hot battery

[dlewis812]

noticed cabin lights flickered depending on which battery switch setting (fine on 1, problem on 2).

what's the cause of the damaged battery? is it the battery itself or connection issues? going to replace but want to remedy the issue.

(pics of the 2 batteries)

 

[Mark Maulden]

Not much to go on here. Start with the basics. Voltage/current measurements and water level. What is charger?

 

[Brian D]

I found on my boat that if the battery is hot then there is not enough water in the cells. If you battery is not a wet cell then it could be some other battery issue. I would disconnect the charging circuit, put a meter on the hot battery, then turn on everything connected and see how much voltage drops.

If you get no voltage drop, then it is possible your charging system is over charging the battery and could be causing it to heat up.

I think either way, you could have battery issues.

One other thought is you have a resistive short (contradiction of terms I know) which is causing your battery to use a lot of current in a short time and heating up the battery. That would drain the battery very quickly. To test this, turn off everything and check for current draw with a clamp-on current meter. With everything off, there should be no draw of current.

 

[Donnybrook]

Most likely connections at the battery. Clean terminals. Make sure that the cables are the first thing to go on the battery terminal, then a flat washer and lock washer. Hex nuts are better than wing nuts, but if you use wing nuts, tighten by hand and give it a little more tightening with pliers. Occasionally, the battery switch contacts get dirty. A good idea to rapidly run the switch thru all positions occasionally to clean them up.

 

[Benny17441]

Lights flickering? Clean and tighten the terminals. Inspect and clean and tighten all connections at the battery switch.