Battery smoking and leaking

[fern]

The battery on my Bullet 272bhs started to SMOKE and leak and smell. I disconnected it and moved it away from the trailer. What happened? Any ideas? Is it safe to buy and attach a new battery to get me back home? Its Labor Day weekend so the dealer is closed.

[bsmith0404]

Typically when a battery does this, it is shorted to ground. Could be internal or external. The first thing I would do is put an ohm meter on your positive cable and make sure it isn't shorted to ground. If all is good, try a new battery.

[chuckster57]

I've seen this with dry cells, and "Sulphated" batteries. Do as suggested, make sure your positive cable isn't shorted to ground. Go to the auto parts store and get another deep cycle battery.

[fern]

Thx I can ck this out tomorrow.

[hankaye]

bsmith0404, Howdy;

Typically when a battery does this, it is shorted to ground. Could be internal or external. The first thing I would do is put an ohm meter on your positive cable and make sure it isn't shorted to ground. If all is good, try a new battery.

Good advise ... IF the person knows what an Ohm meter is and how to do
the check for the Pos. shorted. Would you mind explaining this test more completely?
Thanks.

hankaye

[ctbruce]

bsmith0404, Howdy;



Good advise ... IF the person knows what an Ohm meter is and how to do
the check for the Pos. shorted. Would you mind explaining this test more completely?
Thanks.

hankaye
I feel the same way. Or maybe suggest a good YouTube video? TIA.

Chip Bruce, RPh
Kansas City, MO
2016 Fuzion Impact 312
2015 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ
WELL....THAT WAS FUN!

[Desert185]

An internally shorted battery will have low volts. Isolate the battery from any charging source (which I hope was already done in this case), disconnect the ground cable and test for volts between the pos and neg terminal with the voltmeter set to 20V. If the batt is less than 10.5V, its probably shorted internally, especially if it was gassing when connected to a charging source.

Take the battery to the local Autozone, etc. They will check it for you by putting a load tester on it.

Be careful checking for an external short when checking with an Ohm meter between pos and ground. If the battery is gassing, I would remove the battery and check between the battery pos cable and trailer ground. Low Ohms bad. High Ohms good.

I would take this opportunity to install two, 6V golf cart batteries. If that is the desire but the weekend makes parts gathering difficult, just get a cheap 12V battery or borrow a battery from another vehicle until the conversion can be be done.

[fern]

First, let me say i do not know what i am doing. That stated, i do have 11.2 volts across the battery. The Pos post is damaged by what i assume to be battery acid. I hooked to my truck and i have tail, brake, signal lights w/o the battery connected. I doubt if the electric winch works w/o a battery.

Is it possible the trailer battery charging system is bad and sending too much power and overheated the battery? If that is possible, then buying a new battery now may not be a good idea. I am thinking of driving home w/o a battery (approx 260 mi).

[Desert185]

First, let me say i do not know what i am doing. That stated, i do have 11.2 volts across the battery. The Pos post is damaged by what i assume to be battery acid. I hooked to my truck and i have tail, brake, signal lights w/o the battery connected. I doubt if the electric winch works w/o a battery.

Is it possible the trailer battery charging system is bad and sending too much power and overheated the battery? If that is possible, then buying a new battery now may not be a good idea. I am thinking of driving home w/o a battery (approx 260 mi).

After you check for an external short (trailer pos cable to ground with the Ohm meter reading zero or close is a short), put a good battery in the trailer and connect the trailer to an AC source. With the converter running, check the voltage across the battery terminals. If it is much more than 14.2V, the converter is over charging the battery.

I would still check the battery by taking it to an auto parts store if you are not sure about it.

Once you get the slide in, you can always tow it home without a battery, although the emergency brakes on the trailer won't work without a battery installed unless the system has a dedicated battery for the disconnect.

[ctbruce]

You need your battery for your brakes to work. Others can chime in with better info. IMO, this is not a good idea.

Chip Bruce, RPh
Kansas City, MO
2016 Fuzion Impact 312
2015 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ
WELL....THAT WAS FUN!

[chuckster57]

Battery is for the Break Away. If the trailer comes disconnected, most likely the umbilical cord will disconnect and at that point you have no power for the brakes. As long as the cord is plugged in, the TV charge line will provide 12V for the brakes. MAKE SURE the positive cable is INSULATED form the frame.

[bsmith0404]

AS requested: First, I simple digital multimeter (dmm) that you can pick up at walmart or an auto parts store for around $10-15 is all that is needed for checking.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/14644665?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227008923747&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40839128552&wl4=pla-55136637169&wl5=9030615&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=14644665&wl13=&veh=sem

Ohms is a resistance measurement. If there is little or no resistance, the reading is near 0. If there is high resistance, the reading will be high or open. Think of it as if you put both leads on a sheet f metal which conducts electricity like copper, it will read zero. If you put both leads on something that does not conduct electricity such as wood, it will read open. Basically, can electricity travel through the two points?

Put the meter in one of the ohm settings, I like to use the 2k setting, but others will work as well. Touch one lead to the neg cable, the other to a good chassis ground (battery disconnected), it should read 0 or close to it. That will tell you if you have a good chassis ground with your neg cable. If that is good, touch one lead to the pos cable, the other to the neg cable, it should read open. That will tell you that the pos cable is not shorted to ground. When checking resistance, it doesn't matter which lead is connected to each end of the circuit. This video shows how to use a DMM to measure resistance. He is measuring resistors so he is looking for specific readings based on resistor values, but it's the same concept.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXHu6y94V60


As for the battery being overcharged by the trailer, it's possible on shore power. If you are just connected to your truck, it is charged from your alternator the same as your truck batteries.

[ctbruce]

AS requested: First, I simple digital multimeter (dmm) that you can pick up at walmart or an auto parts store for around $10-15 is all that is needed for checking.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/14644665?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227008923747&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40839128552&wl4=pla-55136637169&wl5=9030615&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=14644665&wl13=&veh=sem

Ohms is a resistance measurement. If there is little or no resistance, the reading is near 0. If there is high resistance, the reading will be high or open. Think of it as if you put both leads on a sheet f metal which conducts electricity like copper, it will read zero. If you put both leads on something that does not conduct electricity such as wood, it will read open. Basically, can electricity travel through the two points?

Put the meter in one of the ohm settings, I like to use the 2k setting, but others will work as well. Touch one lead to the neg cable, the other to a good chassis ground (battery disconnected), it should read 0 or close to it. That will tell you if you have a good chassis ground with your neg cable. If that is good, touch one lead to the pos cable, the other to the neg cable, it should read open. That will tell you that the pos cable is not shorted to ground. When checking resistance, it doesn't matter which lead is connected to each end of the circuit. This video shows how to use a DMM to measure resistance. He is measuring resistors so he is looking for specific readings based on resistor values, but it's the same concept.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXHu6y94V60


As for the battery being overcharged by the trailer, it's possible on shore power. If you are just connected to your truck, it is charged from your alternator the same as your truck batteries.
That's a help. Thank you .

Chip Bruce, RPh
Kansas City, MO
2016 Fuzion Impact 312
2015 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ
WELL....THAT WAS FUN!

[hankaye]

bsmith0404, Howdy;

Thanks for the explanation. My knowledge about anything electrical is
minimal at best and I know that there are others out there that share
the knowledge of certain things that a lot of folks take for granted when
they post a troubleshoot tip. I'm guilty at times myself. I know that these
days it's easy to find a youtube video but those folks also suffer from
familiarity with the subject and fail to take it to the lowest basic level at
times.
Again, thank you for a good (for me), explaination.

hankaye

[sourdough]

I would take this opportunity to encourage everyone to get a multimeter and learn now to use it. It is probably the single handiest tool there is. I would also suggest taking the time to learn just the basic concepts of electricity. AC and DC are basically the same generically - voltage looking for grd (or vice versa according to some - but that's irrelevant).

Whether it's checking switches, plugs, light fixtures (home auto), wire continuity, fusible links in a car, fuses etc. (the list is endless) you can run trouble on lots and lots of things. My wife has always been amazed at what you can do with one and thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread. Case in point: I just got my bass boat back from the dealership having taken it to them to make sure everything was in perfect order (only has 4 hours on it but it's 11 years old) so that I could give it to my son. Everything was perfect but the tech said the trolling motor was burned up. I told him it was impossible; it had only been in the water for no more than an hour. He said there was voltage to the motor but the motor wouldn't operate. I took his word for it and checked every switch, microswitch etc. in the footpedal with......a vom to verify they worked. Ended up finding that what he thought was 12v at the plug was actually 1.2v (he apparently didn't know how to read a meter) and that I had a blown 40a, resettable, inline fuse. Found the fuse, reset it and poof!.....I've got a new trolling motor.

There are lots of ways to pick up the basics of electricity. For boats and RVs I would look at DC. Don't get bogged down in electronics (resistors, capacitors etc) but just how electricity gets from A to B. I know it sounds simplistic and it's not but it's worth a little time to try to learn. It has saved us thousands and thousands of dollars over the years as well as tons of inconvenience.

[bsmith0404]

Good point sourdough. Having a DMM is a great way to verify a few things. An easy check is on batteries. I recently had a dead battery on my truck, a quick check showed me which one was most likely the problem. One was at 11.4 V, the other at 7.2. Granted they were both low, but I guessed that one was drawn down a bit from by the other. Once I got the truck started, I also verified that the alternators were both putting out 14.2. I was able to verify which battery was bad and that both of my alternators were working properly without ever turning a wrench. After I replaced the battery, a recheck verified that the other battery was charging and holding a charge correctly. Just one example of how you can use a simple, inexpensive tool to save you time, money, and frustration.

Glad my explanation for checking the cables was helpful.

[Desert185]

Good point sourdough. Having a DMM is a great way to verify a few things. An easy check is on batteries. I recently had a dead battery on my truck, a quick check showed me which one was most likely the problem. One was at 11.4 V, the other at 7.2. Granted they were both low, but I guessed that one was drawn down a bit from by the other. Once I got the truck started, I also verified that the alternators were both putting out 14.2. I was able to verify which battery was bad and that both of my alternators were working properly without ever turning a wrench. After I replaced the battery, a recheck verified that the other battery was charging and holding a charge correctly. Just one example of how you can use a simple, inexpensive tool to save you time, money, and frustration.

Glad my explanation for checking the cables was helpful.

And with the internet and Youtube one can do homework on how to easily accomplish these different tasks. The learning effort is easier than ever with the availability of the internet's "How To For Dummies". No more buying "How To" books. The changes coming to how we do things in this world are, and will be, mind boggling.

[fern]

I found out my problem WAS an internally shorted out battery.

No over charge from the converter.

In all my years of driving a car, or the number of years pulling a trailer, I never experienced a smoking battery. Corroded yes, smoking - never.

This was a "new" camping experience I never want to see again! :banged:

[chuckster57]

Good deal!! Hopefully it is something you never see again.

[taddkiser07]

I might be repeating something that someone said, but here is what I would do. Using a multimeter or ohm meter. Multimeter (which almost everyone has) set the dial to ohms (horse shoe symbol). With your leads coming from the meters not touching the multimeter should read "OL" which means the connection is open. With the battery disconnect, I would check the the cables leading back into the camper to make sure you do not have a short in the camper. Put one lead on your pos cable and the other on your negative cable. Your meter should still read OL. If not and the meter is giving you a number value than that means you have a short in your camper, you have a postive cable touching a negative cable somewhere (lose connection or bare wires showing). Also leave your lead on the positive cable and touch BARE metal on the camper (not a painted surface) with the other lead. Make sure your meter still reads OL. If not you have a short to ground. You can do the same thing to your battery. If the meter is giving a number value you have a enternal short in your battery. This is a common thing with old batteries. If you use your battery a lot I would replace your battery every 5 years. Just my input.