Melted trolling motor battery casing. Safe to use?

[YakMonkey]

I picked up a used old trolling motor battery from SL member yesterday. I tested the voltage at the spot, and it looked like everything is fine. I came home and found the melted spot under the washer.

Is this safe to use? I don't want any fire on the water.




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[YakMonkey]

Can I replace the screw with the new terminal post/stud? Also, I'm planning to add a 50a circuit breaker just in case.


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[Oldbayrunner]

What type of battery, sla or lithium? Looks to me like someone cross short circuited it which is never a good thing. If it's a lithium battery voltage testing is worthless since the voltage with lithium remains constant until almost depleted, so it would be better to check it with an ampmeter. Also if it is lithium I would be concerned with it holding up over time due to possible pcm or bms damage from that appearing to be short circuit. I have been using Lifepo4 lithium for over 7 years so I am pretty well versed on them.

If it's an sla then there could be some cell damage and the voltage will drop more rapidly then normal or it wont hold a charge when not in use is another indication.

[YakMonkey]

What type of battery, sla or lithium? Looks to me like someone cross short circuited it which is never a good thing. If it's a lithium battery voltage testing is worthless since the voltage with lithium remains constant until almost depleted, so it would be better to check it with an ampmeter. Also if it is lithium I would be concerned with it holding up over time due to possible pcm or bms damage from that appearing to be short circuit. I have been using Lifepo4 lithium for over 7 years so I am pretty well versed on them.

If it's an sla then there could be some cell damage and the voltage will drop more rapidly then normal or it wont hold a charge when not in use is another indication.

It is a LiFePO4 battery. He said it is just a cosmetic. What I am looking for on ampmeter?


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[Oldbayrunner]

When you see melted plastic that is not cosmetic, as long as it is holding a charge and the bms system is allowing the cells to charge/discharge evenly you should be ok. The battery capacity meter I use to monitor my battery state is fairly expensive but it also is bluetooth so I can check everything via my phone. A not so expensive one that doesn't provide as much information but you would be able to tell your batter status is this one. It does have to be set up for use with a lithium battery vs sla which is the default.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088RG27LS...v_ov_lig_pi_dp