Bubbling battery

[RogeTeri]

I replaced the driving battery about four weeks ago and have had no problems. However when I parked up tonight I could hear what seems like a bubbling noise coming from it. Can anyone advise on the cause and remedy, many thanks

 

[Spriddler]

What type of chemistry is the battery?
Do you get a rotten egg smell from it?
Is it under the bonnet i.e. in the engine compartment? Are you quite sure the noise is coming from the battery and not maybe the engine cooling system?

 

[Phill D]

It could be overcharging , is it smelly like rotten eggs?

Have you a multimeter to check the charging voltage ?
What base vehicle is it and is the heater piping anywhere near.

 

[RogeTeri]

What type of chemistry is the battery?
Do you get a rotten egg smell from it?
Is it under the bonnet i.e. in the engine compartment? Are you quite sure the noise is coming from the battery and not maybe the engine cooling system?

On further inspection I’ve found it’s not the driving battery it is a leisure battery next to it. I bought this car second hand and as such I’m unsure of the set up. Under the drivers seat is the driving battery and a leisure battery. The leisure battery seems to be acid based and is so hot it can hardly be touched. Under the passenger seat is another device that I believe to be a gell battery. There is a switch on it which when turned on allows power from the hook up electricity. When switched off no mains flows at all. I’ve had it switched on so I can power the lights and the fridge. While on its intermittently powering up as though charging. I think this must be linked to the overheating leisure battery and causing the bubbling and excessive heat. Naturally I’ve switched device off and the bubbling battery has gone quiet although I think it will take some time to cool. The consequence of this is I’m sitting in the dark with the fridge off. I’m going to a battery place first thing tomorrow but I’d really appreciate any thoughts. I think an overheating battery is very dangerous but at the moment I think it’s starting to cool!

 

[Garfields]

Don't touch anything near it till it's stopped bubling and you have well ventilated the airea.
The bubbles are hydrogen and very easily ignites with a bang.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[martin west dorset]

I am guessing it’s Fiat based, the thing under the passenger seat with the switch is the EBL unit not the leasure battery, the leisure battery is under the drivers seat, unplug all the mains hook up lead & swiththe EBL of or you could have a exploding battery, make sure you open doors to let the smell out befor doing anything.

 

[pappajohn]

When it's cooled enough to remove it take it to a scrap yard....worth around ten quid.
100% it's had it and needs replacing immediately

 

[Spriddler]

I bought this car second hand and as such I’m unsure of the set up.

Is your 'Coachbuilt' a commercial brand/model or a one-off conversion?

Under the drivers seat is the driving battery and a leisure battery. The leisure battery seems to be acid based and is so hot it can hardly be touched.

You haven't replied about whether it's giving off the smell of rotten eggs which would be highly inflammable Hydrogen Sulphide.

The consequence of this is I’m sitting in the dark with the fridge off.

I would remove the battery when cooled down and put it outside away from the van.
I would also be inclined to remove the fuse for the charger so that the EHU will presumably be available for lights and fridge, but without knowing what van you have or the set up this may not be any help.

I’m going to a battery place first thing tomorrow but I’d really appreciate any thoughts.

I think the fault is a faulty charger or circuitry rather than a faulty battery (although a battery that's shorting internally will get very hot). Either way the battery will certainly be ruined and you will need to do some diagnostics on the circuitry to verify that there isn't a fault..

How long have you had that van? How often have you used it on EHU?

 

[VXman]

Model of van, age, base vehicle details etc would be helpful.

 

[poppycamper]

IMO... get battery out... OR... get yourselves out..
Any bubbling battery is bad news.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[autorouter]

Under the passenger seat is another device that I believe to be a gell battery. There is a switch on it which when turned on allows power from the hook up electricity.

I don't think that's a gel battery. Is there any label or writing on it? Maybe you could post a picture of it, someone will probably recognise it. Also the make/model of your motorhome and/or the make of the base vehicle (Fiat/Mercedes/Ford etc) would help us to know what kind of motorhome you have.

Do you have any way to see the charge level of the battery? Ideally a voltage reading on a display, or even better a multimeter reading from the battery terminals.

By looking at the voltage, it will tell you whether the charger is acting normally but the battery is faulty, or if the charger is faulty and is damaging the battery.

 

[poppycamper]

Do you have any way to see the charge level of the battery? Ideally a voltage reading on a display, or even better a multimeter reading from the battery terminals.

By looking at the voltage, it will tell you whether the charger is acting normally but the battery is faulty, or if the charger is faulty and is damaging the battery.

From what I am reading I dont feel OP is that hands on with the technicalities of battery technology.
Yes what you say is perfectly correct, however your info is useless without giving them some figures to work from.

 

[autorouter]

From what I am reading I dont feel OP is that hands on with the technicalities of battery technology.
Yes what you say is perfectly correct, however your info is useless without giving them some figures to work from.

I thought a load of figures might be a bit off-putting, but here's a few useful voltages.
A battery that's not being charged will normally have a voltage between 12.0V and 12.8V.
If something is charging it, the voltage will go up to about 14.5V, then after some time it will settle down to about 13.5V.
If the voltage is over 15V, the charger may be faulty.
If the voltage is below 12.0V, the battery is quite flat and needs to be charged.
Some multistage intelligent chargers have a 'conditioning' stage where the voltage goes to about 16V for an hour or so, and that will cause bubbling of the liquid inside the battery, it's intentional. But that's unlikely to be happening unless the user selects a 'conditioning' program.

 

[poppycamper]

I thought a load of figures might be a bit off-putting, but here's a few useful voltages.
A battery that's not being charged will normally have a voltage between 12.0V and 12.8V.
If something is charging it, the voltage will go up to about 14.5V, then after some time it will settle down to about 13.5V.
If the voltage is over 15V, the charger may be faulty.
If the voltage is below 12.0V, the battery is quite flat and needs to be charged.
Some multistage intelligent chargers have a 'conditioning' stage where the voltage goes to about 16V for an hour or so, and that will cause bubbling of the liquid inside the battery, it's intentional. But that's unlikely to be happening unless the user selects a 'conditioning' program.

Yes I know where you coming from. And agree too much info would only confuse them but surely we need to supply enuf info for then to work with that info and hopefully get to grips with their issue.

 

[Spriddler]

Yes I know where you coming from. And agree too much info would only confuse them but surely we need to supply enuf info for then to work with that info and hopefully get to grips with their issue.

I agree with you and with autorouter. Trouble is, we don't have enough info either, or know the OP's competence or what tools are available.
We've asked several times for important and very relevant clues:..... The exact vehicle details, ....Can he smell rotten eggs, ..... Is the vehicle new to him, .....but none of those have been answered.
It's so difficult to help when having to guess, particularly if the OP doesn't mention something because he doesn't have the experience to know its relevance to the situation. So often the clue lies in what we don't know.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Phill D]

Well the op must be aware of the full content of this thread as they we’re viewing it 1 hour ago

 

[RogeTeri]

I agree with you and with autorouter. Trouble is, we don't have enough info either, or know the OP's competence or what tools are available.
We've asked several times for important and very relevant clues:..... The exact vehicle details, ....Can he smell rotten eggs, ..... Is the vehicle new to him, .....but none of those have been answered.
It's so difficult to help when having to guess, particularly if the OP doesn't mention something because he doesn't have the experience to know its relevance to the situation. So often the clue lies in what we don't know.

 

[RogeTeri]

Thanks guys for all the help and advice. The van is new to me and is a Rimor. On a Ford chassis. Last night I had no power or internet so I could not reply. This morning I bought a new leisure battery and contacted Tony’s Caravan SERVICES in York who quickly came out and fitted and checked all was working correctly. Thanks to all of you who replied with helpful advice. I’m keeping fingers crossed that there will. Be no further problems

 

[autorouter]

Let's hope it was a straightforward battery failure. However a battery failure can sometimes be a symptom, not a root cause. If the charger or alternator is not regulating properly, perhaps overcharging the batteries.

Do you have any solar power? Sometimes the controller can fail, or even become delusional and think you have a 24V battery instead of a 12V one. Is there anything that shows you the voltage of the battery, or at least a few LEDs that show the approximate voltage?

 

[RogeTeri]

I have a “perfect suitor” control panel for the solar panel and it’s registering 12.9 volts