The physical and electrical condition of electrochemical cells of a batterys monitored on a continuous basis so that corrective action can be taken before explosion and/or venting occurs by a method including the steps of:(A) coating the electrically conductive shell of each cell of the battery with a thin non electrically conductive layer,(B) applying a sensor stripe over the non electrically conductive layer so that the sensor stripe does not make electrical contact to the shell of the cell,(C) connecting leads to the sensor and then coating the sensor with a protective layer, and(D) connecting the sensor leads of individual cells of the battery into an electrical series circuit, the remaining leads of the series sensor circuit being connected to an alarm/control network that monitors the conductivity of the series electrical path.