Original Battery - Leaking Cell

[cbm8880 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close cbm8880]

Hi elec gurus,

My original Toyota battery (4 1/2 yrs old) is kicking over like a new one, but ive just noticed a small amount of electrolyte fluid leaking out of the top of one of the cells. When I open all of the cells they all sit about 2-3cm below the tabs.

Is the battery ok wrt the leak?

Is it ok to top up the battery using water from our dehumidifier? It is distilled I'm thinking.

Interestingly the resting voltage is still ok at 12.42v.

Many thanks!

[gxl_d4d Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close gxl_d4d]

The battery may need a charge and equalisation with a bench charger. 12.4v is low. It should be around 12.6 at rest. 4.5years is pretty good life for a car battery.

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

Hi elec gurus,

My original Toyota battery (4 1/2 yrs old) is kicking over like a new one, but ive just noticed a small amount of electrolyte fluid leaking out of the top of one of the cells. When I open all of the cells they all sit about 2-3cm below the tabs.

Is the battery ok wrt the leak?

Is it ok to top up the battery using water from our dehumidifier? It is distilled I'm thinking.

Interestingly the resting voltage is still ok at 12.42v.

Many thanks!

You need a new battery!
12.42 is not ok.
A good battery is 12.65 to 12.8v min.
The average life of a battery is 4 years & for reliability it's not worth stretching it.

[cbm8880 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close cbm8880]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll look into a new battery as you say, its not worth risking it.

[Mule Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mule]

As said 4.5 years is good for a battery, but then, my battery is original now at nearly 6 years. The voltage after sitting over the weekend is about 12.1 even 11.9 if it sits a bit longer, so yes it is on it's way out, but given it works just fine I have no intention of wasting money on a new one. 12.4v should last you quite a bit longer but then again even a newish battery can suddenly die so no guarantees with batteries in any condition. If I were going on my own for some out of the way expedition I would of course change it. Normally you get warning with sluggish starting but even if my one were to die tonight I can get a jump start and still get a new one at my leisure so no intention of changing until it dies. In other words reliability is not an issue for me as there are always options but it may be an issue in your situation?

There are different types of dehumidifiers so hard to be too clever regarding the water coming out of your one but I would not trust it for a battery, particularly if you live anywhere near the sea. De-ionised or distilled water is dirt cheap in supermarkets so why put your 4.5 year battery at risk!

[cbm8880 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close cbm8880]

So I haven't gotten around to purchasing a new battery yet (kids, work, life in general getting in the way). But here is an interesting one for the battery gurus....

My better half managed to do a "super deep discharge test" (i.e. somehow fooled the logic and left the headlights on and called me from the shops) yesterday. When I got there and checked the battery on the multimeter it read 8.6v. I jumped straight off the aux battery and it started no problem. I let it sit overnight (coldish night at ~8c and it sat for 12 hrs +) and this morning tested it again with the multimeter and it now reads 12.60v. That is a HIGHER resting voltage than it had a few months ago.

Any explanations? I had expected to find it flat again this morning after the (albeit short) discharge yesterday.

[yowie Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close yowie]

Take the Prado to some place like Batteryworld, ask them to do a discharge test on the battery and see how it goes. My original battery of nearly 5 years looked O.K. when I checked it at home, but the discharge test showed one cell was dying, so in went a new battery. Could not afford to run out of juice in the battery while in the middle of W.A.

The 2nd battery lasted less time than the starter battery.

[Joe Lighty Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lighty]

My batteries always seem to show that they need replacement when tested at Batteryworld or the like, regardless of their actual condition!

[AussieAndy Find all posts View Profile Close AussieAndy]

I'm with Joe, battery world are there to sell you a battery, their "free" battery test is to sell you a new one.

[yowie Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close yowie]

Not had any trouble before with them, in southern Sydney, might be different in W.A. and Qld !!!

[AussieAndy Find all posts View Profile Close AussieAndy]

It might just be our local battery world then, I've heard some great experiences, and had one of my own......

[Mack Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Mack]

But you still bought one although your tests at home said the battery was ok, I think that is called great salesmanship.

[AussieAndy Find all posts View Profile Close AussieAndy]

Oh no, my experience was buying a battery off them. They sold me a battery to use as an auxiliary battery, it failed while away on a trip, wouldn't keep fridge running overnight. The battery was only 8 months old. I rang them and they said im out of their range, I would have to drive back to Toowoomba from Charlieville. So I bought a new battery and continued my trip. When I got back from my trip I went into the store in my cruiser with said battery in the back. They asked me what I was using it for and when I told them auxiliary they didn't want to know anything about it. Apparently it was a cranking battery! So their salesman sold and fitted a crank battery for me, it died within warranty and they didn't care because it was the wrong battery.

Yes, I am a mechanic, but at the time I had no contacts for batteries, knew very little about batteries (still an apprentice) and thought they would do the right thing. You're right, "great" salesmanship

[Ryebags Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Ryebags]

Hi all, am after some advice on what others might have done. It appears that my main battery has died. I have a 2010 GXL diesel and looks like the original batter ( we have only had the vehicle 4 months). Was wondering what battery people have replaced the factory one with please?? I have a dual set up with a Redarc 1220 BCDC charger. I have no idea about batteries and obviously there are a lot to choose from.

[Piratepete Member Find all posts View Profile Close Piratepete]

Hi Ryebags, I just had a dual battery set up installed and noticed a bit of a leak on my original starter battery ( feb 2012 diesel Altitude). I'm looking at a Supercharge battery as a replacement. They seem to be headquartered in Adelaide at Regency Pk. Got some prices for battery for Prado, $120 - $140 with 30 month warranty. Anybody else got a view on the Supercharge batteries and best one for diesel 150?