HOLY CRAP! Inverter cause a battery acid leak???

fondoo · 06-20-2004, 03:46 PM

I installed my carpc two days ago using a power inverter ever since and this morning I found my car battery leaking this white crust next to my cold air intake. I need to bring my car back to Sears and have the battery checked or replaced. but can a inverter do that? draw so much power that the battery cant handle?

Gutter · 06-20-2004, 03:49 PM

I'm willing to bet that your battery was near dead anyway. I seriously doubt your inverter had anything to do with it.

fondoo · 06-20-2004, 03:52 PM

it cant be dead so soon. the battery was replaced back in summer of 2002 at sears.

Gutter · 06-20-2004, 03:57 PM

Looks like Sears offers a 3 year warranty on your battery. Should go back and see if they'll replace it.

robiewp · 06-20-2004, 07:55 PM

if you've been substantially draining your battery, 2 years is more than one might expect...

arkadiyp · 06-20-2004, 08:03 PM

I doubt that it was the inverter. Just by looking at the pictures your battery is in a horrible shape. It looks like you might have a leak under the hood somewhere, because the top of the battery looks like it has seen some dirt and possibly water

ELEmental59437 · 06-20-2004, 08:11 PM

I cant believe nobody else suggested this, but I honestly think its your intake rubbing against the battery. That is a horrible spot to run a CAI. I would be willing to bet that the intake was the cause. The leak doesnt look like its coming from the top, but the corner where the intake runs. I am sure if you turned the car on and revved the engine the intake would move along with the engine and hit the battery. Is that the spot Injen said to run the intake or did you rig an intake off another car to work on yours?

EDIT: sounds like you changed the battery out 2 years ago. Is this battery wider than the one that was taken out? Maybe thats the reason why it is hitting the intake.

fondoo · 06-20-2004, 08:47 PM

thanks elemental. i installed the CAI as indicated by ingine. i brought my car back to sears and they replaced a brand new for free. it was still under warrenty. upon installing the new battery, i told the mechanic to make sure the battery wasnt rubbing against the intake.

CHUPACABRA · 06-20-2004, 09:50 PM

That deffinatly looks like your cold air intake rubbed right through your battery!!!!
You might want to put a pice of rubber between them. cause your battery wont leak like that unless their is a hole like that.

ELEmental59437 · 06-20-2004, 10:13 PM

Looks like a tight fit, but its cool that the battery was replaced for free.

Check the filter of the CAI, it might have battery acid or worse damage on it. You dont want that suckign back into your engine. I believe the Injen filters are washable with water, not sure how much thats gunna do for cleaning battery acid. Autozone and similar car stores sell cheap replacement filters though. Look for a product called Neverdull Aluminum Polish, after you clean the intake with soap and water use the polish to make it look all shiny again. Try adjusting the silicon couplings and rotating the metal intake pipes to try and get more of a gap between it and the filter. A piece of rubber isnt a bad idea either, or get a metal "L" shaped bracket and use double sided tape and stick it to the battery.

CLEAN YOUR ENGINE BAY!.. you need a degreaser bad..

samc · 06-20-2004, 10:21 PM

First off you have an injen CAI so you did yourself a favor

(Just kidding)
But yeah your battery was on its way out, inverter did nothing special.

samc · 06-20-2004, 10:24 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by samc

First off you have an injen CAI so you did yourself a favor

(Just kidding)
But yeah your battery was on its way out, inverter did nothing special.

wait now that I actually read the other replies, I guess it can be your CAI, I mean the injen is made of metal.

shidarin · 06-20-2004, 10:34 PM

looks like the CAI rubbed through it- but that battery was on it's way out anyway. You got a long time out of it.

Optima yellow top!!!

fondoo · 06-20-2004, 10:50 PM

i'm no mechanic, but i still dont understand how a CAI rubbing against the battery would cause it to errupt battery acid??

oh well, i got a new battery and now theres a one inch gap between the battery and the CAI.

Curiosity · 06-21-2004, 12:18 AM

My old GTA used to take exactly 4 years to kill a battery, and it would always eat through the positive post. That's an electrical problem. If it leaks from the side, I'd guess it's more likely a physical defect or rubbing. Maybe it was just the pressure from pushing against the CAI from stopping, turning, etc. that cracked the side.