I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: Car battery leak
I opened my boot today and noted the area around my car battery was wet. I initially thought rain had leaked through the boot. It appears though that the battery may have leaked, as only this area is wet. I will confirm with my mechanic tomorrow. I read somewhere that one of the causes of a leaking battery is lack of use.
Like many others I mostly use my car in summer and have rarely used it in winter, so could this be the cause of the leak, lack of use? I have an car battery isolator switch on the battery (the ones with a green knob, which is also wet). I bought the Bosch 063 battery which is only 6 months old . Interestingly though, I never had this problem on my old original Panasonic battery (although it was very old and weak, so had to change).
Accordingly i will return my battery as it still under guarantee .
So i have 2 choices ,either get a replacement or get a refund and buy an original Panasonic MX5 Mk1 battery
I would be much obliged if anyone could offer a suggestion from experience or knowledge.
Are you sure that it is the battery that is leaking? That will be acid that it’s leaking out. Main reasons for a battery to leak is through a cracked battery casing or overcharging. I’ve never known lack of use to cause it. Are you sure that it’s not water ingress or maybe even condensation build up?
If it is indeed a leaking battery, most likely I’d say due to a cracked case, although this doesn’t explain the wetness on the top, get it removed and the get area cleaned up ASAP. Damage to paint and metal may have already been done.
If the battery itself was leaking, you’d see salt deposits everywhere. I’d be looking at the aerial seal, especially if there is an aftermarket item fitted.
I don’t see how this would be wet if it was battery leakage. Liquid can only flow down so I’d be looking for water coming from directly above the battery area.
Modern calcium batteries minimally vent, and even they have vent tubes. Jags have regular batteries in the boot hooked up to vent tubes. No corriosion issues. The Panasonic battery was selected in the late 80s primarily due to its compact size, not because it was a AGM. AGMs happened to be compact. 30+ years on, batteries have evolved, and there are many compact sized alternatives. If you recall, in the early 90s, it was not possible to buy a Panasomic battery through a Mazda dealer, and instead, Mazda issued a conversion kit consisting of a new tray and clamp to allow conventional batteries to be fitted. Trouble starts when someone fits without a tray or adequate clamping (I’ve seen zip ties used). The battery moves, and splits. Boot carpet ruined.
My mechanic confirmed what you guys had already deduced, It wasn’t a battery leak.
But some how water has leaked through the boot from the rainy weather or it could be due to dampness. Although there are no apparent places where water could have leaked through.
I am thinking that water may have leaked though my aerial (as ‘ast’ has suggested)which has recently developed a fault and wont go down, as I’ve never had this water in the boot problem before. I will replace the aerial and see if this solves the problem .