3rd Factory Leaking Battery

[OILMAN96]

My '05 Duramax Passenger Side Battery Vent Is Leaking On The 3rd Battery In 3yrs. . The Dealer On 3/08 Added A Vent From A Buick Battery , And Extended The Drain Line Behind The Inner Fender And Into A Factory Hole In The Frame Of The Truck!! Thats "dont See - No Problem" Worked For A Week , But Now The Dealer Tells Me That Gm Will Not Pay Them To Replace A Warranty Battery Because It Technically Is Holding A Charge , Even Though Its Leaking. They Did Recommend That I Replace It Myself With Vents That Were Located In A Different Spot On The Battery..they Said According To Gm T.a.d. System , I M The Only One In The Country With This Problem.. I Know They're Wrong, So Anyone With Some Help Or Direction Would Be Most Appreciated, Thanks

[Mark Rinker]

My '05 did the same thing. I would guess my '01, '02, and '06 do the same, but I haven't bothered to check.

The passenger side battery gets hotter due to its position under the hood. You might consider rotating batteries annually to make the pair last longer, and/or figure out some way to route more underhood air to it.

[More Power]

I've had extremely good luck with ACDelco batteries. The two in my 2001 GMC are the factory originals - 7-1/2 years old now. They still crank the engine like they always have, and there are no leaks.

I've used ACD batteries in all my GM diesel pickups from about 1995 onward. Never a leak. Once installed, they performed great till the truck was sold/traded - in one case 9 years.

On the other hand, every other brand of battery I've used in the past 30 years (that weren't ACD) leaked or caused corrosion due to venting. The last two used trucks I acquired came with off-brand batteries. I replaced them with ACD the first chance I had.

I wonder if overtightening the battery terminals is the cause of some of these ACD leaks?

Jim

[Mark Rinker]

The leakage I was referring to was the factory ACD's. Venting occured from the factory vent when the battery got too hot from underhood, summertime towing duty.

The factory ACD's went over 200K in my 2002...

[carco]

Bet our shop hasn't seen 3 leaking ACD batteries in the last year and we also sell them.

[Hook_'em_Horns!]

My '05 Duramax Passenger Side Battery Vent Is Leaking On The 3rd Battery In 3yrs. . The Dealer On 3/08 Added A Vent From A Buick Battery , And Extended The Drain Line Behind The Inner Fender And Into A Factory Hole In The Frame Of The Truck!! Thats "dont See - No Problem" Worked For A Week , But Now The Dealer Tells Me That Gm Will Not Pay Them To Replace A Warranty Battery Because It Technically Is Holding A Charge , Even Though Its Leaking. They Did Recommend That I Replace It Myself With Vents That Were Located In A Different Spot On The Battery..they Said According To Gm T.a.d. System , I M The Only One In The Country With This Problem.. I Know They're Wrong, So Anyone With Some Help Or Direction Would Be Most Appreciated, Thanks

Well, you can tell ‘em you’re not alone, I have the same thing here on this ’05.

The first one had a dead short within the first 18 months, and it was on the passenger side. Replaced under warranty because it failed the test, when pulled, the battery tray had corrosion from vent leaks. The second in the original set (driver’s side) was also leaking (very minimal), but since it didn’t fail the test, no replacement was given.

This second ACD of the original set (Driver’s side) failed just after the mileage warranty was up, about 2 years. I replaced it with a 900cca Interstate. Because of the thought about heat I rotated the batteries at the time and moved the replacement ACD to the Driver’s side, and installed the NEW Interstate on the passenger side.

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3263/phot0010bkf7.jpg

18 months since the warranty swap on the original ACD (above) that is now on the Driver’s side, and it now leaks from the vents, and as you can see, the edge of the battery tray has corrosion(below).

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/1758/phot0011boy9.jpg

Three ACD in 3 years and they all have leaks. I just pulled it and had it tested…okay but the sides are bloated so it’s not long for this world either.

[tufcj]

Just a question while on the battery subject. Bought my '03 in '04 with about 26K miles, I assume the batteries are OE (both AC/Delco). I noticed one is a 600 CCA and the other is 700 CCA, don't remember which is which. Was that normal?

Bob
tufcj

[More Power]

Optima batteries have an excellent reputation, even from those who live in the hotter areas of the country. If I lived in TX, I'd likely go that direction, even though the Optimas are about 2x the cost of ACD.

As an aside, I doubt I'll ever install a battery with removable vent caps. Every single one I've had in the past 30 years would vent acid, which resulted in corroded battery trays.

Jim

[Hook_'em_Horns!]

As an aside, I doubt I'll ever install a battery with removable vent caps. Every single one I've had in the past 30 years would vent acid, which resulted in corroded battery trays.

Jim

As pictured below, the ACD with no removable vent caps, still has a vent tube to leak from (see wet spot to the left of the yellow sticker) and does.
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/315/phot0011bbq3.jpg

[CrashTestDummy]

Optima batteries have an excellent reputation, even from those who live in the hotter areas of the country. If I lived in TX, I'd likely go that direction, even though the Optimas are about 2x the cost of ACD.

As an aside, I doubt I'll ever install a battery with removable vent caps. Every single one I've had in the past 30 years would vent acid, which resulted in corroded battery trays.

Jim

That's exactly what I did when the passenger battery went bad, leaking acid into the tray and onto the positive terminal connection. Too bad I didn't change it before. I guarantee the next new car I get will immediately get the factory lead-acid battery replaced before has a chance to boil acid all over the interior of the engine compartment.

We now have about 2 years on the current set of Optimas. I was amazed the factory batteries lasted as long as they did, but I guess the pull on them is a little less when you run two. The only issues now is the starter is a bit slow on cold starts because the passenger side connection isn't that good. I really need to replace that cable, but sheesh, digging it out of the wiring and actually finding one that fits right will probably be a real chore.

Gene Beaird,
'02 GMC 2500HD D/A
Pearland, Texas