I had a short in my electrical system that damaged my battery. I was hoping to be able to wait till payday to replace it as the amount i already spent on my car has me broke, but now my battery is smoking a bit and smelline. When the car is running i can see something bubbling on the side of the battery. Payday is still 4 days away but I don't want to do further damage to my car or do something truly dangerous?

 

Yes, truly dangerous; period, full stop, the end.

When batteries are damaged to the point where they exhibit the symptoms of yours, they are H-I-G-H-L-Y likely to explode and spray battery acid all over; if the hood is closed the cleanup mess is bad enough, but if the hood is open and a person or animal is anywhere near the car they could be injured or even killed.

 

Was the short diagnosed by a shop or is this your best guess on what happened previously? Can you share more details? Has the short been resolved? A smoking, smelling and bubbling battery doesn't sound good and if the physical integrity of the battery becomes compromised, you are going to have quite the dangerous mess.. This is my guess based on the limited info you have presented so far - some of the internal cells in your battery have been damaged and while driving the alternator is doing it's job by recharging the battery. The battery having been damaged can no longer handle or support the recharge voltage and is being "cooked" or overcharged in its damaged state. I know you said you are tight on funds, but I would want to get a new battery as soon as possible - that is assuming that electrical system short has been fixed. Go to your local AutoZone and they can perform a free electrical system check for you.

 

Get a new damn battery

 

Best case, the battery continues to boil and ends up spraying acid everywhere under the hood. That will be a mess to clean up and things under the hood will never be the same visually.

Worst case, the battery continues to boil, releasing Hydrogen, and then explodes or catches fire. The car itself will never be the same visually...or electrically....or mechanically.

Don't ignore electrical issues...they will always win when being ignored.

 

Dying to hear the back story on this one. Sub'd....

Dude, you're 51 and living paycheck to paycheck with no available credit on a credit card?

Borrow money from someone
Get a PayDay loan
Pawn something for 5 days...

But DO NOT put a key in your ignition until you get that fixed!!!!

You have a very serious situation. There's an extreme hazard to anyone who replaces that battery. I'm not sure a shop will do it. You better call ahead. One spark when the cables are removed from the battery and it could be instant death. Really...

 

Years ago I was tooling down the NJ Turnpike in my 1995 Passat GLX; after a couple of hours of driving on a very hot day I got off the highway near my destination and stopped off to fetch a few bottles of wine for the host of the party I was heading to. When I got back in the car I turned the key I heard a loud "POP!", and then everything in the car went dead.

When I opened the hood the sight wasn't pretty; had the hood been open and someone near the car, the result wouldn't have been pleasant.

 

Don't judge man....Sadly lots of people are in this boat. It really isn't difficult to get yourself into this situation...especially the last several years where the economy and job market have been all over the place. I have friends/family who went from being fairly comfy...to being pretty close to this. A divorce, a few kids, a lost job, and a few bad decisions can tank just about anyone.

 

If OP doesn't come back, we'll know why...