My @004 TL was recently in the shop for sensor replacement...when I arrived I noticed that my battery(35-DL) had been switched with a Duralast 58-DL(which usually goes in a 98 Ford Ranger.) While driving the car home the same day my car completely shut down, no lights, acceleration, nothing. I had to veer off into the emergency lane on the highway. I noticed that the battery ad exploded. Now my electrical system in my car is fried.

 

And? If you " noticed" it was changed why did you drive away? Not that it mattered. 12 v is 12 v . Dunno why it would explode unless it was over charged. Which would mean your regulator is buggered.

 

Like you stated I though a 12v battery was a 12v battery. But a mechanic told me that my car gives off too much energy for the 58-DL causing it to expand and burst.

 

Not buying it .. that's what voltage regulators are for .. in any case go back to whoever changed it and ask them to deal with it .. your original post sort of leads us to believe you didn't authorize it. And why did he change it out?

 

No I didn't authorize the battery change. I have no idea why it was switched...maybe someone needed my battery and they figured I wouldn't notice. And i don't know much about batteries and voltage...but you are saying that the regulator is buggered?

 

Sounds to me like your mechanic screwed your ish up.

First of all, any REPUTABLE and HONEST mechanic/shop, would NEVER,EVER touch any part of your car without your permission. Please don't take it lightly, go back there and demand them to fix it and tell you why they changed the battery in the first place.

By the way, when and how did you notice the swapped battery, & why was your car in for repairs in the first place.


edit: your voltage regulator is part of the alternator.
I'm angry for you.

 

I'm saying that usually the voltage supplied by the alternator is controlled by the voltage regulator .. and so is the charging of the battery. Take it from there.

My first step would have been to question the shop as to why the switch and ask to have it replaced with your battery ... now that there is problems it should be them that deal with it. BUT if you noticed the battery switch and didn't even question it .. dunno .. whats the time lapse between the battery switch and the explosion? 1 hour .. 3 months?

 

^ This kind of puts you in a bad place OP. Because if you saw it, and drove it off the lot, they can easily blame YOU for swapping the battery.