On Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:14:24 -0400, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

Yes, I think it's a good idea to clean. I've seen top post
and side post terminals. Most cars, the red / positive is
the "hot" terminal. So, it's common advice to remove the
black terminal first. Less likely to throw sparks when your
wrench bumps some other metal. As to cleaning, a wire brush
is the common way. Rinse with water, let it dry or dab it
dry with the paper napkins you get from the drive up food
place. Put a bunch of axle grease on, and put the terminals
back on (red first, black second). Now, rest your radio
clock and station presets.

And sometimes the car won't run as well for a while after
disconnecting the battery. For me, that's about 5 seconds, but the
manual makes it sound like it could take an hour to get back to
normal.

--
Christopher A. Young