What to do if your car battery is smoking?
A smoking battery could sign that the car's electric charging system is starting to have problems. Many factors can cause this smoking battery problem, but the biggest factor that often drives it is the excessive voltage and charging current supplied from the alternator.
The smoking battery often smells strong. It would be best if you were careful not to inhale the smell for too long because it's harmful to human health. When the smoking battery problem appears, the battery posts and terminals often appear crust which can interfere with the connection between the cable and the battery.
Therefore, this smoking battery problem needs to be marked soon so that it does not spread and becomes another big problem that often costs more than just replacing the battery itself. So, what to do if your car battery is smoking? Next, we will tell you how to fix a smoking battery that often occurs in the car when the engine is run.
1. Inspect and repair the car charging system
The first step required to fix a smoking battery problem is to inspect the car battery's electric charging system. This inspection aims to ensure that the alternator's voltage and current do not exceed the charging voltage limit.
Yes, the inspection should prioritize the component called the alternator. This alternator is responsible for charging the battery while the engine is running and other electrical needs in the car.
For the record, the average battery charging voltage in cars ranges from 12.7 Volts to 14.7 Volts. Less than 12.7 volts, you will get a flat battery. More than 14.7 volts, the battery will boil and feels hot when held.
The task of regulating this output voltage is the IC regulator, one of the alternator components whose function stabilizes the charging voltage. When the IC regulator has a problem, it often causes smoking batteries.
To fix a smoking battery, we need to ensure that the car charging system is working normally.
If the charging system (alternator) works abnormally, such as overcurrent and overcharging voltage, then you should repair these components before proceeding to the next step to fix the smoking car battery.
2. Drain and replace the battery water (the lead-acid)
After the alternator's inspection and repairing the car's charging system have been carried out, but the smoking battery symptoms still appear. The next step is to drain the battery water and replace it with new lead-acid battery water.
Drain the battery water and clean the internal elements from all the dirt and mud present. Replace the battery water with new lead-acid battery water. Continue to recharge the battery so that the battery is ready and contains sufficient voltage when needed.
Keep in mind that the lead-acid battery water is battery water with a red bottle label. This water is high enough acid content. Intensive care is needed in handling this lead-acid battery water.
This step of draining and replacing the battery water is needed to ensure no internal short in the battery due to dirt and scale accumulated between the elements inside the battery.
Also read:3. Replace the battery
If the two steps above have been carried out, but the battery is still smoking, replacing the old battery with a new one is the last step that can be done to fix a smoking battery.
The most significant possibility is that the existing battery has severe damage to its elements. Many causes can damage battery elements such as overcharge, wrong battery water usage, battery lifetime factors, etc.