Board logo

Smelly Battery
ttalps2000 - 21/12/16 at 08:32 AM

I reconnected my battery the other day, and got a large spark off it, from which I presume was one of the live cables touching the chassis where the dash is currently out.

Since then, the battery smells of sulphur (rotten eggs)

I presume the battery is knackered from the short and needs replacing? It is a sealed battery and similar to the odyssey battery's.

Alternator is charging correctly and regulating fine.

Thanks

MikeRJ - 21/12/16 at 08:45 AM

A spark from a brief short circuit is unlikely to cause problems with a lead acid battery. Production of hydrogen sulphide (which causes the rotten egg smell) is usually caused by overcharging. Have you measured the resting and charging voltage of the battery in the car?

britishtrident - 21/12/16 at 09:01 AM

Either a dead cell or over charging.

ttalps2000 - 21/12/16 at 09:25 AM

Checked all the voltages not that long ago and are as they should be. The car is not on the road, so doesn't get started very often! However it is left on a trickle charger all the time. It starts to smell as soon as the car is started, so cant be over charging that quickly.

When the charge current was checked a while back (started about 3 times since) the current would raise when first started, back off after about 2 mins and go to virtually zero after about 5 mins.

TimC - 21/12/16 at 03:02 PM

quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
Either a dead cell or over charging.


Or humerous euphemism.

rusty nuts - 21/12/16 at 06:07 PM

If leaving on a trickle charge all the time I would be using a smart charger . When checking the charging its normal to check the voltage rather than amps

britishtrident - 21/12/16 at 11:35 PM

Charging continuously even with a smart charger probably isn't a good idea a couple of hours charge once a month is more than enough. The only way to have any real confidence in the battery is a testing either with a high current tester or a high tech AC impedance battery tester.

ttalps2000 - 29/12/16 at 03:24 PM

All solved now!

Voltages were all fine and double checked!

The cause of the issue has been a simple one! The company that trimmed the inside of the car for me recently have put a self tapper screw into the back of the battery by accident!! No fluids have been leaking from it at all, but the screw and button head have got very hot where it has been shorting out and hence causing the gassing!

So new battery needed now, hopefully not at my expense!

Thanks for all the help and suggestions!

Matt