SPL Tech Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 (edited) We just picked up our second CMAX, a SEL, The first is an SL. Anyway, I opened the back to notice a pool of acid in the battery container that the LV battery sits in. I pulled the battery and thoroughly rinsed the acid out with water and baking soda, and I did the same to the battery. But the big question is how did the acid get there in the first place? I placed the battery on a piece of paper after I dried it off and found it was not leaking. I held it upside down and also found it was not leaking. There was nothing apparently wrong with the battery other than that it had a red eye even though I just drove the vehicle an hour prior.Anyway, our SL LV battery looks perfectly fine. Zero leaks whatsoever. I am thinking that the acid came out of the exhaust port. There are only two things I can think of. 1: the battery was overfilled at the factory. 2: the charge voltage is too high which is causing the acid to boil and leak out of the port hole. This can happen above 15v on some batteries.I also noticed that the exhaust port on my SEL is different than the one on the SE. On the SE there is a tube that exits the battery box and runs about 5" below the box. Same with the tube on the HV battery. But on my SLI there is no such tube. There is a rubber extension that sticks out of the battery box for about 1" and that is all. Also, the LV battery is not sealed FYI. It's just a normal lead acid battery with a directed exhaust port, but it is not sealed. There are caps on top you can open to fill the battery with. I cant believe Ford went with a non-sealed battery inside the vehicle. That is ridiculous and unsafe. They should have gone with AGM tech with internal hydrogen filters like Optima does. Edited January 18, 2015 by SPL Tech Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotomoto Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 (edited) A couple of housekeeping items: There isn't an SL in the CMax line; just SE and SEL. Since you have SL listed as your current vehicle, I thought I should point this out. Second, the LV acronym isn't commonly used in hybrid forums for the 12v battery like HV is used for the high voltage battery. Best to stick with 12v for better understanding. Thoughts on the 12v battery: Did you buy the SEL new? The most commons reasons for leakage is overcharging or a leaking case. Sounds like you've pretty much ruled out the latter. Welcome to the dual owners club! :happy feet: There are a few of us around. Edited January 18, 2015 by fotomoto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybridbear Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 What's wrong with this type of battery inside the car? Why is it "ridiculous"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjam Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 HiDid not think ford used this type battery. This quote is from owners manual. Your vehicle is equipped with a Motorcraft® maintenance-free battery which normally does not require additional water during its life of service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPL Tech Posted January 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 Sorry, SE and SEL. I get the letters mixed up sometimes. Anyway, I did not buy the car new. I just got it. It's a 2013 with 29k miles. It was used as a rental before I bought it. I checked ETM voltage, and it said 12.6v with the car in standby and 14.5-6 in ready. That's about what my SE runs at, and I would not consider 14.6 to be an overcharge.To the last poster: the vehicle is equipped with a Motercraft "maintenance free" battery and it is quite likely it does not normally require water. But the battery is not sealed, and there are ports to open to put water in if needed. Also "maintenance free" is a marketing term really as no battery is completely maintenance free. At the minimal you should check the terminals for corrosion buildup once every while. I noticed a very small amount on my battery.I say the lack of a non-sealed battery is ridiculous because look at the problem I am having—I had a pool of sulfuric acid in my trunk. I am glad I caught it in time before it ate through the screws that hold the battery in place, and then started leaking down onto the suspension and chassis.Batteries contain sulfuric acid, which is extremely corrosive and poisoness. charging batteries produces hydrogen which is also toxic and extremely explosive. Does that sound like the type of stuff you want inside the cabin with you? Ford is trying to tame these problems by using external venting and a battery box to isolate any leaking fluid. But the problem is if one of those things fail, you have a big problem which could harm someone. Going with a truly sealed battery would completely eliminate all of those risks for a fairly modest increase in price (FYI MSRP on the replacement battery for the CMAX is actually more than MSRP on an AGM sealed battery...)I dont know of a single automotive battery manufacturer that would ever say it is okay to put a battery inside a vehicle, unless it was a sealed AGM battery. Anyway, all I can do is let it sit and see if the problem comes up again. If it doesent, I guess the rental guys did something retarded. probably overcharged it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPL Tech Posted January 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 (edited) All in all, sulfuric acid is extremely nasty stuff and it will completely destroy anything other than a few types of plastic. It's really not something you want leaking around in your car. There is an old Navy submarine that sunk because of leaking batteries. The acid caused a hull breach, and I think the entire crew died if I recall right. The submarine was even in port too! Edited January 19, 2015 by SPL Tech Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbov Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Wholely off topic, but... I bet you're thinking of the F-4."A Navy investigating board later attributed the accident to the corrosion of rivets in the lead lining of a ballast tank, most likely caused by sulfuric acid. This corrosion permitted seawater to seep into the battery compartment. " HAve fun,Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitmas Posted August 31, 2018 Report Share Posted August 31, 2018 (edited) Hello, I have won car on copart auction and it has just arrived. When I opened trunk lid I found 12V battery is dead - it has only 6V. But most interesting that all around it where's like green gel/liquid? What could be that, is my battery leaking? And second question: in our region it's not possible to get OEM Motorcraft BXT-67R. Can I use any lead acid 12V 400A cold start battery that fits size? I cannot find actual specification of this battery. Thank you. Edited August 31, 2018 by vitmas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestead Posted August 31, 2018 Report Share Posted August 31, 2018 Is this car a hybrid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitmas Posted August 31, 2018 Report Share Posted August 31, 2018 yes, energi actually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestead Posted August 31, 2018 Report Share Posted August 31, 2018 Yeah find an equivalent physical/electrical sized 12v battery and put in there. Maybe the case of the old battery is cracked.There is a battery reset that should be done also to tell the car that a new battery was installed. Ford dealer can do that.There is also an energi forum, this one is mostly for hybrids.Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcgliss Posted September 2, 2018 Report Share Posted September 2, 2018 I thought some German cars have 12v batteries under the back seat. It's not unheard of to find them in the cabin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted September 2, 2018 Report Share Posted September 2, 2018 (edited) BXT-67R specs are 390 CCA and 65 minutes reserve capacity. Find a battery that is close to the 65 minutes reserve capacity as that is an indication of storage capacity. The Battery Monitoring System uses storage capacity of a new 67R and computes losses in capacity as it ages in its algorithms including state of charge calculation. As stated in previous post, you should reset the BMS when a new battery is installed. You can reset it with the free Windows version of ForScan. Edited September 2, 2018 by Plus 3 Golfer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitmas Posted September 3, 2018 Report Share Posted September 3, 2018 (edited) Thank you for your answers. Yes, I put Bosch 12V battery and everything seems to be ok. Only cannot find out what could be this green gel inside battery compartment i found: Edited September 3, 2018 by vitmas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestevens Posted September 4, 2018 Report Share Posted September 4, 2018 (edited) In reply to original post it would seem to me that the vent tube for the 12V battery was missing or disconnected, hence the acid in the compartment? Edited September 4, 2018 by jestevens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestevens Posted September 5, 2018 Report Share Posted September 5, 2018 If I remember right the Prius had a gel battery, to help contain spreading of electrolyte in the event of a leak, I don't know the design of the motorcraft battery but maybe it is the same? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raadsel Posted September 5, 2018 Report Share Posted September 5, 2018 If I remember right the Prius had a gel battery, to help contain spreading of electrolyte in the event of a leak, I don't know the design of the motorcraft battery but maybe it is the same? Cars with lithium batteries should be Lithium Polymer (LiPo), not Lithium Ion (LIon or Li-ion). The LiPo battery is the gel type of battery; it is used not only because it is less likely to spread, if it leaks, but also because it is more "stable" -- it is less likely to "explode"/spontaneously combust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitmas Posted September 6, 2018 Report Share Posted September 6, 2018 Cars with lithium batteries should be Lithium Polymer (LiPo), not Lithium Ion (LIon or Li-ion). The LiPo battery is the gel type of battery; it is used not only because it is less likely to spread, if it leaks, but also because it is more "stable" -- it is less likely to "explode"/spontaneously combust. This gel is not from 12V battery. Do you think it can be from main HVB battery?... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted August 1, 2021 Report Share Posted August 1, 2021 (edited) My turn to join the low-voltage battery acid cub Came out and found the car dead, which coincidentally follows an entertainment system freeze the last time I drove it (Friday evening, found it Sunday morning). The jumper posts in the engine bay read 4 volts! I didn't think that was possible. Bought a new battery and when I went to swap it it, I found a lot of battery fluid in the battery compartment. The gas release tube had blown off - the part that sticks into the batter was still there, but the tube had separated from it. The battery bolt-down was corroded enough that after a few turns its threads stripped stripped off. Apparently it screws into a though-hole in the compartment, as I later noticed an area of dripping under the car. I dumped as much baking soda on it as I have, and it's still fizzing. I don't trust myself to clean it out sufficiently so I'm thinking of taking it to a shop, who is presumably experienced in dealing with that sort of thing. So much fun.... Edited August 1, 2021 by Noah Harbinger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted August 1, 2021 Report Share Posted August 1, 2021 Reading other threads on 12v batteries - I didn't reset the battery age, I suppose that plus reduced pandemic driving contributed to early battery failure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowStorm Posted August 3, 2021 Report Share Posted August 3, 2021 On 8/1/2021 at 6:05 PM, Noah Harbinger said: The jumper posts in the engine bay read 4 volts! I didn't think that was possible. I've seen it that low too - way back when I had a few dead batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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