Old'75'Owner

I just replaced my battery on Friday after traveling to Corvette Carlisle. I stopped to pickup my buddy at his house that is 75 miles from home. Note: No initial problem starting at home. Turn off the engine at his house and returned to have a dead battery. We used his truck to jump start with the motor off, no go. Then we started the motor on his truck and after a little bit of patience we got the C5 started. (used high quality cables) I took the Vette to a local GM dealer to have the charging system checked and the eight year old battery. Turned out the battery was toast and the charging system checked out OK. After battery install drove to C @ C which was about 12miles from dealership. The Vette sat in the sun for about six hours. It started right up and drove 15 miles to buddy's house. Open the hood to check the battery and found acid on top and down the side. I still had to get home so I drove the next 75 miles at steady 70 MPH. Got home an immediately check the battery to find the battery acid very visible on top, sides and in battery tray. I removed the battery and a considerable amount of battery acid was in the battery tray. I wiped up the acid with a paper towel in and around the battery tray and then hosed down the battery compartment with water. During the drive home I checked the Volt meter which indicated a 14.1 amp reading. I can not see any visible crack in the battery case.Looks like the acid was coming from the two vent caps. I will now tell you that the battery that was replaced was a AC Delco 75P-7yr. The new battery was a 75-7yr which is a Professional Grade and was the direct replacement. Does anyone have any similar situations with a new battery install? I would like help with determining the cause and a suggestions with the FIX! Thank you in advance for all you greatly appreciated replies. Note: This was the second new battery install after first one failed early on.

John C

New battery was charged with Battery Tender with no issues. Checked this one for being overfilled, passed that inspection. Purchased a Battery Mat and cut to fit tray.(Had to wait for B Mat) Finally, installed battery per DeeGEE instructions with instant start, radio working, charging @ 14.1 amps. TPS had no reading for front or rear. Searched forum, indicated you have to drive a few miles to reprogram sensors. Will do that tomorrow, should be good for a few more years or till my one in a million bites me in the A$$ again. Thanks to all for you greatly appreciated help!!!

John C

bumble-z

You need to take your car to your local dealelship & have them replace the new one that is leaking battery acid. Better yet, see if they will reimburse a full refund. Go with an Optima Red top enclosed battery, Sears Platinum, etc. Battery acid leaking down on the electricals directly below the battery tray will end up costing you a large bundle of cash.
Evidently you don't frequent the forum , or you would have known that your battery should have allready been
replaced to eliminate the problems your now having?
Good luck.

renegad44

Not sure what's causing your problem, but you sure don't want this acid to get to the EBCM inside the passenger wheel well, directly under the battery tray .

Bigcountry7

I believe that DeeGee can help you with this.

Old'75'Owner

This was the first problem ever. Old battery was on a Battery Tender and upon numerous inspection of the area surrounding the battery tray area there was never any sign of battery acid leaking. Also, I do frequent the forum, and this was an unusual occurance. I thought I provided a detail description of what happen and was looking for help. Could you explain why the NEW battery was pushing out acid, since there was no visible sign of cracking and the charging system was checked with no problems found. Thank you.

John

bumble-z

Did you check the made on date on the new battery? Maybe they had to add accid to the new one and put too much in? Maybe your alt is charging too much? Maybe the battery hold downs are not properly holing down the battery? Maybe they over tightened the terminals and there is a small crack in the case?

hotwheels57

A battery may "push out" acid if it's being over charged by the charging system. That doesn't seem to be the case since your system checked out.

Remove the battery and the tray and liberally apply baking soda everywhere that acid may have leaked on to. Then rinse thoroughly with water. The acid may damage plastic vacuum lines as well as the computer beneath. If paint is removed, touch it up to prevent rust.

The new battery leaking could have just been a fluke but I'd return it and explain why you want another battery/refund or whatever you decide...

Blue 92

Could be that they dumped in acid, did a quicky charge and sent you on your way. As the alternator did it's thing the solution bubbled and overflowed.

I'd make sure it's clean and dry, leave it out of the car and charge it. Let it charge completely and see if it's leaked again. If it does then back to the dealer.

Old'75'Owner

Thanks Blue92!! Bingo, I just popped the vent cap on just one side and the acid is all most to the top. There lies the problem, because the new battery was not fully charge, in the charging process it bubbled over. I will call the dealership on Monday to explain the situation and will provide pics taken with cell phone. Over the last several years forum member have aided me on many occasions and I have done the same. I like to measure twice before I do something stupid!! Thanks to all!

John C

Mr.Bill

You are aware the computer is mounted right under the battery?
You might get that cleaned up soon.

Dave68

This is the most likely scenario. I'll bet your battery case is not cracked and that it was simply overfilled - an extremely rare event. In fact, I've heard of more AGM batteries spilling acid (2 in the last 10 years) than I have any post 2003 non-AGM batteries.

In other words, you (the OP) are more likely to die in a plane crash than you are of ever having this happen again. The AC Delco Professional battery is among the best in the world. I'd have the dealership replace it and tell you what caused the previous battery to overflow.

ffas23

Go and get yourself one of those Turkey Baster type fluid removal battery fillers. They are made to add or remove water or acid. My bet as mentioned above is the battery was overfilled to begin with based on what I know about car batteries from being in the business. Take enough acid out to where it is just over the lead plates in the battery by maybe 1/8"-1/4". You should be then good to go. Plain water will wash the new acid away. Baking soda mixed with water is good to clean acid corrosion that many cars have around the terminals or around the battery tray. If you have none of this plain water is all you need to wash it away.

DeeGee

hotwheels57 has it IMHO.

This doesn't look like anything to do with batteries and is almost certainly just a dumb technician who doesn't understand lead acid batteries. If there are no cracks in the case and it's overfilled at least you can be confident you know what the problem is. I guess the only good news is if he filled it to the top and you spotted it straight away, at least the acid will be diluted.

I wont get into the pros and cons of lead-acid vs AGM batteries as thats not the issue here. The main thing is to tackle the problem. The C5 is vulnerable to any acid spillage and it needs treating quickly. This is the type of damage that can be caused by leaking batteries if not treated. You're looking at the area around the PCM:


. Pull the battery and wash the tray and the area around and underneath. I'd personally use a mild solution of alkaline; baking soda will work but the main thing is a good flush. Not only is the PCM under there but there are hoses for the HVAC and wiring which can be damaged by acid corrosion. Providing you neutralize it quickly hopefully no harm will be done. Once you're happy, dry it out as best you can. Do you have a leaf blower? - if not a hair dryer will help.

I'd also fit a battery mat into the tray in case there's any residual acid. Also pull it out in a few months and check for signs of corrosion and treat it again if necessary.

Pulling the battery is straight forward.

Disconnect the negative cable first
Disconnect the positive cable
Remove the battery hold down retainer bolt (13mm IIRC)
Lift out the battery
Clean the terminals before reconnecting
Reattach the positive cable and torque to 15 N-m (11 lb ft)
Reattach the negative cable and torque to 16 N-m (12 lb ft)
Reinsert the battery hold down retainer bolt and torque to 18 N-m (13 lb ft)
Don’t forget that if you have a stock radio, turn the security feature off before you disconnect or the radio will lock up.

Hope you fix it. Looking forward to seeing the details of the "legal case" against the guy who overfilled it. As a minimum they owe you a new battery.

Old'75'Owner

DeeGEE,
I have taken the above steps as you indicated and feel confident that I nipped the problem in the bud. I was aware of of the PCM beneath the battery tray and did intially flush the compartment with water. I followed up with the baking soda and water as suggested from the early post. I was lucky that the radio security was off, because my concern was to get the battery out of the car. I will being calling the dealer tomorrow with complete details and requesting a battery replacement under warranty. I was in contact with AC Delco Customer Service early Friday night, right after I got home, and have a Event # for my call to them. I do have pics of the intial findings and after removal the battery showing the battery acid in the tray and surrounding area. I want to thank you for taking the time for providing the above steps for the fix. I will follow up with details of the discussion with the service manager at the dealership. The initial service experience was very positive. After the initial phone call for the availablity for the replacement battery, upon arrival and providing the vehicle information, I waited less than a hour and was on my way to Corvettes @ Carlisle. I feel this dealership will handle the situation in a positive manner. Thanks again.

John C

PS I had a great time at C @ C these past two days!!

foundvettelifeisgood

I was just at the excellent Saturday C-5 seminar at C@C. The C-5 expert spent about 20 minutes stating that 75-7yr is not the correct battery for the C-5. You need the 78 series that has 120 reserve capacity. There are catalogs that state the 75 series is correct, but it is not.

I'd pull the battery tray out (at least 4 bolts in the center slot area) and clean the frame rail of acid. You really cannot do a complete clean up with the tray installed.

JDaniel

You are lucky you got to it in time. My 1999 FRC had the original battery in it from the factory and it had the same problem you had except worse. It got down to my vacuum lines for the HVAC and my AC quit working and all over the PCM and wiring harness. Luckily the acid didnt eat through the wiring harness or the PCM. I dumped baking soda and water mix on it for two days and had some pretty nasty stuff under there.

Check the frame for any corrosion and any metal in the surrounding area. Make sure you get it off and treat it with a runt inhibitor so you wont have to worry about it again.

This is a problem with Corvettes since 1997 and Chevy refuses to recognize its their fault and will do nothing for their customers to fix the issue. No wonder they are going out of business, huh?

DeeGee

No trouble John and the best of luck

robsc501

Hi There John,
If you had the battery changed at Lawrence Chevrolet They know how to treat their customers.Did you have your picture taken on Friday at noon in front of the g/stand?
robsc501

Old'75'Owner

I did not get there till 10:00AM and was 2+ behind my arrival time. I was still in the Corral at 12. I parked at gate one at the end and this became my starting point for the day. Maybe next year! I had a great time on Friday and Saturday. I went to Freysinger because my friend does business with them.

robsc501

Hi John,
Maybe we will run into each other at gate 1. I always park there at Hamilton school. When we got there on friday morning this guy that parked aside of us happened to be from Lebanon also. I didn't know him, but he turned out to be a nice guy as we shot the breeze walking in together.
Best of luck with Freysinger
If you think of it Pm me with your outcome at fresinger.
robsc501