I purchased a Autocraft Titanium battery from Advance Auto Parts about two years ago. It has a three year replacement on it. Anyways I noticed today that it had recently leaked from the vent, melted the handle and some of the plastic housing down the side of it. It also melted the housing on a battery separator that was mounted underneath it for my deep cycle battery for my camper, I'm not sure if it works anymore, was melted pretty good.

I was wondering what would cause this? The truck still starts fine ('97 Chevy K1500) and the dash gauge for the battery doesn't show any overcharging. I spoke with a guy at advance and they said I would need to bring it in so they could test the battery and see if its still good to issue a replacement. Wouldn't a melted housing constitute a bad battery?

Also what are the chances that they would replace the damaged battery separator if it is due to a bad battery. I can understand it would be my problem if the alternator is overcharging the battery. I spoke with the assistant-assistant manager at advance and he said call back tomorrow when the assistant manager will be there.

 

Battery acid should not melt plastic. Overheating will. It sounds like the battery was severely overcharged or possibly shorted, at some point. Either situation would cause the acid to boil and spew from the vent, and the generated internal heat could cause the housing to warp or melt.

The battery could have had an internal short, which later cleared itself, or the voltage regulator could be causing an overcharge. I would be looking for a good auto electric repair shop for an accurate diagnosis.