# smelly campervan - & battery probs. ?



## jd_boss_hogg (Aug 26, 2009)

Hi all - hoping someone tekky can help me... bit of a long sotory, but i think you need it all to help work out what is happening...

1) Couple of weeks ago, went away for the night, and lost power during the night - We only had a few lights on for a short while. It took 3 hours dive to get there, so i presumed it would have charged on route (don't know how much charge it had when we left, maybe half). 

2) Plugged campervan in for a few hours last week, then set off for a night away. After about 30 mins we got this really really awful smell in the cab area, sulphur like smell. Checked the grey water and stuff, but nothing. Pinpointed that the smell was coming from drivers side air vent !!?? We thought maybe something had crawled in and died somewhere (like a mouse or soemthing). We ONLY got the smell when driving, not when parked up. Aslo, noticed we only had half battery power ? Same thing on way home, but worse. A smell so bad it was sickening, but only from drivers air vent. 

3) Going away again tonight, so plugged van in a couple of days ago. Walked past the van this morning, and i could smell that pong from outside. Opened the doors, and needed a gas mask! So , opened all dorrs to air it out, thinking it was a dead rodent or soemthing.

4) Staretd to investigate, and found this... the leisure battery under the drivers seat looks like it is leaking out the top. It's a P-Top180, and it says it's sealed and no-maintenance. When we plug the van in, you can hear soemthing sizzeling and bubbling away...and that smell again, but not as bad and around the battery area.

So, it looks like we get that smell when the battery is trying to charge (when driving along, and when plugged in). I'm guessing this means we need a new battery.

However, can anyone tell me anything about the smell? Do batteries smell like that when crocked? Could it have been leaking and can the water (acid?) that comes out cause any trpuble to the bodywork of the van under the seat (there isn;t floods or anything, just th top of the battery slightly moist)

... and, how the hel can the smell have come through the drivers side air vent, when it was the battery unde the seat? Does the cold air feed for the vents come from directly under the van, near the drivers side perhaps?

Totally confused - would love any guesses !

thanks

3)


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## jd_boss_hogg (Aug 26, 2009)

reading elsewhere, other people are saying that the battery is crocked (supluric acid in the battery is causing the smell).

Here is what is worrying me - i was going away for the night in afew hours. i read 2 scary things - that the battery can blow up, and that the suplhur acid smell can kill you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is this true?

If i isolate the leisure battery when driving so it is not charging at all, and don;t use the hookup, and thereofre only drain the battery with a few lights this evening, will it last me this one last trip (i'll replace it in the week). Or should i not risk it?

Could it be the alternator that is over charging the battery, and the smell coming from the vent was maybe the cab battery too ? So maybe both are crocked?


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## teensvan (May 9, 2005)

Hi.

Take out battery and fit new one as at sometime the battery has been either been overcharged or left to go flat a lot of times, and it will never except a charge.

steve & ann. --------- teensvan


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## trevorf (May 16, 2005)

> It took 3 hours dive to get there


Is it a motorhome or a submarine ? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Sorry, just being flippant !!!

I would definitely fit a new battery ASAP and have somebody check out the charging voltage and current with a multimeter. More likely just a duff battery though.
The smell would be from the sulphuric acid giving a "sulphur" rotten eggs aroma.

Trevor


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## CliveMott (Mar 10, 2008)

Before fitting a replacvement battery you MUST check the leisure battery terminal voltage with a digital multimeter under all forms of charge. Hookup, When driving and via solar panel (if you have one.

Excessive gassing points to excessive charge voltage. Unless you have one short circuit cell in your battery when it will be the battery.

Look for 14 volts tops. 
C.

P.S. Intelligent chargers can go a little above this but will come back down again to around 13.6 volts.


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## JeanLuc (Jan 13, 2007)

Don't charge the batteries again until you have it sorted, and don't stay in the van either. The smell is Hydrogen Sulphide. This is not very good for you, neither is it good for the fabric of the motorhome. It can cause de-lamination of plywood for one thing.

Hydrogen may also be given off and if there is a spark - boom and acid sprayed everywhere. At its worst - goodbye motorhome and possibly goodbye JD-Boss-Hogg.

As Clive (who knows more about this than I ever will) has said - get the system checked soon.

Philip


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## grenwelly (Aug 7, 2007)

YOU MUST VENT THE AREA OF THE BATTERY 
Sorry shouting but the smell as said is hydrogen Sulphide and will explod if there is a spark when its in high concentrations.

I have sean car batteries explode very big bang and bits of casing and acid flying about

As othr have said it is likely a faulty cell in the battery but you need to get it tested

If you wash the area down with lots of water once the battery's removed it will neutralize any acid that's spilled


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