Blow torch induced battery discharge?

Earlier today, just as I was about to fire up my baby, I noticed that there was a lot of dust/filth all over the windshields and tailgate. When I opened the door, the interior lighting was somewhat dimmer than usual, which led me to consider the possibility of a weak battery. When I tried to start the engine, all I got was the infamous "clackety clackety clack" of relays not receiving proper input voltage. My V1 RD was also behaving erratically, powering on and off seemingly at will (it's designed for a twelve volt supply line).

After popping the hood I duly noted with a multimeter that the voltage across the battery terminals was only [just shy of] ten volts in lieu of the proper twelve. No wonder the car wouldn't start!

But now I was perplexed. It wasn't that long since I'd last driven, so what caused this sudden inexplicable near quarter discharge? I was totally stumped until I noticed another resident trying to start his Mazda 323 and suffering the EXACT same symptoms. I checked his battery and it rendered a paltry eight volts. Now what are the chances of two cars in the same garage suffering the exact same symptoms during the exact same time period by virtue of unrelated coïncidental cause? Yeah, quite, so now there were two of us looking for an answer...

It turns out that my landlord and a hispanic guy (José? Hmmm, I guess I identify all Hispanics with that name, whether real or imagined ;) were blow torching in the garage earlier. Now, that certainly explains the dust and filth on our cars, but what of the sudden battery discharge? I'm almost certain there's a link, but what aspect of blow torching would turn a twelve volt car battery into a ten or eight volt one? Heat? Atmospherics? Dust? Are our batteries irrevocably damaged, or will a simple charge/boost do the trick? (Yes, I'm still stuck with a ten volt car battery for the time being...)

Reply to
Ricardo
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[snip two dead batterys]

No link to the blow torch.

You realize that there are thousands of repair shops which use oxy-acetylene torches each and every day with-out suffering multiple or even singular battery failures.

Chalk it up to coincedence.

Reply to
Neil Nelson

Why do people like this never provide any information except that which supports the supposed "mystery" of their story? Batteries can go dead and if both residents have five year old batteries and dirty connections then the only mystery is why people don't maintain their cars better. The poster has a multimeter so perhaps he does keep track of things. I don't see the blow torch link whatsoever.

Reply to
Tomcat14

Now if you said they were welding and may have touched the metal on their car, then the electrical system could be damaged seriously.

Reply to
Tomcat14

What was the chance that two of us would suffer the exact same thing at the exact same time?

Reply to
Ricardo

I'd say it doesn't much matter.... it was only a coincidence unless someone turned on both of your domelights or something. It had nothing to do with torch use. Bob

Reply to
Bob

I just find that a little difficult to believe, unless our underground garage is haunted by some weird spooky ghost who preys on high mileage early '90s Mazdas. :}

Reply to
Ricardo

Research indicates that it's 37.4%, +/- .6% (North America only).

Ed

Reply to
Ed Price

Small but non-zero. Correlation does NOT imply causation.

Reply to
Steve

88.6% of statistics are total BS! :}
Reply to
Ricardo

could be simply conditions that led to the death of already weak and vunerable batteries.

Reply to
Brent P

Now that's a sensible thought: my battery *looks* new, but I really have no idea how new it actually is... grrr, that's the sound of me not wanting to fork out $95 for a new one...

Reply to
Ricardo

Maybe Jose and the boyz had left your stereo on so they could listen to their La Bamba cd.

WOODY

Reply to
Woody

Were they smoking anything else besides the blowtorch?

Reply to
Tomcat14

Yeah, I've changed the battery now; it was totally dead. It probably was somewhat coïncidental that two of us suffered the same fate at the same time. My old battery was labelled with manufacture date code J7 (Oct '97), and another sticker marked "3-98", so was over 5½ years old - a little past its prime. :}

The new battery's just fine and dandy though: $90 from a local (as in around the block) supplier, inclusive of taxes and 5yr warranty.

Reply to
Ricardo

The birthday game... Get a group of people together, and what do you think the odds are on two of you having the same one?

Same is true on the battery.

(What *I* would suspect is that the UFO that was overhead sucked all the power out while hovering...)

Reply to
David Lesher

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