The battery cover is missing from my car, local Mits garage says that they weren't fitted on some models...is this true, and ...does it matter??

I am also getting the exhaust buzzing referred to in several recent threads, did anyone come up with an easy fix?

Yes it is true and no it doesnt matter

The quick fix to the buzzing is new extractors either Pacemaker or RPW.

Tom

Yes it is true and no it doesnt matter
i thought it was a tad strange thing to have as an option, anyone know why they did it?

Some models didnt have them. i know my TJ didnt come with one, but my TH did :nuts:

THe idea of it was to keep the hot air away from the battery. Although because hot air rises the air comes under it and gets caught under the cover, therfore it is pointless.. long story short anyway

Yes, most TJs didn't come with a battery cover because the trapped hot air was cooking the batteries (especially on hot summer days). I seem to remember there's a thread about this if you do a search.

A battery cover is actually there to stop any shorting out of the terminalls not hot air at all ( sorry) if you have a look at a volkswagen youll see that the battery is under the back seat, without a battery cover and sitting on the back seat youll cause a fire because the seat has steel ribs that run along the base. connecting pos to neg is not a good idea hydrauchloric acid is quite flamable. i know this because the first car i owned was a volksy ( well before being a mechanic and learning of that thing called common sense) ha ha .
hot air will do nothing to a battery as it has no properties allowing to ignite anything and also most batteries these days are a sealed unit anyway its all a safety precaution , maybe not that necessary in all vehicles but in some it is quite necessary. If you have a ding in your bonnet and your concerned that the terminals may connect then its necessary if not dont bother with it

Hydrochloric acid is not flammable - the problem is when you short out the battery you are causing large amounts of energy stored in the battery to be converted into heat - the hydrogen generated by the electrolysis during charging/rapid discharge is what is flammable - not the acid itself.

Volksies were pretty prone to fires with the battery there werent they :)

Heat does stuff batteries too - the hottest cells (ie the closest to the engine/exhaust) die first... Seen a few working with auto leccies.

Cheers
Heath Young

Well, I'll state it again:The battery cover in the Magna up until part way through the TJ life was purely for looks - to "dress" the engine compartment. However, Mitsu realised that engine heat trapped under the cover was contibuting to shorter-than-expected battery life (and probably warranty claims). So in a win-win for the manufacturer, they ditched it saving themselves a dollar or two per car.

No one was suggesting that hot air in the engine compartment caused a car battery to ignite :nuts:

Well, I'll state it again:The battery cover in the Magna up until part way through the TJ life was purely for looks - to "dress" the engine compartment. However, Mitsu realised that engine heat trapped under the cover was contibuting to shorter-than-expected battery life (and probably warranty claims). So in a win-win for the manufacturer, they ditched it saving themselves a dollar or two per car.

No one was suggesting that hot air in the engine compartment caused a car battery to ignite :nuts:

Might have to mod my battery cover then....mmmmm I wonder how mesh would look :P

A battery cover is actually there to stop any shorting out of the terminalls not hot air at all ( sorry) if you have a look at a volkswagen youll see that the battery is under the back seat, without a battery cover and sitting on the back seat youll cause a fire because the seat has steel ribs that run along the base. connecting pos to neg is not a good idea hydrauchloric acid is quite flamable. i know this because the first car i owned was a volksy ( well before being a mechanic and learning of that thing called common sense) ha ha .
hot air will do nothing to a battery as it has no properties allowing to ignite anything and also most batteries these days are a sealed unit anyway its all a safety precaution , maybe not that necessary in all vehicles but in some it is quite necessary. If you have a ding in your bonnet and your concerned that the terminals may connect then its necessary if not dont bother with it

umm.. were are talking about magnas here.. not VW's. Wrong forum buddy