Battery failure Options

[slivel]

Wife and I took the 914 to a cars and coffee (about 20 miles away) yesterday morning. Everything seemed normal except that we started noticing a strange odor on the way home. Just a few blocks from home the engine quit. I managed to get it running, although poorly and got it home. The first thing I checked was the battery. The case was bulging and too hot to handle. It was also outgassing vapor. This is a one-year-old AGM battery.

I got it exchanged for a new one at no cost to me but the experience was unnerving.

I suppose that I now have to be certain that my charging system did not contribute to or cause this battery failure.

Has anyone experienced this sort of battery failure? It must have been some internal short to have such a rapid decline. I really was concerned that the battery would rupture.

The chemical vapors left a coating all over the engine compartment/trunk area. Are there any good ways to neutralize the acid residue?

Thanks.

[rick 918-S]

There is likely a baking soda solution you could buy buy you could also make some up. I would really be concerned about what was left behind. That stuff has killed so many 914's we cant count them all. Your alternator or voltage regulator is likely fried check all the wiring for overheating as well. Maybe the grommets through the rear engine tin is missing causing a short. Glad you stopped.in time to save the car.