Battery Questions

[Russ Dickey]

Recently, my car has been requiring a jump-start to get it going for a drive. When I take it out for a cruise, it performs fine. All the electrical stuff and headlights work as normal. But if I shut it off....it's dead. It won't restart again. My amp gauge doesn't work, but I assume the alternator is fine since the headlights work ok.

So the other night I put the battery charger on it, and after about 30 minutes I come out to check on it, and it sounds like bacon is sizzling on a griddle. I think "this can't be good", so I immediately turn off the charger, and start thinking that maybe it's a dead cell in the battery (which is only a year old, but it is an Advance Auto parts "special"). I get in the trunk and start to take out the battery, which sits inside of a marine-style plastic case, and notice that there is a bunch of water sitting at the bottom of the case!

Now granted, I don't have the cover on top of the case, so the top of the battery is exposed, but I can't figure out how water could get down in there. I checked everything inside the fenderwell to see if there was any way that water could get down in there when I washed the car, or could be splashed up in there when I've (rarely) driven it in the rain or through a puddle. And from what I can see, there is no way that water could be getting in there.

So can you guys provide any insight? Do batteries "sweat"? Are standard wet-cell batteries prone to leaking? Does the battery sound like it is the root of my problem, or could it be something else?

Thanks to all,

Russ