What happened to my battery? (Pics)

[nisonis]

I would make sure this car was not submerged even partially. It is possible that the moisture caused the battery to slowly die. The stain is yellow. Car batteries have sulfuric acid in them. If you battery was damaged or leaking in any way, it would explain this. There is a lot of fluid in there.

[Dkhan23]

Originally Posted by Thik

There was no liquid inside the compartment when they pulled it out. Everything is bone dry. There is no odor whatsoever. If it was water or dirt, it would smell earthy. I took the car to another independent mechanic, he said it was the sulfuric acid that spewed out when the battery started leaking from the inside.

I'm guessing the yellow stuff is sulfur mixed a bit with rusted metal caused by the sulfuric acid? Since much is usually a darker brown that disintegrates with water?

I don't know. How can I test to see what that yellow stuff is for sure? Does the sulfuric acid inside car batteries look like that?

You need to go all CSI and send some samples of that shit to a lab

[M3takesNYC]

This is a clear flood issue. I had it happen with a bmw long time ago. This car was definetly bought used and than repaired. Carfax is so useless these days. So much does not even show up on carfax even when run through insurance claims

I would worrry more about other materials deteriorating or having residue that will lead to problems down the line. Go over inside and out with a fine-tooth comb to make sure nothing else is obviously effected

[Peahi]

Originally Posted by M3takesNYC

This is a clear flood issue. I had it happen with a bmw long time ago. This car was definetly bought used and than repaired. Carfax is so useless these days. So much does not even show up on carfax even when run through insurance claims

I would worrry more about other materials deteriorating or having residue that will lead to problems down the line. Go over inside and out with a fine-tooth comb to make sure nothing else is obviously effected

At least the engine is all good. Gulp.

[nick3753]

Where is the guy who likes to taste these things??

[apecush]

to "short" the battery, you would have to short the power cable to ground. There should be a fusible link in close proximity to the + terminal, which would pop if things shorted. The "yellow liquid" sure does look like the battery leaked acid and corroded everything. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you can't wipe the residue away. Is your battery quite a bit lighter than 60 lbs?

[Thik]

Originally Posted by apecush

to "short" the battery, you would have to short the power cable to ground. There should be a fusible link in close proximity to the + terminal, which would pop if things shorted. The "yellow liquid" sure does look like the battery leaked acid and corroded everything. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you can't wipe the residue away. Is your battery quite a bit lighter than 60 lbs?

The dealership tossed the old battery, so I won't know how much it weighed. The yellow stuff actually can be wiped or scrapped off, just see the old battery in the pic.

I also highly doubt the car was flooded. There's no sign of the yellow stuff anywhere else other than the battery compartment.

I really just think the battery failed, spewing sulphuric acid everywhere, then the dealership tried to blame me for spilling stuff in the battery compartment.

[apecush]

There's a good chance that was what happened, but I think you're going to find quite a bit of rust down there once you try clean it up. Sulphuric acid is not kind to steel.

[positiveions]

I would educate the service advisor, that if, and when I spill something, it's usually not from bottom to top; rather from top to bottom.

[suprafrank]

the yellow stuff is ??sulfur??? I am not familiar with car batteries but if they have sulfur in them then that may be it.

I found the following pic online. The pic is showing sulfur coating the rocks. The pic is for reference use only.

[apecush]

you would know if it is sulphur, it smells like rotten eggs.

[Ml3456]

If it was from the battery it would have been H2S (hydrogen sulfide) or sulfur dioxide, both really bad for you and you would have definitely smelled it. The battery would have been literally smoking when being charged. It could not change into elementary sulfur, which is yellow.

A battery can short internally as it ages. That's why they usually die unexpectantly. New maintenance free batteries have some space under the lead plates at the bottom of the battery. When your battery charges, the plates will build crystals on them that eventual break off and settle to the bottom of the battery. These crystals can build up high enough to short out a battery plate/cell. Battery is then DOA without any warning. Many times you cannot even jump the car if this is bad enough.

I have seen cracked battery cases before also, but this looks like a liquid entered the battery compartment and was splashing around. But if the case is intact it shouldn't have hurt the battery.

[leemik]

when batteries leak it's usually a lot of white residue it leaves behind..

this almost looks like it was water that was in there for a long time and the car was starting to rust.. hence the orange tone.

[M3PO]

It looks to me like there was rusty water in there, and quite a lot of it. It looks like the battery was partially submerged, judging by the wave markings on the side. If the case is in tact, there is no way that the battery could have shorted without being submerged up to the poles (which it obviously wasn't).

[dbs600]

Any updates / resolution on this?

[X2Board]

Probably a leaking seal that allowed water to get into the battery compartment. Give it a hose test and check for moisture in that area.

[Thik]

Sooo, I took the car to a shop that work on alot of M3's. They found a water leak into the battery compartment. The leak has probably been there for 2+ years after the body panel was taken off and repainted. The body shop didn't seal everything properly, causing water to leak in and stay in the battery compartment.
My guess is the previous owner parked his car outdoors, so all the water accumulated and stayed in the battery compartment and eventually the humidity or the dampness caused the battery terminals/wiring to short?
I'm just happy it's fixed now. New battery, compartment cleaned up, leak sealed. Car drives like a dream.

[Thik]

Originally Posted by *********

you may use this tool to have a try
BMW_Scanner_1.4_Software.zip
http://www.**************/download/Ca...4_Software.zip

WTF? Mods: delete post and ban please.

[dbs600]

OP? You there?

[ChrisK]

That yellow residue is most likely sulfuric acid from the battery.

[ZRODDICK]

I think ur battery leak，the yellow thing is Sulfuric acid in the battery.

[Transfer]

Originally Posted by Thik

Sooo, I took the car to a shop that work on alot of M3's. They found a water leak into the battery compartment. The leak has probably been there for 2+ years after the body panel was taken off and repainted. The body shop didn't seal everything properly, causing water to leak in and stay in the battery compartment.
My guess is the previous owner parked his car outdoors, so all the water accumulated and stayed in the battery compartment and eventually the humidity or the dampness caused the battery terminals/wiring to short?
I'm just happy it's fixed now. New battery, compartment cleaned up, leak sealed. Car drives like a dream.

Thanks for the follow up!

This thread is done so stop responding people.