Jdw123

Please help. I have two new battery's and they leak acid out of the top. I clean them every week. What causes this?

infidel

Overcharging? Overfilled?
What's your voltage gauge reading?
Might want to double check voltage right at the battery with a meter with the engine running, dash gauges don't always read right.

patdaly

Infidel, when the battery temp sensor fails, does it usually go to full cold, thus the possibility of overcharging?

infidel

I've never ran into a temp sensor that failed but when someone installs a shorter battery with a spacer under it so that the temp sensor doesn't contact the battery then there is no charging at all when the temps get below freezing.
Guess that means the temp sensor would never create a an overcharge condition.

Jdw123

Thanks for the reply. My dash voltage says I'm fine, but I will have to check with a voltage meter like you said. Will get back with results soon. Thanks again infidel.

NE frmhnd

They could be bad. It happens now and then.

infidel

Sometimes they leak around the edge of the post from people pounding the terminals on with a hammer or bending the terminals from side to side.
Even pulling on them with tight jumper cables can crack the case around the post.
Unfortunately this is happening more and more with cases getting thinner to save money.
I've heard you can fix them with silicone but have never tried it myself.

Jdw123

Checked voltage with voltage meter. All is good with that. The acid seems to be coming out of the top lid(s) area. Some one told me that it might be my negative (ground) wires are not grounded well enough so it is causes the batteries to boil? Is that possible?

gorms

Those lids are removeable, don't seal perfectly forever. And the truck bounces around quite a bit, might be able to pull the caps and clean everything, see if they seal any better. Any battery I've ever had (usually cheaper varieties) end up getting wet on top after a few years but still work just fine. Now I just clean the tops up every month or so, when I check oil.

torquefan

Pull the tops off and make sure they aren't overfilled. The liquid shouldn't be up into the neck of each fill hole. You might want to suck some liquid out of each cell with a hydrometer or turkey baster, just make sure there's liquid covering the plates in each cell and some extra over the top. Some battery brands seem way more prone to leakage than others, if the level isn't too high and the charge rate is good, I myself would be pretty temped to get them warrantied or throw them in the garbage and get something else before they do some real damage.

CarlJensen

This is why I went to Optima units. No spill...

Jdw123

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will try them all. I just don't want acid eaten up my truck. If any one has other thoughts let me know. What is a good battery? These are deleca.(not sure one the spelling). Are all these battery's prone to leaks.

high bid

A pound or so of baking soda sprinkled all over should help to neutralize things...lol

I've had decent luck w/the Autozone duralast gold batts. 8yr warranty.

torquefan

I've been fairly impressed with Napa batteries that I've seen. Some models have nice flat tops with no caps, and they seem to stay dry and clean.

The batteries I'm running in the truck are Battery Direct Platinums and am very happy with them. Never needed to clean my connections in over 8 years with this truck, through two sets of these. It's a Canadian company though and not sure if you get them down there.
www.batterydirect.com

As others have mentioned, AGM batteries like Optima or high-end Diehards are leakproof.

Dieselbuilder

how old are your batteries? if they are to old the batteries will not hold a fell charge and the alt. will over charge them (boil) spilling acid out the top!