blueman wrote:
aemeijers writes:

mm wrote:
On Sun, 21 Mar 2010 22:54:29 -0400, blueman wrote:

Perhaps not technically home repair but my car is like an extension of
my home...

Anyway, I noticed that there is a lot of "crud" (grainy white/green
stuff - looks like dried toothpaste) on the positive (red) terminal of
my car battery.

Car otherwise works & looks fine.

Question:
- Is it important to clean the crud off?
Yes, if there's enough I believe it conducts electricity and will
slowly drain your battery. Or maybe even quickly at some point.

- What is the best & also easiest/fastest way to do it?
I pour 5 or 10 heaping tablespoon's worth, I'm guessing, of baking
soda from the box on to the top of the battery and then pour water,
usually warm water from a tea-kettle, on top of that, slowly to not
wash it off before it neutralizes the acid. When it stops bubbling,
it's done, and I wash the rest off with the rest of the tea-kettle.

HR Bob's is the correct method but you asked for easiest/fastest, and
as far as I know, mine works just as well. Maybe the other method is
meant for shops which will keep a bottle of solution around to do more
than one car.

Thanks
That is a good first step, if you have baking soda around, and reduces
the chances of trashing your favorite shirt. But you STILL need to
take the connections loose and clean the terminals.

-Is it recommended to also completely remove the battery from the car or
is it enough to remove the connections and do it in place?

Take a flashlight and look down alongside the battery, and see if the
tray is painted metal or plastic covered. If painted metal, and you see
rust when you peek down there, good idea to pull the battery and repair
as needed. (paint, reinforcement, etc.) It can ruin your whole day if
you are driving down a bumpy road, and the rusty hold-down bolt breaks,
and the battery bounces and shorts out against the inside of the hood. BTDT.

Yes, I grew up driving junk. (Why do you ask?) But on a young car,
cleaning in place is usually fine.

--
aem sends...