Leaking Battery?

[patkim]

Hello Friends,
Just would like to know your opinion before I take it to the service station. I am a total novice when it comes to any tech matters.
I have Alto Lxi. I found that the battery casing has a layer of some liquid material as if something has leaked from the battery.
Here's a picture of the same. Any clues what it could be? Is this battery leaking?
Thanks,

[gopalnayak]

The liquid seems to be greasy. I think it is the vaseline/grease that is applied to the terminals to prevent corrosion. Maybe the grease has spread. If you can confirm this, there is no need to worry.

If the liquid is non-greasy, the battery is leaking and I think it is due to excess distilled water in the battery. Better get it checked at A.S.S./Battery dealer immediately.

[bblost]

looks like a loose cap.
check electrolyte levels and refill if needed.
tighten them well.

This can be done at any battery shop.

check exides website to find the nearest one.

good idea #1: do not delay
good idea #2: a little bit of white grease on the connection points.

[eclectix 1st]

That looks like a leak.
Best thing to do under the circumstance is to take it to your nearest Maruti A-S-S (if you are covered by warranty) or the nearest battery repair shop, where you can get it cleaned & top up the required fluids.

[dadu]

Do not delay as the battery water can corrode your paint and metal. Follow suggestions above.

[gd1418]

It seems like the battery liquid has boiled over because of overfilling at some point of time. Also the heat conditions have not helped as well. Open the caps and check the fluid level. They should be above the plates and below the cap. BTW, how old is your car's battery? The older it gets, the cells become weaker and at times the fluid, during charging tends to boil over..

What you can do is to take half a bucket of warm water and pour it over the battery and terminals. It shall wash away the corrosion and the acidic fluid..

[amit_mechengg]

i can tell you the best about exide batteries on alto. i have changed 5 of them in warranty. looking at your picture it seems that the Vaseline/ lubricant they put on the battery lugs have melted. might be due to overfilling and overheating the acid has come out too.
if there is a leak you can do make it out by peeping below the battery tray. if its not visible open the battery clamps and take out the battery and check below if u have any greenish white deposits or any liquid below. if so there is a leak.
i have noticed that if the service station people or you yourself over tighten the clamp on the top the exide battery cover tends to bend in concave manner.the worst thing is the overflow hole is on the negative side which is due to the L polarity / opposite polarity in alto and it is on the side of the battery which heats up more.
above that the most worst thing is maruti engineers have provided no drain point from the overflow tray. the acid will fall on your engine and body corroding everything under it.
i had faced a worst problem due to this, and after writing to maruti udyog service dept. GM they did the engine bay painting, all corroded parts replacement, engine bay waxing and one full tank petrol compensation all free of cost. in my case alternator was the culprit which was showing correct voltages at idling speed. i changed the alternator to denso, and since then no problem.
but exide battery sucks. i have changed it to amaron now. the plastic cap on the amaron is of better quality than the exide. also the position where clamp sits is very strong. mainly the battery is fully maintainance free.

get you car checked as soon as possible to avoid corrosion.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Easy to check if it is grease: stick you finger in it!

If it is, then no problem.

If it does not feel greesy/oily then go quickly and wash it off your fingers with SOAP and water. Soap is alkaline and will neutralise the acid.

If acid has been leaking into your engine space, then anywhere it may have dripped should be washed with soap and water. not just water. It is very important to neutralise that acid, not just try to wash it away.

From the look of the cleanliness of that battery clip and its nut and bolt... probably not acid. It would have caused discolouration and corrosion quite quickly.

[patkim]

Thanks a lot for your inputs. Yes it feels greasy to touch... as suggested by most of you, I shall get it checked at the service station. So far two servicings are done and vehicle is just 9 months old.

[Jaggu]

its vaseline that got melted, wipe it off that all.

[adheesh]

NEVER and I repeat NEVER apply grease on the battery terminals. The least it can causer is a drained battery and atmost a dead battery.
White grease and vaseline have nothing in common except thier colour. Hence use only vaseline (or any other petroleum jelly) or nothing.

Regards,
Adheesh Parelkar

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

its vaseline that got melted, wipe it off that all.

Yup I agree. Some over enthusiastic battery guy applied too much. It got melted.
Wipe it off and apply some more vaseline if you like. vaseline original, not the aloe vera body silkening lotion lol.

[Thad E Ginathom]

... not the aloe vera body silkening lotion lol.

You speak from experience, Sam? You tried the Aloe stuff on your last battery?

Seriously... why not grease? I never knew that. The idea is to use something non-conductive that keeps moisture away from the terminals. Is grease conductive?

A quick squirt of WD40?

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

its vaseline that got melted, wipe it off that all.

Yep it's what Gopalnayak & Jaggu said it's melted Vaseline. No need to worry, clean it up with a rag and it shouldn't happen again unless you apply Vaseline again.

[HappyWheels]

Exact situation with my OEM Exide battery on my Alto. The battery was leaking because my battery holder had broken off. Had the holder fixed and cleaned battery and set everything right.

But one fine day, at night just as I tied to start the car to park it inside (after a day of running) it refused to start. Absolutely no life! Had to call Maruti helpline, the next day, and as suspected, dead battery. Now running on Amaron! :-)

So, my friend, check the battery and (am sure) you will need to get it replaced. While at it, make sure that the portion below the battery is checked for corrosion and properly dealt with.

Edit: Ooops... almost a month from the first post. Patkim, what happened? What was the issue?