Battery shorted, jump started fine, now it's dead but shows fully charged?

I was going to buy a used truck that had no battery, so I took the battery out
of my car. The truck started fine with my battery and we ran it with the hood
up for about 5 minutes with no issue. Then I went to test drive it and my
brother shut the hood. As I was backing out he yelled "there's smoke coming out
from the hood!" I quickly popped the hood and the positive battery terminal
looked slightly charred. I *THINK* the battery terminals were touching the top
of the hood. I started the truck again and this time left the hood slightly
ajar, continued backing up and it died, then wouldn't start again. We had the
owner try jump-starting which didn't do anything, so we concluded we must have
fried something on the truck.

I got home and put my battery back in my car and it wouldn't start, but the door
buzzer, dome light, and dash lights were all full brightness. I jump-started it
with my other car and it started right up. I drove to my friend's about 10
minutes away (day time with no lights or anything on) and when I went to leave
my car wouldn't start, this time jump-starting didn't work, even after 10+
minutes with the cables connected. I put in one of his spare batteries and
drove home and put my battery on the charger for a couple hours. I tested it
with my multimeter and it read 12.99 volts. I put it in my car and it still
wouldn't start, even though the interior lights and door buzzer were again at
full strength (in the past the lights and buzzer are all faint when the battery
is near-dead). I quickly went under the hood with my multimeter and the battery
showed 12.50 volts and it was slowly rising. I turned the key again and quickly
checked the battery volts again and it showed 12.30 volts which I watched rise
to 12.47 volts in a matter of a minute or so.

Is it possible for a painted hood underside to short a battery if it's touching
both terminals within about 20-30 seconds contact? Can I ressurect this battery
or is it history? I've read about dead batteries with low voltage not holding a
charge, but this thing is showing full charge voltage and runs everything in the
car, just won't start it.

Lastly, I'm not even positive the hood shorted the battery but it sure looked
that way. So I'm kind of in a predicament now because I want the truck but if I
can't test drive it I won't be buying it, and I can't test drive it without
risking another battery.....

Flippy Smith wrote:
> I was going to buy a used truck that had no battery, so I took the battery out
> of my car. The truck started fine with my battery and we ran it with the hood
> up for about 5 minutes with no issue. Then I went to test drive it and my
> brother shut the hood. As I was backing out he yelled "there's smoke coming out
> from the hood!" I quickly popped the hood and the positive battery terminal
> looked slightly charred. I *THINK* the battery terminals were touching the top
> of the hood. I started the truck again and this time left the hood slightly
> ajar, continued backing up and it died, then wouldn't start again. We had the
> owner try jump-starting which didn't do anything, so we concluded we must have
> fried something on the truck.
>
> I got home and put my battery back in my car and it wouldn't start, but the door
> buzzer, dome light, and dash lights were all full brightness. I jump-started it
> with my other car and it started right up. I drove to my friend's about 10
> minutes away (day time with no lights or anything on) and when I went to leave
> my car wouldn't start, this time jump-starting didn't work, even after 10+
> minutes with the cables connected. I put in one of his spare batteries and
> drove home and put my battery on the charger for a couple hours. I tested it
> with my multimeter and it read 12.99 volts. I put it in my car and it still
> wouldn't start, even though the interior lights and door buzzer were again at
> full strength (in the past the lights and buzzer are all faint when the battery
> is near-dead). I quickly went under the hood with my multimeter and the battery
> showed 12.50 volts and it was slowly rising. I turned the key again and quickly
> checked the battery volts again and it showed 12.30 volts which I watched rise
> to 12.47 volts in a matter of a minute or so.
>
> Is it possible for a painted hood underside to short a battery if it's touching
> both terminals within about 20-30 seconds contact? Can I ressurect this battery
> or is it history? I've read about dead batteries with low voltage not holding a
> charge, but this thing is showing full charge voltage and runs everything in the
> car, just won't start it.
>
> Lastly, I'm not even positive the hood shorted the battery but it sure looked
> that way. So I'm kind of in a predicament now because I want the truck but if I
> can't test drive it I won't be buying it, and I can't test drive it without
> risking another battery.....

The positive post was chared and you saw smoke so you did short the
positive terminal to the underside of the hood.
Your tests confirm that the battery is bad. It cannot be revived.
Buy a new battery and move on, more carefully. Accidents happen.

"Flippy Smith" > wrote in message
...
> I was going to buy a used truck that had no battery, so I took the battery
out
> of my car. The truck started fine with my battery and we ran it with the
hood
> up for about 5 minutes with no issue. Then I went to test drive it and my
> brother shut the hood. As I was backing out he yelled "there's smoke
coming out
> from the hood!" I quickly popped the hood and the positive battery
terminal
> looked slightly charred. I *THINK* the battery terminals were touching
the top
> of the hood. I started the truck again and this time left the hood
slightly
> ajar, continued backing up and it died, then wouldn't start again. We had
the
> owner try jump-starting which didn't do anything, so we concluded we must
have
> fried something on the truck.
>
> I got home and put my battery back in my car and it wouldn't start, but
the door
> buzzer, dome light, and dash lights were all full brightness. I
jump-started it
> with my other car and it started right up. I drove to my friend's about
10
> minutes away (day time with no lights or anything on) and when I went to
leave
> my car wouldn't start, this time jump-starting didn't work, even after 10+
> minutes with the cables connected. I put in one of his spare batteries
and
> drove home and put my battery on the charger for a couple hours. I tested
it
> with my multimeter and it read 12.99 volts. I put it in my car and it
still
> wouldn't start, even though the interior lights and door buzzer were again
at
> full strength (in the past the lights and buzzer are all faint when the
battery
> is near-dead). I quickly went under the hood with my multimeter and the
battery
> showed 12.50 volts and it was slowly rising. I turned the key again and
quickly
> checked the battery volts again and it showed 12.30 volts which I watched
rise
> to 12.47 volts in a matter of a minute or so.
>
> Is it possible for a painted hood underside to short a battery if it's
touching
> both terminals within about 20-30 seconds contact? Can I ressurect this
battery
> or is it history? I've read about dead batteries with low voltage not
holding a
> charge, but this thing is showing full charge voltage and runs everything
in the
> car, just won't start it.
>
> Lastly, I'm not even positive the hood shorted the battery but it sure
looked
> that way. So I'm kind of in a predicament now because I want the truck
but if I
> can't test drive it I won't be buying it, and I can't test drive it
without
> risking another battery.....
>
Your battery may show fully charged, but it is not able to supply sufficient
current to operated the starter motor. It might be that it just needs to be
left on the battery charger for a longer period of time to regain it's
ability to hold a load, but it is more likely that the short caused some
internal damage to the plates and it needs to be replaced. I would say, try
leaving it on the charger for a few hours, then if it still doesn't hold a
load. replace it.
--
Kevin Mouton
Automotive Technology Instructor
"If women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy"
Red Green

On Mon, 10 Jul 2006 07:45:58 -0500, "Kevin" > wrote:
>Your battery may show fully charged, but it is not able to supply sufficient
>current to operated the starter motor. It might be that it just needs to be
>left on the battery charger for a longer period of time to regain it's
>ability to hold a load, but it is more likely that the short caused some
>internal damage to the plates and it needs to be replaced. I would say, try
>leaving it on the charger for a few hours, then if it still doesn't hold a
>load. replace it.

I'll give it a go I guess, nothing to lose except it blowing up on me

On Mon, 10 Jul 2006 02:52:15 -0700, Flippy Smith >
wrote:

>I was going to buy a used truck that had no battery, so I took the battery out
>of my car. The truck started fine with my battery and we ran it with the hood
>up for about 5 minutes with no issue. Then I went to test drive it and my
>brother shut the hood. As I was backing out he yelled "there's smoke coming out
>from the hood!" I quickly popped the hood and the positive battery terminal
>looked slightly charred. I *THINK* the battery terminals were touching the top
>of the hood. I started the truck again and this time left the hood slightly
>ajar, continued backing up and it died, then wouldn't start again. We had the
>owner try jump-starting which didn't do anything, so we concluded we must have
>fried something on the truck.
>
>I got home and put my battery back in my car and it wouldn't start, but the door
>buzzer, dome light, and dash lights were all full brightness. I jump-started it
>with my other car and it started right up. I drove to my friend's about 10
>minutes away (day time with no lights or anything on) and when I went to leave
>my car wouldn't start, this time jump-starting didn't work, even after 10+
>minutes with the cables connected. I put in one of his spare batteries and
>drove home and put my battery on the charger for a couple hours. I tested it
>with my multimeter and it read 12.99 volts. I put it in my car and it still
>wouldn't start, even though the interior lights and door buzzer were again at
>full strength (in the past the lights and buzzer are all faint when the battery
>is near-dead). I quickly went under the hood with my multimeter and the battery
>showed 12.50 volts and it was slowly rising. I turned the key again and quickly
>checked the battery volts again and it showed 12.30 volts which I watched rise
>to 12.47 volts in a matter of a minute or so.
>
>Is it possible for a painted hood underside to short a battery if it's touching
>both terminals within about 20-30 seconds contact? Can I ressurect this battery
>or is it history? I've read about dead batteries with low voltage not holding a
>charge, but this thing is showing full charge voltage and runs everything in the
>car, just won't start it.
>
>Lastly, I'm not even positive the hood shorted the battery but it sure looked
>that way. So I'm kind of in a predicament now because I want the truck but if I
>can't test drive it I won't be buying it, and I can't test drive it without
>risking another battery.....

Hi Flippy,

If the battery had a lower resistive contact with the hood, it would
have probably exploded after a few seconds due to the rapid heat build
up from the excessive current and caused a lot more damage. You were
real lucky.

Given what happened, the plates are probably warped from the heat and
the battery is no longer reliable to produce enough current to start
your engine, especially in cold weather. One approach is to replace
the battery in your car with one that is not as high, so it will fit
in the truck without touching the hood. You will probably have to
replace the hold down clamp in your car to the battery can be secured.
If you jump start the truck from your car, do not run either vehicle
without a battery because the excessive unfiltered voltage produced by
the charging system could damage your vehicle's electronics, i.e.,
emissions computer, radio, etc.

Please see Section 7 in the Car and Deep Cycle Battery FAQ on
www.batteryfaq.org for tips on buying a replacement battery.

Kindest regards,

BiLL......

On Tue, 11 Jul 2006 12:28:08 +0200, Bill Darden > wrote:
>Hi Flippy,
>
>If the battery had a lower resistive contact with the hood, it would
>have probably exploded after a few seconds due to the rapid heat build
>up from the excessive current and caused a lot more damage. You were
>real lucky.
>
>Given what happened, the plates are probably warped from the heat and
>the battery is no longer reliable to produce enough current to start
>your engine, especially in cold weather. One approach is to replace
>the battery in your car with one that is not as high, so it will fit
>in the truck without touching the hood. You will probably have to
>replace the hold down clamp in your car to the battery can be secured.
>If you jump start the truck from your car, do not run either vehicle
>without a battery because the excessive unfiltered voltage produced by
>the charging system could damage your vehicle's electronics, i.e.,
>emissions computer, radio, etc.
>
>Please see Section 7 in the Car and Deep Cycle Battery FAQ on
>www.batteryfaq.org for tips on buying a replacement battery.
>
>Kindest regards,
>
>BiLL......

Bill, that was the first time I jump-started a vehicle then swapped the
batteries, so after I did that I did read about the possibility of damage to
other parts. It didn't sound like a great idea but unfortunately I was out of
options other than to leave my car. Luckily nothing happened. As for my car
battery that shorted in the truck, I did as the other poster mentioned and tried
charging it again, after which it still shows 12.5 volts and doesn't have enough
power to start my car, so I went to Westbay and picked up a 60 month battery
with about 100 more "cold cranking amps" than my car requires for $39.
Unfortunately it's hard to find a battery that fits in my car and at 3 places I
only had a choice between a $40 battery and a $90 battery.

I went back to buy that truck and the owner had put in a really cheap battery
and the truck started fine, so it was definitely my old battery that got the
short end of the deal, so that will be going in for my $5 core refund.

Thanks for all the responses.