Battery leaking or _____ ?

[oneloudaccord]

Did my search on this forum for leakages, battery issues, battery leaks, white spots in engine... etc etc... Didn't come up with much unless I'm missing the magic word. So anyway, appologies if this thread/issue is noobish.

Anyhow, here's my problem, I have dry whitish fluid spots on the driver's side of my engine. This happens probably once every few months or something. Nothing leaking from what I can see. The fluid is dry and my usual parking spot at my house has no evidence of chronic leaks. At first I thought it was something like a puddle that I might have run over that splashed into the engine, but the splash spots are at the top near the battery. My SRI has splash marks as well as my battery and a little of the hoses around that area; but all the hoses I've inspected don't have any evidence of leakage or cracks. I'm thinking from my google searches that it might be the battery leaking once in a while. From the pictures I took, most of the spots come from the battery.

Has anyone come across this issue? I haven't noticed any change in performance lately other than my motor mounts might need to be replaced. If it IS the battery, is it as simple as taking it to the dealer or places like Autozone (where I purchased the battery) and have them fix the battery (take some battery fluid out?... came across that solution from google.)

 

[HondaLuver83]

Battery acid itself won't really hurt u with skin contact, it might burn or irritate if left unwashed. Don't get it in your eyes tho. Nutralize the acid with a mix of water and baking soda. Your battery may be bad or it somehow overheated or overcharged

 

[oneloudaccord]

So it's gotta be the battery right? I was thinking maybe overheated since it's hot today and I did quite some driving the past few days in the heat. The last time I noticed this in my engine was when I arrived in Vegas from Los Angeles and again, that was a hot day... actually, that day melted my rear mugen lip. haha.

 

[finch13]

Doubt it the battery. If it was leaking acid, you would see white crusty **** on the terminals. They usually either leak a little bit or explode. Today's batteries are maintenance free too, so once they're made, you can't open them. Only small 12v batteries are refillable.

 

[oneloudaccord]

Hm... well, it looks like whatever the fluid is, there seems to be a lot @ the side of the battery (located where the red cover meets the black) and at the top in front of the terminals (that little box with warning statements)... not sure if you can see it too much from the pictures.

Anyhow, whatever it is, it appears to be coming from the top part of the engine... I'll just have to keep a note, and monitor it almost every day if I can.

 

[SneakyPete]

It doesn't look like the battery to me either. If you apply a mix of baking soda and water, it should bubble like peroxide on a wound (this is the neutralization process) Water only expands inside a battery during the charging process and not while idle. Also during the charging process, hydrogen gas is released (very minimal, but enough to scare the hell out of you with a lighter) A sulfated battery will have definite signs of failure. Mainly being a white crusty build up (sort of like dried up salt water). To me your problem looks like muddy water splash up (possibly from the resonator box missing?) or possibly hard water stains from a car wash? In order for a battery to leak to the point of reaching the intake, you would have a serious and unmistakable problem.

 

[knighthawk1104]

some batteries have two little plastic caps.i think your battery does. from the pictures they're the black plastic caps on the red top. check if those are tight. if you're driving with those loose then maybe it might splash out...but i doubt that's the issie since you would be able to see more of it on the battery and not just dots. it would be a whole layer of that stuff on top. and it would be hard to get that on your valve cover and intake.

 

[SneakyPete]

Whatever you do, do NOT pop those caps off and add water. If you top it off with water and then allow it to charge, it will expand and you will have electrolyte all over. If you get any acid on your clothes, pitch em! water doesn't neutralize acid, it actually spreads it. When you wash them, everything in the wash will be contaminated and eventually will wear holes in everything. Just an FYI.

 

[knighthawk1104]

^^^^ lol yea i was just saying to check if they're tight. but i didn't know about that. listen to him then!

 

[SneakyPete]

wasn't trying to step on toes

it's just that i have about 85 industrial forklift batteries i have to maintain everyday. I cant tell you how many t-shirts i've lost! but hopefully not my new official 6Gen t-shirts.....