proper' type) sealed batteries
with no sign of any problems. They were in the cars when I bought them.
I think you would have as much chance of an explosion as you would blowing
up a petrol station while using a cell phone!

Grant.

Ian · Post by **Ian** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 7:25 pm

For what it is worth, a friend has an Audi 100 with the battery under the
rear passenger seat - vented to the outside just like a MX5 Panasonic!

GEEMCB · Post by **GEEMCB** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 7:40 pm

A variation on a theme ...

I belatedly found post-purchase that the non-standard (i.e. lead acid)
battery in my car had a tiny leak in it - & that as the battery was slightly
larger than the standard footprint the tray was also split. Acid had over
time seeped forward into the area immediately behind the drivers seat
requiring some pricey (but high quality) cleaning & repainting.

A pox on the ham-fisted nong who installed it I say. All is well now
though.

Anyway - I would agree with the minimal risk of explosion - however there
are other risks to consider with non-standard batteries.

Regards,
Greg
1990 V Special now with Panasonic power

KSCRIM · Post by **KSCRIM** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 9:05 pm

While the use of the standard lead acid batteries is NOT a no no in the MX5,
the risk of acid leakage and subsequent rust problems cannot be dismissed.
There is a reasonable amount of aluminium in the MX5, OK it is treated to
prevent corrosion, but it's still there. Aluminium does not like acid fumes
any more than steel does, and is much harder to fix later.

However, there is another problem. The charging voltage from the alternator
is set up for charging the AGM batteries, NOT standard lead acid batteries,
and the terminal voltage is slightly higher. This causes the standard
batteries to overcharge causing excess gassing and water use. This also
tends to shorten the life of the batteries.
As the standard batteries don't have the venting systems of the origional
equipment AGM batteries, this is the main reason for the concern of many
(and the mazda dealers).

There are some other sealed batteries (other than AGM) which may have the
venting systems fitted which can be connected to the MX5 vent piping, but
finding the correct size may be difficult. They are also dearer than the
standard batteries, (but not as dear as the AGM batteries).
The AGM battery is much more expensive than the standard battery (about 3X),
but lasts much longer (also about 3X), so the cost per year is about the
same.

BUT, if the battery has failed and the only available replacement is a
standard battery, then once it is fitted just be aware of the likely
problems and deal with any signs earlier rather than later. Keep it clean
and dry and regularly check the acid level, particularly in the summer.

Kevin

[...]

http://www.miata.net/garage/battery.html

================================================================

What is the experience of club members about this topic?

Regards Mike

_________________________________________________________________
Check out the latest video @ http://xtra.co.nz/streaming

Bill Rehm · Post by **Bill Rehm** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 9:26 pm

Permit me to share a perspective, which one of my mentors articulated
over 25 years ago (A globally recognised psychologist and professor of
psychology). He labelled it "Law of Parsimony" for a lack of a better
term:

"Don't use an elaborate amount of verbiage when a simple straight
forward explanation will suffice". I might be forgiven for thinking this
list tends not to practice this 'law'. It is what I have subsequently
labelled (since I have live in NZ) as the lack of this law's practice as
"intellectual masturbation".

Bottom-line: May I suggest list members resist in being "penny-wise and
pound foolish" (an expression learned from my 87 yo, extremely wise
father whose only experience in the UK was during WWII) and simply spend
the few extra dollars it costs to purchase from a MX5 dealer, the
appropriate battery???

Hello, earth calling list members, earth calling list members, come in
list members...

Be advised the lack of the above described practice may be why, from a
cultural perspective, Kiwis will prefer to spend $ on purchasing only 10
carat gold jewellery, as opposed to Indian and American cultures who
will not settle for anything less than 14 or 23 (culturally
respectively) carat gold.

So this message is by no means misconstrued, I'm just taking advantage
of my probably last few opportunities to 'better educate' the list
before 'Mein Furher Administrator' implements his so-called "cultural
revolution"...

BTW, China's 'cultural revolution' as undoubtedly most know was inspired
by the vision of Chairman Mao, an acceptably known paedophile who
exploited his power to demand his subordinates find him '14 yo virgins'
to "DEFLOWER". Not to in any way suggest zorruno's orientation is my any
stretch of the imagination congruent...

Lol, lol, lol, lol

Yours faithfully
William

DaveR · Post by **DaveR** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 9:13 am

Well, I've just bought a genuine Panasonic battery from Canterbury
Mazda. I spent several hours yesterday bent over the boot of my
newly-purchased 90 NA removing the corrosion from where the battery
sits. The car had a normal lead-acid battery when I bought it a few
weeks back, and it had been leaking. Possibly the previous battery was
also the wrong type and had leaked, cos there was quite a bit of paint
missing and rusty metal under where the battery sits, and on the
retaining clamp and brackets. I'd say the battery has been leaking for
some time. Anyway, I'm quite happy to pay the extra for the Panasonic
if it means I don't have to do this clean-up again.

Cheers

Dave

Greg wrote:

[...]

DaveR · Post by **DaveR** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 9:39 am

Just re-read this post. Is the battery supposed to sit in a tray? No
sign of this in my car.

dave

Greg wrote:

[...]

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