Car battery ?

[Brandon]

I have been having problems with starting my car here the past few days. Decided today to check it out and see what may be the cause. When I got to the battery I noticed the positive terminal was tilted rather noticeably.

So my question is what would cause a battery to deform the plastic around the terminals and push or pull one terminal to the side causing it to sit at some weird angle?

I failed to take a picture as I was wanting to get my car back up and running again.

(I did replace the battery and all seems to be good now)

 

[hornadylnl]

What voltage is your battery when it's running? I've had a bad voltage regulator cause voltage to go to 15-16 volts. It was literally boiling the acid out of the battery.

 

[malern28us]

The only thing that comes to mind is frozen electrolyte solution but it is no where cold enough for that. A bad cell?

 

[Bunnykid68]

Check your alternator also. A bad alternator can destroy a good battery

 

[rotortech]

Overcharging as suggested above. That could have caused case swelling or deformation of the plates internally. Get your system checked out so you don't wipe out another battery.

 

[Brandon]

Would it make a big difference if the battery was just over 4 years old?
I haven't checked what the voltage is when it's running.

Looks like I'll be in the garage again tomorrow.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Autozone or Oreilly's can check your battery and starter for free. Is it bent or has it broken loose? I had a side post on a battery break loose before. Never did figure out what caused that one.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Would it make a big difference if the battery was just over 4 years old?
I haven't checked what the voltage is when it's running.

Looks like I'll be in the garage again tomorrow.

3 years is about average.

 

[Bunnykid68]

3 years is about average.

What kind of batteries are you using? I get 6-7 years out of my Interstates usually

 

[Brandon]

Autozone would not touch it to test.

The terminal on the outside was not bent. The plastic housing of the top of the battery (top post battery) was deformed causing the terminal to sit at an angle.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

What kind of batteries are you using? I get 6-7 years out of my Interstates usually

Oh, I have too... Experience has been after 3 years, don't be surprised when they fail.

 

[GLOCKMAN23C]

Is the battery properly secured?

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Autozone would not touch it to test.

The terminal on the outside was not bent. The plastic housing of the top of the battery (top post battery) was deformed causing the terminal to sit at an angle.

I'd have to think something had to heat the battery up to cause that. A short, over charging, or overload is about all I can think of. Had starting problems? Seems like with the car running, you ought to read about 14v on the battery if it's charging right. Hope that helps.

 

[brutalone]

Corrosion or a loose cable can cause unwanted resistance..... Resistance equals heat....

Replace defective battery with a fully charged (12.6 to 13.2 volts) new battery.



Make sure your battery cables are clean, well secured at starter, ground, and terminals....

Check your cranking starter amperage draw..... You probably won't find a spec for this but between 60 and 160 depending on your vehicle......

Once it has ran for a few minutes, check your battery voltage again....

 

[Brandon]

Battery was secured when I pulled it out this morning and new one is secure in the factory location in the trunk. No corrosion was found on either terminal/cable in the trunk.

 

[Brandon]

Ok, I checked the voltage at the battery after she was driven home from work this morning. The highest she hit was 14.02 and dipped down to 13.96 while I had the leads on the terminals.

 

[eldirector]

Doesn't sound like you are over-charging.

Anything that causes a battery to overheat can damage it how you described. Overcharging, extended high draw (running the starter for minutes at a time, for instance), or short circuits can create a LOT of heat.

It could have also frozen, but not all that likely around Indiana (we don't get THAT cold).

It may have simply been defective, too. If the internal connection between the terminal and plates is cracked, damaged, corroded, or generally not in good shape, it will have a much higher resistance than normal and create a good amount of heat even in normal charge/discharge conditions.

Make sure the new one is held down well, with some slack in the cables, use some of the anti-corrosion stuff, and just keep and eye on it for a bit.

BTW: I get 5-7 years minimum out of GOOD batteries (gel cell or AGM) and 3-5 out of the old lead-acid ones. The gel cells in my old Jeep take a LOT of abuse (winching, draining, overcharging, and banging around off-road) and are still going strong 7 years later.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Agree with Eldirector...Sounds like it's charging OK. If it's not to difficult to remove, you could get it tested just for comfirmation.

4 years on a run of the mill, standard, lead-acid battery is not great, but it's not uncommon for them to fail by that age.

If your car's charging OK and you don't think you have any other tell-tale signs of trouble like hard starts, lights dimming, weak battery in the morning, etc....could be the battery just decided to die on you now.

 

[Brandon]

Lights do not/did not dim. No whining sounds coming from the stereo when you are on the gas. All the electronics seem to be working like they should. Car starts up considerably faster then before replacing the battery.

 

[bwframe]

BTW: I get 5-7 years minimum out of GOOD batteries (gel cell or AGM) and 3-5 out of the old lead-acid ones. The gel cells in my old Jeep take a LOT of abuse (winching, draining, overcharging, and banging around off-road) and are still going strong 7 years later.

I always used to brush off consideration of gel cells due to cost. A very quick search shows me that gel cells have not increased in price at near the rate of lead-acid batteries. With a new battery in the not so distant future, it looks like I may want to revisit this?

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Optima-Batteries-8025-160-Starting-Battery/dp/B000MSBU9U/ref=au_pf_pfg_s?ie=UTF8&Model=Explorer%7C663&n=15684181&s=automotive&Make=Ford%7C54&Year=2001%7C2001&vehicleType=6&carId=002"]http://www.amazon.com/Optima-Batteries-8025-160-Starting-Battery/dp/B000MSBU9U/ref=au_pf_pfg_s?ie=UTF8&Model=Explorer|663&n=15684181&s=automotive&Make=Ford|54&Year=2001|2001&vehicleType=6&carId=002[/ame]

$144 to my door seems like a worthwhile consideration?