Battery Corrosion

[spf182]

Hi - My battery has a nice golf ball sized packing of that flaky white corrosion on the positive terminal. I know this is probably pretty common but I have never had it on this car in the 8+ years I've owned it (last battery change was about 2.5 years ago).

Does anybody know the mechanics of what causes this? Is it something I should try to prevent?

 

[quicktruck]

I use baking soda and water to wash off the corrosion. I coat the terminals with grease or I have even painted the top of the post. Seems to help. Not sure as to why it happens.

 

[Kestas]

It's the sulfuric acid in the battery that causes it. Though batteries nowadays may be called "sealed", there is still some vapor that escapes the battery. That's why you not only get corrosion on the battery terminals, but all the exposed metal around the battery gets affected.

 

[johnd]

I used to keep my battery terminals shipshape by dripping oil off the dipstick on them every time I checked the oil. Since I started using those little treated felt washers I don't have any corrosion problems anymore and I don't do anything. That is the low maintenance way to go.

 

[1sttruck]

Clean everything with some baking soda solution, and rinse it well.

Put an anti-corrosion felt washer under each terminal.

Lightly grease the terminlas and cable ends.

Clean the vent cap if you have one, making sure that it vents properly.

Keep the battery acid level topped with distilled water.

Replace the battery if it keeps bubbling acid out.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

1st truck, if you're bubblin acid up through the post, it's done, right?

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

As in, risking maybe a hydrogen blow-up under the hood, soemthing juicy like that?

 

[Dave Hess]

I notice that the ash on my battery is blue.

Why is that ??

 

[Kestas]

Are the terminals brass? Copper corrosion products often appear green (or blue).

 

[bdcardinal]

Quote:

---

Clean everything with some baking soda solution, and rinse it well.

Put an anti-corrosion felt washer under each terminal.

Lightly grease the terminlas and cable ends.

Clean the vent cap if you have one, making sure that it vents properly.

Keep the battery acid level topped with distilled water.

Replace the battery if it keeps bubbling acid out.

---

good advice except for adding water. the batteries my company sells are maintainence free. if we see signs of a customer topping off the acid, the warrenty is completely voided. actually if we can tell the caps have been taken off, the warrenty is void.

 

[boxcartommie22]

gotta love those optima's no worries here about acid getting all over your wires etc.

 

[andyd]

good advice except for adding water. the batteries my company sells are maintainence free. if we see signs of a customer topping off the acid, the warrenty is completely voided. actually if we can tell the caps have been taken off, the warrenty is void.

---

another fine print taketh away situation. That strikes me as cheesey. What if the owner was merely checking the electrolyte level? If it voids the warranty to remove the caps, then why are the caps removable?

 

[brianl703]

If the battery were really "maintenance free", you wouldn't be able to remove the caps at all.

 

[tom slick]

if you want to avoid water then use household ammonia. it sounds strange but it works well. that tip was given to me by my forklift mechanic who maintains $5000+ batteries.

I just buy the $2.99 of spray on battery corrosion remover. it goes on yellow and turns purple when it hits acid. that's very useful when making sure that you have removed all of the acid.

 

[bdcardinal]

dont know why they are removable, JC has never given me a straight answer.

 

[Cutehumor]

my dad's 03 nissan sentra had major battery corrosion problems. I put some battery terminal gel on those things and haven't had any corrosion come back in almost a year.