How To Identify A Volvo Battery Leak

Your car battery is essential in keeping your Volvo running smoothly for a long time. Frequent monitoring of your car's battery is thus important or you might not even realize a leak until your vehicle refuses to start. There are a couple of reasons why your battery might leak. Overcharging your battery could result in the electrolytes in the battery boiling and acidic steam flowing out of the vent caps. Taking note of the age of your car battery can also help prevent car battery leaks. The average lifespan of a car battery is approximately 4 years so monitoring your car battery can help you identify leaks as soon as they start, reducing the risk of damage to other parts of the car.Once you notice a leak, the first thing you should do is schedule a car service as soon as possible. Most leaking batteries need to be replaced and you should have a certified technician inspect your vehicle to ensure that there are no damages. If you suspect a battery leak in your Volvo, here are some symptoms you should look out for.

Odd Appearance of Battery Casing

Open the hood of your car to observe the battery. A sign of a leaking battery is bubbly liquid oozing from the vent cap. If your battery casing also looks warped or bloated, it is a tell-tale sign of a battery leak. Any detectable corrosion around the battery terminal caps can also be taken as a symptom of a battery leak.

Strange Smells

To identify a battery leak, employ your sense of smell around the terminals of your car to see if you notice any strange smells. A leaking battery will produce a stench of rotten eggs due to the sulfuric battery solution.

Low Fluid Levels

Another way to check if your car is suffering from a battery leak is by refilling the fluid levels. If the fluid levels remain low even after repeated refilling, you know your car has a battery leak.

Test Your Battery with a Voltmeter

If you have a voltmeter handy, you can test whether your battery is leaking. Plug the black cable to the the port of the voltmeter where it is labelled COM and the red cable to where it is labelled DCV. Then, set the range of the voltmeter to 10 Amperes. Open the hood of your car and connect the negative probe of the voltmeter to the negative terminal of the battery and the positive probe of the voltmeter to the harness point of the negative terminal. Allow 15 seconds or more for the voltmeter to process before taking the reading off the voltmeter. If the reading is 0.08 or above, your vehicle is most definitely suffering from a leaking battery.

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