Battery overheating!

[Thrawn]

Originally Posted by 80stech

I would have thought an AGM battery is pretty short-proof but maybe not. If voltage levels off then that is where charging levels off, it doesn't "keep charging." There could be a problem which hasn't shown up yet and it would have been nice to have a voltage reading on the charging battery before you took it out but if the voltage was over charging then I would expect the at rest voltage on the original battery would have been higher.

I don't think it makes that much difference but was the battery logged in as an AGM when it was replaced?

Yes it was. I had already shut off the car before I found the issue, and I got it out as quick as I could as I did not want it to catch on fire in the car.


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[Thrawn]

Originally Posted by Thrawn

Yes it was. I had already shut off the car before I found the issue, and I got it out as quick as I could as I did not want it to catch on fire in the car.


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Battery is reading 13.01 volts now. It has been 3 & 1/2 hours. Not sure of the initial reading though. It is still almost too hot to touch the side of it though. I would say a good 140-150 degrees as a guess.


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[Thrawn]

Originally Posted by Thrawn

Battery is reading 13.01 volts now. It has been 3 & 1/2 hours. Not sure of the initial reading though. It is still almost too hot to touch the side of it though. I would say a good 140-150 degrees as a guess.


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I found my mini voltage meter that plugs into the cigarette lighter. I am going to plug it in and install a different battery and see what happens. That should tell me if it ever is overcharging. After reading online some, and talking to my nephew who is a mechanic, it looks like sometime agm batteries fail in this way. I much prefer replacing the battery over the alternator. I am also thinking about hooking the battery up to my smart charger tomorrow after it is fully cooled down and see if it gets hot and stinks while on the charger


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[80stech]

If the voltage is dropping as the battery cools then that pretty much points even more to a shorted cell. I guess it would probably drop close to 5/6 of the normal voltage. Everything points to the battery and if your nephew says its not unheard of with AGM then pretty safe bet the battery is the only problem.

It doesn't happen that often with a regular battery where if the plates come loose they easily short so you would think that problem would be solved with the glass mat on the AGM but the they take advantage of that and put the plates closer together so who knows what else they didn't think through properly when designing the battery!

[Thrawn]

Originally Posted by 80stech

If the voltage is dropping as the battery cools then that pretty much points even more to a shorted cell. I guess it would probably drop close to 5/6 of the normal voltage. Everything points to the battery and if your nephew says its not unheard of with AGM then pretty safe bet the battery is the only problem.



It doesn't happen that often with a regular battery where if the plates come loose they easily short so you would think that problem would be solved with the glass mat on the AGM but the they take advantage of that and put the plates closer together so who knows what else they didn't think through properly when designing the battery!

I am also really questioning the battery. I will check the voltage after it sets all night. It should still be right at the 13v range I would think. I might also put a load in it and see what happens. I can not find my receipt for it though. I know when and where I bought it, but not sure if that is going to help. It says it has a 3 year full replacement warranty though. The date on the battery is less than 3 years so maybe they will replace it without the receipt.


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[80stech]

It could be that the plates are shorting similar to what can happen with a Lithium battery since the plates are closer and the electrolyte isn't moving a path between plates gets formed.

What does your mechanic nephew say about how this fails, is it maybe brand specific ?? Has it been known and corrected in newer batteries ?

[Thrawn]

Originally Posted by Thrawn

I am also really questioning the battery. I will check the voltage after it sets all night. It should still be right at the 13v range I would think. I might also put a load in it and see what happens. I can not find my receipt for it though. I know when and where I bought it, but not sure if that is going to help. It says it has a 3 year full replacement warranty though. The date on the battery is less than 3 years so maybe they will replace it without the receipt.


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The battery was still at 12.93v this morning so it only lost like .13v or something in 18 hours. I am betting the store isn’t going to honor the warranty. Meter will probably show good


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[80stech]

I doubt they would be able to test it properly and that they would do anything at all without a receipt anyway but you never know. There still is a very small chance I guess that you have something going on with the car so maybe keep an eye on that anyway. It might be a good idea to check voltage right at the battery if you aren't already.

Mine was charging at just under 15v (at the battery) when I checked it yesterday which I found a bit surprising but that was in in a fairly warm car.

[Thrawn]

Originally Posted by 80stech

I doubt they would be able to test it properly and that they would do anything at all without a receipt anyway but you never know. There still is a very small chance I guess that you have something going on with the car so maybe keep an eye on that anyway. It might be a good idea to check voltage right at the battery if you aren't already.

Yeah I figured they won’t do anything without the receipt. I know I have it somewhere but no way I will find it before buying a different battery. I have had place put a bad battery on a tester before and tell me it just needed to be charged and wouldn’t replace it, even though it was the battery. Had a bad cell and would discharge down to like 9v overnight. I am hoping they will go by the date on the battery, but not holding my breath. I do have my bank statement that I can pull up and show the purchase for the battery. Of course that just shows I bought something the same price, doesn’t prove anything.

I have been testing the voltage at the battery, and I may also hook a Bluetooth voltmeter the connects to the battery to see if I get any different readings between it and my one that plugs into the cigarette lighter


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[Thrawn]

Originally Posted by Thrawn

Yeah I figured they won’t do anything without the receipt. I know I have it somewhere but no way I will find it before buying a different battery. I have had place put a bad battery on a tester before and tell me it just needed to be charged and wouldn’t replace it, even though it was the battery. Had a bad cell and would discharge down to like 9v overnight. I am hoping they will go by the date on the battery, but not holding my breath. I do have my bank statement that I can pull up and show the purchase for the battery. Of course that just shows I bought something the same price, doesn’t prove anything.

I have been testing the voltage at the battery, and I may also hook a Bluetooth voltmeter the connects to the battery to see if I get any different readings between it and my one that plugs into the cigarette lighter


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Well I small piece of good news. I called the store I bought it from out of state, and they were able to pull it up with my name purchase date and phone number. She then gave me the invoice number and said any of their stores can pull it up with that and reprint the receipt.


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