Car: Mk1 Fabia VRS

 

I had to cut off the clamp and captive bolt which secures the battery in place on on the battery tray, because it has rusted solid. Just to show what I'm talking about, this part:

 

https://www.skoda-parts.com/spare-part/1j0803219-battery-strap-skoda-8376.html

 

Has anyone successfully managed to fit a less stupid battery retaining solution on theirs? I say stupid because I had the exactly the same problem on an old Corsa which used the same type of 'foot clamp'. Something like this:

 

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/battery-accessories/halfords-battery-clamp-165407.html

It's not a captive bolt, its just a bolt, if you use an anti-seize compound on the bolt threads it will never cause you an issue again.

The battery appeared to have been leaking some yellow foamy substance, and some of this had got onto the clamp and bolt, turning them both into barely recognisable lumps of corrosion. I'm not sure anti sieze would have helped much there. It just seems like a vulnerable position to put something you might want to undo after this situation.

 Only thing leaking from battery would be Sulphuric acid. H2SO4, which would have reacted with the iron clamp to form Ferric Sulphide. I'd have tried the antidote to acid ,something like an alkili, e.g. caustic soda etc on the bolt to try and reverse the reaction. Seems strange that the old trick of using vaseline on around any battery terminals /clamps has fallen by the wayside.

OK well just in case anyone is curious a so called 'universal' battery clamp like the one I linked to above won't work because of the plastic battery lid/busbar housing being in the way. I ended up fixing the original clamp back on with a new bolt. Let's hope the same thing doesn't happen to this one.

@bTCole 

On 06/06/2020 at 21:17, bTCole said:

The battery appeared to have been leaking some yellow foamy substance

Were you undoing the clamp in order to replace this battery? Hopefully, because that yellow foamy stuff is sulphuric acid, and it should be contained within the battery. It's highly corrosive and dangerous to touch.  There's actually a rubber drainage pipe connected to the bottom of the battery tray that is supposed to help any such fluid escape, away from metalwork onto the ground. It may be that your entry-point to this pipe is clogged up and so the 'fail-safe' drain wasn't able to do its job.

 

Here's a photo of the far end of that pipe on a Polo, hanging in front of the screenwash reservoir:

Edited 22 June, 20205 yr by Wino
Image added

I thought most batteries sold now are of the sealed type ,i.e no access to the inside liquid, and the battery could be put in any position without loss of fluid.I could be wrong.Perhaps there are still manufactures  making cheap versions with the 6 screw  caps to add distilled water?Are you sure there isn't a small crack in the battery casing?

Andy- that 's my opinion from a lot of years looking after battery rooms and a lot of years driving older cars . That's why I suggested an alkali applied to the bar to try and reduce the PH level to normal. But from years of experience with overalls with holes ( courtesy of H2SO4) , ACID BURNS ARE NASTY.