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Did my monthly visual inspection of my ~4.5 year old battery (oreilly brand I think).
To my dismay, the whole area was a mess. it had blown the vent cap off the drivers side of the battery and was leaking out of that hole. it was leaking out of the top, and the battery tray was full of bloom.
I use a CTEK, so I hadn't noticed any performance issues at all.
So, pulled the battery and poured baking soda all over the tray. Waited for the hissing and bubbling to stop. Pulled the tray out. Good news was that there didn't appear to be any issues below the tray. The tray itself had a lot of peeling paint and surface rust.
I noticed the vent line on the passenger side was full, so I blew it out. Traced it down and saw a lot of bloom on the passenger side suspension piece below the exit. More soda and a good rinse. Looks like other than being a lot cleaner than the untouched aluminum, there was no damage.
Rinsed, sanded, and repainted the tray and the hold-down bracket. The four nuts for the tray were toast, so replaced them.
Bought OReilly's AGM replacement and car is good to go.
As this thing ages, I may start checking it every couple of weeks
I checked mine about a month ago. It was the original 2011 battery. Physically looked good but tested weak. Would start but needed to be replaced. Got one from Wally World. Fits perfectly and works.
Any photo's ?
A little die electric grease on the battery posts and cable ends on mine.
Check all the drain holes are clear down there too.
No, sorry, was so riled up about it, I got right to work fixing it without taking a picture.
Interestingly, the posts and cables were 100% pristine. The acidic water was being forced out of the battery...my working assumption is that the age of the battery PLUS the CTEK may have inadvertently overcharged it. Not sure, since the circuits in the CTEK are supposed to notice this.
No, sorry, was so riled up about it, I got right to work fixing it without taking a picture.
Interestingly, the posts and cables were 100% pristine. The acidic water was being forced out of the battery...my working assumption is that the age of the battery PLUS the CTEK may have inadvertently overcharged it. Not sure, since the circuits in the CTEK are supposed to notice this.
Maybe some experts could chime in?
Good you caught it - quite a mess. Once CTEK charges the battery it's supposed to go into maintenance or float mode and not over charge - you might might to check that too.
Glad you caught it before it made a real mess of anything...
...but hat's why I only install sealed Optima AGM batteries in all my vehicles - red tops for the cars and blue tops for the boat - no venting and no risk of acid spillage.
Plus to the left of it, it leaves space to keep a little tool, kit a spare bottle of oil, etc or in my case, where I mounted the external compressor and control box for the cargraphic AirLift system.
Did your CTEK charge via the battery or the lighter - does it matter? Regardless I have my Porsche hooked up to the car via the lighter, I'm going to check tonight - thanks for the reminder!
Did your CTEK charge via the battery or the lighter - does it matter? Regardless I have my Porsche hooked up to the car via the lighter, I'm going to check tonight - thanks for the reminder!
socket in the passenger footwell. don't know if it matters, but don't think it should.
It definitely changed from orange to green light indicating it was in maintenance mode.
socket in the passenger footwell. don't know if it matters, but don't think it should.
It definitely changed from orange to green light indicating it was in maintenance mode.
Orange to Green means it changed from not charged to charged. I think you have to select the snowflake mode with the button to actually put it into float / maintenance mode. I'm not 100% on this though as I use the Battery Tender brand that does everything automatically without a mode button.
Orange to Green means it changed from not charged to charged. I think you have to select the snowflake mode with the button to actually put it into float / maintenance mode. I'm not 100% on this though as I use the Battery Tender brand that does everything automatically without a mode button.
Manual says it reaches pulse maintenance mode automatically in "car" mode.
However, your note made me read more about the snowflake mode and I see that for AGM batteries, I should use that instead of "car" mode. Previous battery was not AGM, but my new one is. Thanks for the heads-up!
Any photo's ?
A little die electric grease on the battery posts and cable ends on mine. Check all the drain holes are clear down there too.
Very good point!! When I first received my 997 I had an intermittent starting problem. I threw parts at the issue....new power cable in the engine bay, new starter and new 150A alt...along with replacing parts that I broke in the process. I looked at relays and fuses. I was looking at the wrong culprits. I decided to look at the battery. Then the tray. I found clogged drains and the power pin that the pos lead from the battery connects to was corroded. The issue would always happen a few days after I washed the car. Compressed air, a wire brush and dielectric grease cured it.
02-13-2017, 11:36 AM
Check your batteries, folks
