I need some generic help. Over the last couple of days I've been
smelling odd things from my car's engine compartment. With an Optima
battery I was getting a boiled egg smell. When I went to check it out,
the Optima was boiling liquid out - acidic by the way it was eating
paint under the battery.
I thought that I was having a bad battery day and a replacement was in
order. However, I needed to go someplace in the car today, so I
swapped the Optima out and another battery in and off I went thinking
that was a quick fix until I could exchange the Optima.
Well, today had similar problems. This was a plated battery with lots
of liquid. I again smelled odd smells from the engine compartment.
Upon examination, I found that the liquid was boiling out, I had
another strange smell, and clearly not a battery problem after all.
There was also a hot/burnt rubber/plastic smell. The alternator was
too hot to touch.
My guess at this point is a bad alternator because it is too hot and
it is the only other component that can generate enough voltage to
over charge the battery. Of course, I am assuming that when too high a
voltage is applied to a battery, the boiling and off-gassing is the
result.
Is this a correct analysis????
Please help...thanks...
Clayton
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