An arrangement for battery pack protection during fluid ingress. The battery pack may include a housing, a terminal block, and a core battery assembly supported in the housing, the assembly including a core housing, a plurality of battery cells supported in the core housing, a first weld strap connecting the battery cells to a positive power terminal, a second weld strap connecting the battery cells to a negative power terminal, a first sacrificial electrode connected to the first weld strap, and a second sacrificial electrode connected to the second weld strap. A spacing between the first sacrificial electrode and the second sacrificial electrode may be selected such that an ingress fluid entering the battery pack electrically shorts the first sacrificial electrode and the second sacrificial electrode to drop a voltage of the cell battery assembly and discharge battery energy before damaging the battery cells.