hey guys, well, fresh off my install i have another hurdle to check out. my optima yellow top seems to be 'overheating'. when i got to my buds house i smelt something cooking, not a bad smell, just a smell. looked in the trunk and there the battery is with a lil fluid cooking on it, looked to be water. it was also hissing. the thing was so hot it was fogging up my rear hatch. so we relocated the grounds and adjusted the terminals and it seemed fine. let it cool down, pump the system while idling for 30 mins tuning it and it was fine, warm (normal) and fine. so im driving home and the thing starts hissing again and fogging up my hatch again. got home and sure enough it was doing it again. so heres my idea, could i have wired up the solenoid incorrectly? the amp and subs are fine, just the battery seems to overheat! i thought i had it right.....its almost like the alternator is sending too much current to it when im driving causing it to overheat, but when im idling the lesser current is fine. any ideas on what gives here boys???
brian

 

here are some facts ive compiled so far:
1) when diriving with the stereo ON the second battery (optima) overheats
2) when driving with the stereo OFF the optima overheats
3) when IDLING with the stereo ON it does NOT overheat
4) when IDLING with the stereo OFF it does NOT overheat
5) the 0 guage power wire running off the optima battery went from gold colored to silver colored
6) with the ground OFF the optima battery it does NOT overheat, but the sub amp still plays (???)
7) front battery is 100% a-ok fine all the time
8) the hissing noise is coming from the POWER on the battery, not the ground

if i think of anything else ill post.....any help would be great....
brian

 

sounds like it is overcharging to me

 

How did you wire the relay?? is it powered on any time the car is?? or just when the radio is turned on?? Also, what is wired to what side of the Selnoid?

It almost sounds like a fault somewhere in the system, almost like an overcharge, but I've almost never heard of that accept when a regulator went out on a Alternator. You might want to get a hold of Optima, explain your situation and see what they say, it may be a bad battery, especially if it's venting, it's most likely shot seeing they're sealed batteries, and aren't supossed to vent ANYTHING, EVER...

Mike

 

well, the battery is disconnected right now, but heres how its wired:
the solenoid has 4 terminals.....a remote lead, power in, power out, and ground. so we connected the lead to the same one that my CSI WP is on so the solenoid charges both batterys while the key is in the on position. so from the solenoid theres a power in from the car battery and a power out to the second battery. if i recall its 4 guage in and 2 guage out to the second. the power from the solenoid is mounted to the top + terminal and the top - terminal is the ground, then on the side + terminal is my power wire for the XTRPRO 2400. - terminal is clean (nothing on it). ill check again later. i THINK the problem is in the solenoid somewhere......its lightning audio S200.
hope that helps you help me, LoL.
brian

 

heres what it says in the wirtten explanation on how to wire the solenoid:
Mobile Audio Relay and Battery Isolator-200 amp continuous power handling
The relay will handle 200 amperes on a continous basis at 15vdc and 300 amperes in rush peak storage. mount the relay between batteries as an isolator or in the main power lead servicing the mobile audio system, amplifiers, light bars, or any other equipment requiring on/off control.
INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS:
the two small terminals are for switching the relay on and off. either one of the small terminals should be connected to the chassis ground or other ground location and the other terminal to switching power output. Switching power must be between 10 and 16 volts dc. the relay draws less than 1 amp when switched on. Battery or main power leads use the large terminals. Either one may be incoming power. fuse all power leads at the battery or batteries.

hope this helps!
brian

 

Well... I've got my Alternator & Battery hooked to one large terminal, and the lead to the rear off the other large terminal. It may have something to do with it being hooked to the other battery and not directly to the Alternator.

It also wounds like your 2nd battery may be shot. Optima's aren't supossed to vent anything, and when they do I can't imagine it's a good thing for a sealed battery.

Mike

 

Mike-should i wire the solenoid to the alternator or teh second battery? if i do the battery directly does this mean i dont need a solenoid? what would happen if i wired the second battery to the primary directly, instead of having the solenoid in between?
brian

 

Well, I believe if you hook the two of them together (+ to +, & - to -) it should act like 1 large battery. That actually would be a good test to see if it's the battery or the isolator. If you hook them together like that and the battery is fine then it's the isolator or how it's wired, if it still does it, it's the battery itself.

Try it and see how the battery acts.

Mike

 

well, heres an interesting tidbit. this gal i dig wanted to hear the stereo, so, being the typical male i am (lol) i reconnected the negative to play it for a sec to show her how loud it was. well, popped it on, reconnected it, and the amp didnt turn on. weird. i checked the fuses on the amp and in the dblock and they looked ok, but who knows what the deal is. it was dusk so ill check in the morning to be certain. friday night looks to be the test and tune night for my stereo. ill mess a lil tomorrow, but i should have some hardcore data friday night/sat morning. any more tips/hints/help would be appreciated. thanks to those who have helped so far.
brian
BTW, mike are you on AIM?

 

take the 2nd battery out of there, and get out your multimeter. check to see what youve got on each battery lead with the car running. something is VERY wrong for that battery to be doing what it is.....
the solenoid is simple enough, apply power to the smaller terminals, and the solenoid activates, to effectively connect its larger 2 terminals together. if its wired correctly, you should hear it click.
tell ya what, i used to run a very similar setup, and if you could maybe draw the system wiring diagram in microsoft paint or something and send it to me, i can prolly help ya out.
jeremy

 

heres a link to a wiring diagram that my buddy greg (gbelli) on this board made:
www.dea.net/Brian-system.jpg
also, on optimas site, in the FAQ section it does say the battery will gas if it gets too hot, so whats happening is 'normal' for the battery when overheating and the intergrity of the battery (i think) has not been compromised. let em know what ya think.
brian