Battery is bubbling

[NHVmaxpower]

ok I removed my battery topped off the acid hooked up a trickle charge to it but its bubbling & smells. The battery is only 6 months old. Why is this bubbling?

 

[dannymax]

ok I removed my battery topped off the acid hooked up a trickle charge to it but its bubbling & smells. The battery is only 6 months old. Why is this bubbling?

COPRUNNER had the same issue, think it turned out to be the BT Jr. but not positive.....I'm sure he can help you.

 

[jfeagins]

Batteries bubble when being charged. Excessive charging voltage may cause lots of bubbling - try to reduce charge rate. Try not to breathe too much, or from too close by. Don't light any matches near it either.

What did you use to top off your acid levels? Just curious.

 

[[email protected]]

Batteries bubble when being charged. Try not to breathe too much, or from too close by. Don't light any matches near it either.

What did you use to top off your acid levels? Just curious.

+1. Pretty normal to see them bubble when charging.

I've always used distilled water to top off.

 

[gamorg02]

+1. Pretty normal to see them bubble when charging.

I've always used distilled water to top off.

+2.

put a voltmeter on the tender clips, make sure its not 17V or something, should be <15V

 

[NHVmaxpower]

I may have over filled it cause it's bumbling out. Should I put the plugs back in battery to charge it ?

 

[sdt354]

It is my understanding that only water be added to acid, unless it's emptied completely like some old timers were know to do. As for the bubbling? Like said, it's ok. As long as all cells are bubbling. For a battery with a low charge I'm all for a 10-20 amp charge for 2 hrs. Think that battery froze Wayne? If the case is bulging it's an indication that the battery is done.
Steve-o

 

[NHVmaxpower]

No it never froze went from inside house to porch n it don't get cold enough to freeze out there. A few cells were real low less than 1/2 so I topped them off. Not sure how many volts it is I'm still waiting for volt gauge.

 

[bazwell]

I agree with above. Cells bubble a bit when charging. If they are bubbling over, thats usually a sign of death. Also bubbling under load (ie cranking or using a load tester) usually indicates dead batt too. Usually it will be one or two cells that are stuffed. Acid could have got too low, and theres no fix for that.
If you don't have a voltmeter you can slow down the charge rate with a ballast resistor from a car. Just put it inline on either +ve or -ve. It will get hot, because it is wasting some of the energy from the charger, so it charges the battery slower. That might help. You leave it for ages, and then finish it up without the resistor.

 

[gamorg02]

I agree with above. Cells bubble a bit when charging. If they are bubbling over, thats usually a sign of death. Also bubbling under load (ie cranking or using a load tester) usually indicates dead batt too. Usually it will be one or two cells that are stuffed. Acid could have got too low, and theres no fix for that.
If you don't have a voltmeter you can slow down the charge rate with a ballast resistor from a car. Just put it inline on either +ve or -ve. It will get hot, because it is wasting some of the energy from the charger, so it charges the battery slower. That might help. You leave it for ages, and then finish it up without the resistor.

+1

also the caps should always be on the battery as soon as its done being filled.

i'd go with a sealed (or maint free) battery, this is no longer an issue.

 

[jfeagins]

I agree with using nothing but distilled water to refill a wet cell type battery. The reason I asked is that lots of people would put city tap water in - complete with all the chemicals involved there - and that is not good for the longevity of a battery.

If you had cells down that low, oxidixation has begun, and will continue until this battery is completely done, if not already. Never good to let the wet level fall below the tops of the plates.

Note to self: It's March 1st - time to begin spring fluid flushes and battery checks etc...

 

[NHVmaxpower]

Thanks for the comments . It is all charged up .I never had any issues w/ the bike starting but this will be 2nd season on the battery so I may be looking at a new one soon .

 

[95spfldmax]

+1

also the caps should always be on the battery as soon as its done being filled.

i'd go with a sealed (or maint free) battery, this is no longer an issue.

Is that right? I always charged mine with the caps off. Nothing I ever read though.....just thought that was the way to do it.....Do you think it matters one way or the other?

 

[jfeagins]

Is that right? I always charged mine with the caps off. Nothing I ever read though.....just thought that was the way to do it.....Do you think it matters one way or the other?

As long as there's not a bubbling mess being made, or any dead flies falling into the openings :biglaugh:, I wouldn't think it'd matter two pinches of coon chit one way or the other. Personal preference, I'd think.

 

[gamorg02]

Is that right? I always charged mine with the caps off. Nothing I ever read though.....just thought that was the way to do it.....Do you think it matters one way or the other?

Good pt. Sorry I always ran sealed/maint free batteries and the caps shouldn't be taken off for those

 

[Fire-medic]

Caps-on, for: helps contain acid in the event of tip-over. Not so-much of a factor w/the battery in the bike, unless you live in CA (earthquakes). Contains corrosive & explosive fumes instead of letting them do bad things. Prevents Mod Monkeys from sipping electrolyte-where else did you think it went?

Caps-on, against: any boil-over will be directed to that little tube on the side of your battery. Where it goes depends on the routing of it. Top of your exhaust? Frame-member? Centerstand? Boil-over results from a too-filled battery on too-high a charge.

 

[dannymax]

As long as there's not a bubbling mess being made, or any dead flies falling into the openings :biglaugh:, I wouldn't think it'd matter two pinches of coon chit one way or the other. Personal preference, I'd think.

Thought I was the only one that used that saying!! :rofl_200::rofl_200::rofl_200:

 

[COP RUNNER]

i HERES THE THREAD ABOUT MY SITUATION , AND I NOW OWN 3 OF THESE BATTERIES , SO IF YOU BUY ONE IT WILL SOLVE ALL OF YOUR ISSUES , FOR 9 - 12 YEARS ! .. unk: . http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=8012

 

[COP RUNNER]

i HERES ANOTHER LINK WITH THE STORY OF MY SECOND BATTERY ! .. unk: . http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=9319

 

[Rusty McNeil]

If your battery is bubbling ALOT ( like pushing fluid out) while the bike is charging it there's about a 99% chance the regulator portion of your R/R is shot and is putting too much voltage to the battery. I've seen them as high as 19 volts once on Gigi Hansen's Vmax. That will definitely boil the battery and destroy it in short order.

If its really in need of a charge and you put it on a tender then it will bubble some at first but decrease as the charge comes up. A little bubbling is normal but it should steadily decrease over time. There's really no benefit to knocking the **** out of a battery with an aggressive charge, a slow charge goes deeper into the plates.

Whoever said not to let it go over 15 volts or so was spot on.

Some chargers, usually the older ones, are not "smart" and don't regulate well.
Actually they don't regulate at all but are simply limited by the VA capacity of the transformer and rectifier, putting out a specific VA. So V x A will allways equal the same value. As A comes down (due to the battery plate impedance rising as it is charged) the V goes up. They rate them in Amps and that value is usually the Amps they will churn out into a dead battery.

They put out around 17-18 volts when the leads are not connected to anything, when you load them with the battery the voltage is more normal and as the battery comes up to full charge it will accept fewer amps therefore towards the end of the charge cycle the voltage will steadily go higher. These are not good chargers to leave on the bike long term in my opinion although if you have one that is small enough it can be ok but requires checking the voltage once its on trickle to make sure its not floating at too high a voltage on a charged battery.

Ideally a good smart charger will regulate current AND voltage. Putting out no more than 15-15.5 volts while fast charging and as the current comes down as it approaches full charge the voltage will be regulated down too, (instead of climbing like a dumb charger.) Eventually ending up around 13.2 or so and just trickling a few milli amps into the battery. These are good for long term "set it and forget it" use. And just about required for AGM batteries.
(Although I've discovered with my Oddysey AGM type battery that if the bike doesn't present a drain to the battery it'll sit for over a year and still be perfectly well charged, mine sat about a year and a half with no charger and then fired up my new 13:1 CR 1540cc
Motor like a champ, albeit that's in Houston with few days below 40f )

You shouldn't need to leave the caps off, batteries are vented by other means. Even "sealed" AGM Batteries are vented through a pressure/vacuum relief valve.

Also, a tip from my Substation experience, unless the plates are exposed don't add water before charging, if they are exposed then just add enough to cover the plates.
Once you've got it fairly well charged THEN top it off.

The level on a low battery rises as its charged so if you top off a dead battery completely before charging, it will invariably puke out and make a mess when you charge it.
I learned this the first time on a set of substation batteries that were being commissioned the first time. 20, 3 cell batteries that weigh about 230 lbs each, topped them off and fired up the charger and then had a huge mess to clean up and a floor to repaint.

Never add acid to a battery, only distilled water. The only time I have ever done acid was as an experiment just to see if I could salvage an unsalvageable battery. Results were poor.