Acid (batttery)

[Leeman]

Noticed the other day something had eatin the paint on the side of my front bar. Popped the bonnet and there was fresh battery acid everywhere, all over the battery, all over my intercooler pipe and various other places. It had leaked down the side where my wiper water was and then out onto the front bar! Not happy Jan! To make things worse i had only just got my car back from a simple, run of the mill car service. Now i dont know if it's just coincedentle that maybe the battery had a sh#@ fit, or if maybe they overfilled the battery or something when they serviced her??? What are your thoughts cause i am a bit of an unhappy camper at the moment

[TurboX]

Might be worth checking that your alternator is not overcharging the battery which can happen. This can cause the acid to overflow as you said.

Unless they service guys over filled it?

Dont forget it seems harmless but give it some time and you will have bad corrosion everywhere, so wash it off pretty thoroughly.

[Busky2k]

Was the filler caps still screwed on tight on the battery?

Chances are they filled it to the brim (which is a no no) so once the battery starts to 'gas' and heat up during charging, it would have spewed the electrolyte everywhere as you would know. OR your charging system voltage is out of spec causing it to gas violently.

[Cubes]

Ahh not good.

I had a new Exide battery do this to me some time ago.

The auto store replaced it as goodwill, they believed my car was overcharging or the battery had been dropped.

I know I definitely didn't drop it as I put it in the car at the autostore the second I bought it.

The PFC has near perfect volts also. So its not overcharging.

This new Exide is good but. The old would loose its charge by simply leaving on the radio while I washed the car, and it was a new battery. :S

It stuffed a lot of the engine bays paint directly below the battery, a metal brush, rust kill primer and paint and its all good.

[Leeman]

What do you guys think i should do? Are the mechanics at fault, looks like it was topped right up and the caps were very tight to! Should i be getting them to fix it? I haven't really touched it since it happened (last thursday). Do you think a steam clean will be enough? the damage has been done though, my intercooler piping is screwed, the paint in the engine bay is the same and my front bar has an annoying patch on it with no paint. Very noticeable when my paint job is well looked after!

[4door_Sleeper]

It might be worth talking to your insurance company. If they believe the mechanic was responsible they will be better able to follow it up than you, and because the other party can be identified you shouldnt have to pay an excess or lose your rating.

[andz]

without telling them the problem, ask them what they've done for this service "just out of interest" because "the car is running great"...u lie of course

that way they dont know the damage and try to deny touching ur battery

Edited February 15, 2007 by andz69

[Deluxe]

without telling them the problem, ask them what they've done for this service "just out of interest" because "the car is running great"...u lie of course

that way they dont know the damage and try to deny touching ur battery

Do this first to see if you have a leg to stand on......

It might be worth talking to your insurance company. If they believe the mechanic was responsible they will be better able to follow it up than you, and because the other party can be identified you shouldnt have to pay an excess or lose your rating.

And once you have found out about the other and it's worth continuing then procced with this!

[Gazee]

I agree with ^^^... but if you get your insurance company involved you have to pay your excess cos your making some what of a claim... i dunno about you buy my excess is like $1500 lol

As andz69 said be sneaky with em cos theres more than 1 way to skin a cat... But if you can prove they caused that damage then you can threaten to take em to something like the tribunal if they tell you to take a walk after unwillfully admit it...

But before you jump to conclusions and start threatening em just try and settle it one on one with em.. best of luck mate!

[4door_Sleeper]

I agree with ^^^... but if you get your insurance company involved you have to pay your excess cos your making some what of a claim... i dunno about you buy my excess is like $1500 lol

Check your policy, if you can identify the guilty party you shouldnt have to pay the excess. You only pay the excess if you are to blame (or you can not identify the third party).

Either way its worth asking your insurance company. An enquiry will cost yopu nothing.

[Leeman]

Thanx for the help guys! Im going to take some photos of the damage tomorrow then give it a high pressure clean. Hopefully i can have a leisurely chat with them tomorrow aswell, as i have been too busy climbing trees of late to do anything! thanx again, i'll keep ya's posted on how it goes

[4door_Sleeper]

afterwards wash it with a mix of bicarb and water to neutilise the acid.

You can mix up a solution and spray it on (it wont hurt the paint) and look for anywhere that bubbles/fizes (indicates acid is still there)

[Leeman]

I've spoke to my mechanic and he said, hopefully telling the truth, he didn't top the battery level up. Now it could still be the alternator but i doubt it as i've never had a problem before and this did happen pretty much after the service. He did say though that they tightened the battery clamp down so i checked that and yes it was very tight. Also i noticed the battery seemed some what swollen on the sides. Like it was full off pressure, when i pushed the sides in battery acid would come out the top of the terminals! What the?? Can anyone help?

[Leeman]

Any help for me anyone, please

[Evil34]

Hey Lee,

Have you thought of getting a sealed battery like a dry cell or gel cell battery?

Odysseys are pretty good and they are very low maintanance and are fully sealed.

Shaun

[Leeman]

Hey Lee,

Have you thought of getting a sealed battery like a dry cell or gel cell battery?

Odysseys are pretty good and they are very low maintanance and are fully sealed.

Shaun

Thats great, but doesn't resolve my problem!

[Cubes]

If its been overtightened its possible he has damaged the battery.

Remove the battery clamp and check there's no noticably 'dents' on its top.

[infamous_t]

If battery is bulging its either being overcharged, vents blocked off (happens with some makes) or its getting very, very hot under your bonnet...

Given youv'e just had a service, either someones being playing with the alternator, or for some reason ran really hot.

Oh by the way, you can just use normal dishwashing liquid with water to neutralize acid.

[Leeman]

If its been overtightened its possible he has damaged the battery.

Remove the battery clamp and check there's no noticably 'dents' on its top.

Yeah was definately overtightened cubes, when i undone the clamp it seemed a bit dented. Could this have caused the acid everywhere? I told the mechanic that it was too tight but he doesn't seem to think that would cause this! Is he just covering his arse? What should i do?

[Cubes]

It may have a stuffed plate or two if its dented badly enough.

My battery that was leaking was bloated also. Zero overcharging and usual engine bay temps. Its suspected it may have been dropped prior to purchase.