The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay drooling battery acid

After getting the truck home last year, I replaced the bat tray and hold down first thing. Then I cleaned up the ugly wiring a bit. The PO dropped in a 70's 350 with and alternator. It's charging fine. It has what appears to be a newish Walmart battery that is working fine. My question is, why is this thing drooling battery acid? It's really making a mess. I keep cleaning it up and it keeps on drooling. I've heard that heat can cause that but doubt it's getting that hot under there. The guage shows it running on the cool side. Anyone have any thoughts on this???

Hi
The first thing I would check is the charging rate. If it is charging to much, it will overcharge your battery and boil out the liquid.
Jim

I took it by a hot rod shop and after he stopped laughing he checked it out and said it was charging properly. I forget what voltage. I'd like to buy a tester to see for myself. What type of testing device?

Clip-on ampmeters are the instrument of choice today for measuring either AC or DC current. They are REALLY handy both in the garage and at home. They sell an "upgrade kit" in the form of a clip-on probe for digital meters like "Fluke" or you can by a new meter with this option. They measure up into the current ranges needed for auto DC circuits. Just be ready for the store to get into "*** national" as the are pricey. The old and trusted analog meters we old f#@ts use will not handle much more than 10 amps and this won't cut it. An option I use is a salvaged DC panel meter I salvaged somewhere that reads to 100 amps. Problem with this is you have to "break" the system to measure the current and that is a pain, just ask any old timer fuse popper. One of these clip on type meters is on my Christmas list, Would you like me to email you my list?

Get a digital multi-meter, it reads voltage and ohms. Great for finding bad wires.

I also think your over charging. Should be between 12.5 to 14.5. Anything over 14.5 is over charging. 12.5 and under is not enough.

Wilbur

Don't fill with to much liquid, 1/4" above plates

Over charging???((no higher than 14.2))))bad batt cell((will boil)))over filling batt)))...PS to check charge voltage batt must fully charged and all ele circuits off....doc

Some batteries just puke(esp. the cheaper ones), not sure why. Make sure it is not overcharging as above.

Does your truck have an ammeter or does it just have idiot lights? An onboard ammeter gives information about the charging rate for which the guy at the hot rod shop could not test. The correct voltage is only half the equation.

orchidskip,

I have seen batteries off-gas when overcharged. This usually takes the form of a mist that collects on the battery exterior and sometimes coats the immediate area with a white corrosive coating.

Conventional batteries have vents in the caps while maintenance free batteries have a small vent somewhere in the case ( I think). If your battery is actually drooling liquid, I would check for a cracked case. In the few instances I have seen where the battery was being overcharged, it was never actual liquid, but a corrosive mist/coating.

Stuart

Here's the best solution-Put an Optima in it! Optimas don't gas, so there's no mess.
The vents on the maintainance free batteries are usually on the sides of the case top cover.
I also agrre that there's most likely an overcharging problem.

Thanks for the tips guys. The battery is new but I suspect that it's either what one of the guys said about cheap batteries or the PO may have cracked the case some how. The old bat holder was a mess and he use some coat hanger to hold down the bat. I will look into buying a tester though. Then the optima battery goes on my wish list with a dozen other things.

Beltfed, I better not!! I'll just want your list too!!!

Baldy,
Not sure what you were referring to in your response. It's a '57 with the stock instrument cluster so it has an ammeter but it is not numerical. It simply has the needle which is a little over half way after first cranking, then drops down after few minutes of initial charging. Of course, the needle drops a wee bit under a load such as headlights. Does that mean anything?

Sometimes people bypass the ammeter when they change engines and switch to alternator. Yours must be wired correctly through the ammeter and, from your description, it probably is not overcharging, just a bad battery.

Thanks Baldy. Our old friends at HF have multimeters ranging in price from $2.99 to the most expensive being $39.99. I bought a clip-on as recommended by beltfed for $17.99. I probably could have gotten it cheaper if I waited for it to go on sale as is usually the case when I buy something there. I'll let you know how it works or if it works...and I look forward to solving the mystery of the drooling battery.