Howdy Juan,

Lets assume that the battery was not shorting internally (a possibility). If
your Weekender has a "House" and a "Starting" battery with an Isolater
circuit, the Isolator or the voltage regulator may have failed. Check the
functioning of the regulator first, then the Isolator. I would take it to a
pro because exploding boxes of sulfuric acid can mess up a childs whole day.

Good Luck,
Mel Miller
Corpus Christi, TX
361-937-3317
M725

> From: Martinez <mart1nez@PACBELL.NET>
> Reply-To: Martinez <mart1nez@PACBELL.NET>
> Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2003 20:34:35 -0700
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: fuming battery
>
> Took my new (to me) 85 Vanagon Weekender (no fridge) for a short tune-up
> camping trip over the weekend.  Left the San Francisco bay area on a Friday
> around 3:00 PM - not early enough, soon found myself in stop and go traffic
> as I worked my way north.  About an hour and a half into the trip (60 miles,
> the longest and farthest I've driven this van)  my daughter asks me why
> smoke is coming from behind my seat - now I've taught her to be more
> respectful than that so I knew there was trouble.  Sure enough, the battery
> was very hot and venting steam.  The battery was one of those maintenance
> free die-hards.  Checked all the leads and made sure nothing was shorting
> the terminals together and started down the road and it happened again.
>
> I pulled into a handy FLAPS and replaced the battery and completed my trip
> uneventfully.
>
> So my question are:
>
> Could it really have been a bad battery (I've never seen one fail like
> that)?
>
> My bus has two batteries (the smoker was under the drivers side) does that
> info help in the post-mortem?  Which is the main and which the auxiliary?
>
> Could I have done damage just running on the battery below the passenger
> seat?
>
> Can I use just a simple amp meter to check the output from my alternator?
> (The manual speaks of some fancy test set)
>
> Any words of wisdom clues as to what to check?
>
> I'm trying to convince my wife this Vanagon can be her daily driver (so I
> can keep my '70 bay westy) so I need to make it dependable and inspire some
> confidence in her (the van not the wife)
>
> Thanks for your time,
>
> Juan
>