Batteries leaking

[ProjectClubCar]

Was looking at a friend's golf cart yesterday, when I noticed what I think I look like a pile of battery acid, looked a little closer and sure enough battery acid have been dripping onto the man's concrete.
Took the seat off to have a look only the find at the top of the batteries are wet as well. I understand that new batteries are going to be required.
My question is what causes this to happen how can I prevent this from happening again?





You can see the wetness on top of the batteries.... appreciate the help thanks...

[Sir Nuke]

the only thing that will cause this to happen, is to have over filled the batteries to begin with.

[mutant]

they must be overfilled...water should be above the lead plates by no more than 1/4" so this problem is minimized...pop the battery caps and look to see if the water is below the plastic and see there is a sizable gap down to the lead plates (different brands vary)...for best results-fill only after charging-use distilled water- clean tops of batteries after spillage with an alkaline cleaner(dont ever get that in the batteries!) and i use a marine grade spray protector on all my connections so i dont get corrosion in the connections...
your friend already has some bad corrosion that should be cleaned off the terminals...that stuff will cause a bunch of problems!!!

[FF Titus]

Those back three positives are looking terrible. One good solid bump far from home and he may be walking home. Get those cleaned up ;)

As for the acid on the floor, overfilled batteries.

[ProjectClubCar]

Thanks for this reply, are those battery still salvageable or will he need new batteries?

[FF Titus]

Clean the mess up and the lead will show you what's left. The longer you let that acid sit on that soft metal, the worse it will get.

[E36Racer]

Are they salvageable from puking acid all over the floor again, yes just don't over fill them.

However, in looking at those nasty terminals and the fact they must have been way overfilled, I'm willing to bet they were super low and he topped them off. Depending how long they were low for, irreversible damage may have been caused. However, they still might have some life left even if my hypothesis is correct. Just whatever life is left, is less than it would have been if the water level was never super low. When they run too low it causes something I forget the name of, to basically make a film or something on the plates making the lead less effective in storing power with the acid.

Either way, give them a charge, let rest for 12 hours and test the pack with a multi meter, and also each battery. That's really the best test to determine the overall condition of the batteries. There is a TON on threads on here with detailed info on how to test and interpret the results. Also, the site sponsor cartsunlimited.net has a good tutorial on batteries.

[rib33024]

That's snow that was stuck in the tire. When you drove the cart in the garage

[ProjectClubCar]

I tried to tell my friend I'm not a Sparky guy I'm a gasser LOL.
But I have decided if he wants answers he should join the Forum.... and be a newbie just like the rest of us were at one time.... I am hoping that he shows up with a bgw handle.... his handle should be like Gunsmoke or something like that.... he makes the NRA proud .... and Texas too...LOL