You should not drive a car when it’s battery leaks acid because it is highly toxic for humans and their environments. In addition, sulfuric acid increases the risk of backfiring and contamination of your garage floors.
Why is My Car Battery Leaking Acid? Your car battery can leak acid because of damaged cell caps, overcharging, overfilling, incorrect installation, expansion of battery plates, sulfation process, overuse, and hot and cold conditions.
It is better not to drive your car when the battery leaks acid for your and the environment’s safety. Taking preventive measures and proper monitoring is necessary to fix this issue.
| Causes | Solutions |
| Damaged cell caps | Replace or tighten the cell caps |
| Overcharging and overfilling | Use the correct amount of distilled water |
| Incorrect installation | Remove the dried acid and reinstall the battery |
| Cracks in batteries | Use epoxy and sand papers |
| Expansion of battery plates | Prevent overcharging |
| Sulfation process | Avoid over and undercharging |
| Overuse and old batteries | Replace batteries that are sweating |
| Extreme hot and cold environment exposure | Turn off cars and use a heat blanket |
Damaged cell caps
The cell caps are also known as the vent caps and are present on the top surface of the batteries. The primary purpose of the vent caps is to check the acid and battery levels.
In addition, these are used for ventilation and removing gases accumulated in the system during the recharging procedure.
These cell caps are made of plastic and cover the negative and positive terminals. A small amount of acids come outside these caps when not properly sealed.
The poor sealing issue comes from the driver’s negligence, who forgets to tighten them properly after checking water and acid levels.
Moreover, these contain small invisible holes, and acid can come outside from these holes when you overfill them. The liquid seeps through these caps in the form of small bubbles.
You should replace the damaged or warped plastic caps with new ones. It is also necessary to fasten them when these are not tightened properly.
Tighten them on the terminals to avoid dripping or boiling liquid material and prevent corrosion.
Overcharging and overfilling
The overcharging of batteries is the most common cause of leaking acid from the side of the terminal. The overcharging speed up the chemical reaction inside and cause overheating.
The electrolyte starts to boil because of the high temperature and seeps out from the cell caps of the terminals in the form of acidic steam.
The issue comes when your vehicles are not equipped with a battery regulator to switch off the power supply after detecting full charging.
You can face the problem due to the negligence of the drivers and owners of the cars. Therefore, it is necessary to check the charging and not leave them for several hours after plugging in electric sockets.
In addition, the issue also comes when you overfill them with distilled water. The water is necessary to maintain the consistency of the electrolyte and acidic solution and prevent the loss of power. This will also drain the battery.
The overfilling of distilled water for maintenance causes acid spilling. You should use chargers with the correct voltage and avoid using high-voltage chargers.
Keep an eye on the charging system and unplug the batteries when fully charged. Measure the cup of distilled water according to its size and avoid outside spilling and seeping of liquid.
Incorrect installation
The lead acid batteries are not appropriately sealed because of their ventilation process. In addition, the chemical reaction in these types produces hydrogen gas, which must be removed.
These are installed at the proper place to avoid acid spilling from the vented sites. Sometimes these are tipped over on the side and are not installed on the ground surface.
The installation at an incorrect angle causes the spillage of liquid material.
The mounting bolts and screws also become loose and cause tipped over the problem. It is necessary to check the engine bay when you feel a rotten egg smell from the hood of your vehicle.
Check the mounting bolts and screws and readjust the batteries at the flat surface. Removing the dried acids from the venting areas is also necessary to enhance their working.
Cracks in batteries
The cracks in the car battery develop on their top surface and allow the acid to come from them. These cracks can develop due to excessive shaking and vibrations.
The mounting brackets are present to secure the charging system at its position and avoid unnecessary movements. However, these mounts can break, become loose with time, and cannot hold the batteries.
Driving on poor roads with loose mounting brackets speeds up the chemical reaction and movement of electrolytes due to excessive vibratory movements.
The cracks on the external case come when these become old. The continuous internal pressure on the outer case for a longer time produces cracks on its surface.
You can fix these cracks, but it is not the permanent solution to avoid leakages. Use the epoxy to cover the cracked area, but the excessive heat decreases its longevity.
Expansion of battery plates
Battery plates are on the top surface to keep the acid inside and conduct electricity. However, these can expand and allow the liquid electrolyte to leak because of warping.
The poor ventilation from the manufacturer’s defect and the buildup of hydrogen gas on the inner side causes expansion and swelling.
These can also swell when you overcharge them or use the high voltage wrong chargers. Moreover, you can also face the problem when you drive vehicles with less charging of batteries.
You should avoid overcharging and using charger regulators to switch off the charging system.
Sulfation process
The sulfation causes the seeping of sulfuric acid from the caps of the batteries. Lead sulfate crystals form on the cell caps and increase the boiling of acids.
The sulfation for a longer time causes complete damage and failure. In addition, sulfation increases the temperature and overheating conditions.
The overheating also increases the formation of liquid steam. You can face the sulfation issue when you do not fully charge the batteries.
The lead crystals can form when there is less charge, and you are still driving your car. Moreover, the longer charging times and fluctuations in voltage cause this problem.
Charge them properly and avoid under and overcharging issues. Avoid trips during charging and let them charge fully.
Overuse and old batteries
Old cars are more susceptible to battery acid leaking problems. The batteries also become old and decrease their performance when you overuse them.
It becomes old and does not provide enough electricity to its terminals for transmission into various electric components.
The charging system is more prone to damage when your automobiles become old and overused.
The chemicals that supply the electric current to the terminals dry up and cause failure and acid leaking issues. I prefer electric vehicles because they contain lithium batteries that last longer.
It is necessary to replace them when you see sweating liquid on the surface from the seeping of acidic steam.
Extreme hot and cold environment exposure
The fluctuations in temperature interfere with the movement of electrolytes and chemical reactions that take place inside car batteries for the supply of electric currents.
The temperature in the winter decreases and causes the freezing of ions. It slows down the chemical reaction and leads to swelling of the outer case.
The cracks can come on the surface from swelling and warping, which can eventually cause leaking electrolytic liquid.
The issue also comes in hot climates when the temperature rises from the optimum range. The increased temperature overheats the batteries and allows the acid to boil.
Turn off your car when you feel a smell from the hood due to overheating.
Use the heat blankets to cover the hood and maintain the temperature of engine components.
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