Can any of the old heads suggest a cause for a weeping battery? It's in my Fregate which is still charging and behaving fine except for these white deposits, could it be from overfilling or over charging, what da you reckon?
Battery woes..
- Thread starter 56 Fregate
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I'd suggest overcharging, could be a weak cell boiling under charge and expelling battery acid. could be many causes though..
Thanks Ken I have swapped the battery out with another and the problem continues. Perhaps I tilted the battery getting it in because the battery box is quite a stretch and by tree trunk arms aren't up to the exertion these days. The car doesn't get driven often enough to boil I wouldn't have thought.
Too much hard cornering, excessive G force spilling fluid out, maybe too much body roll, stiffer anti roll bar needed.
That's worth considering, perhaps it's the driving style..
I would check to make sure that the battery is not being over charged, put a multimeter set on volts across the battery terminals and then start the engine. I assume you have a generator so at idle it may only be putting out 12.5 volts but as the revs pick up it should go up to 13.8 - 14.2.
If the voltage across the battery is higher than 14.2 it is over charging, and you may have a faulty regulator.
That white power can be easily cleaned up with some hot water tipped over to wash it away.
Thanks Col, my multimeter has failed to proceed so I will need to purchase another. BTW I have a modern alternator from a Magna fitted but I will check the regulator.
No Worries about the alternator, same thing applies make sure that its not over charging.
You should get a higher voltage at idling with the alternator, than with what the generator would give you.
The good news is that it takes a tiny amount of acid to produce a lot of white powder. I keep conventional with batteries, but the ones I buy have a bleed tube.
Not using distilled water will cause this problem as the acid reacts with the dirty water causing fuming.
With poor air circulation around battery instant white powder on all metal parts
Corrosion on the positive terminal battery is overcharging.
On the negative terminal, battery is undercharging.
Forget which one is bluish in tinge
Any case. Clean off with baking soda water mixture, apply Vaseline on parts.
No more fretting
With poor air circulation around battery instant white powder on all metal parts
Corrosion on the positive terminal battery is overcharging.
On the negative terminal, battery is undercharging.
Forget which one is bluish in tinge
Any case. Clean off with baking soda water mixture, apply Vaseline on parts.
No more fretting
Thanks for all that, I will follow that advice in its entirety and see how it goes. The positive terminal is mint so probably not overcharging. The last time I topped the battery up I used demineralised water not distilled so maybe that's the problem.Not using distilled water will cause this problem as the acid reacts with the dirty water causing fuming.
With poor air circulation around battery instant white powder on all metal parts
Corrosion on the positive terminal battery is overcharging.
On the negative terminal, battery is undercharging.
Forget which one is bluish in tinge
Any case. Clean off with baking soda water mixture, apply Vaseline on parts.
No more fretting
I'll report back after a while with the result.
I collect condensate from the household AC every now and again. Essentially distilled water....Thanks for all that, I will follow that advice in its entirety and see how it goes. The positive terminal is mint so probably not overcharging. The last time I topped the battery up I used demineralised water not distilled so maybe that's the problem.
I'll report back after a while with the result.
Hi Col
I always use 14.4V as a max. It is a bit variable but 14,2 is a bit low IMHO.
Indeed with new cars with much higher power alternators higher voltage is often seen as the regulator senses the voltage at the key or similar place and the voltage to get 100A in has to be higher to get it to flow and overcome the resistance !!Not to mention the new variable voltage systems that go up to 15+V when braking
Demineralised water is OK and I used it for years as all the labs use that instead of distilled for years now. Use backing soda in the water to clean it as it is a mild alkaline, and neutralises the acid fumes, as said.
Maybe improve the ventilation to let the fumes out better. My experience is some batteries are more troublesome than others even when they work OK. Some just seem to corrode around them and others do not !! Some just go forever, some just quit. Not sure why ?
Jaahn
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When I was a young sprog in Bendigo, the father of my mate Bobby Jarvis ran the Bendigo Battery Hospital and in his backyard there was a large canvas inverted tent top to catch rainwater and funnel it into those old large pottery style Chemical jars. That was his source of pure rainwater for use in topping up batteries. for what that is worth..
0.2 of a volt isn't going to make much difference, probably get that much variance in the regulators due to tolerances in the components used.Hi Col
I always use 14.4V as a max. It is a bit variable but 14,2 is a bit low IMHO.
Not to mention the new variable voltage systems that go up to 15+V when braking
Demineralised water is OK and I used it for years as all the labs use that instead of distilled for years now. Use backing soda in the water to clean it as it is a mild alkaline, and neutralises the acid fumes, as said.
Maybe improve the ventilation to let the fumes out better. My experience is some batteries are more troublesome than others even when they work OK. Some just seem to corrode around them and others do not !! Some just go forever, some just quit. Not sure why ?
Jaahn
Also will depend on the quality of the multimeter what one gets as a figure.
Thanks for all the info and assurances. The more I think about it the more I'm convinced I overfilled the cells with water, a grasshopper error for sure. 
Basically as long as the water is pure hydrogen & oxygen it should be OK, its the impurities such as minerals and chemicals add by man that stuffs things up.
Yer that's easy to do, especially if the battery is in a location that is hard to see into the cellsThanks for all the info and assurances. The more I think about it the more I'm convinced I overfilled the cells with water, a grasshopper error for sure.
