Battery Terminal Corrosion Prevention
 

What works best to clean corroded automobile battery terminals and
more importantly to prevent future corrosion?

Sherman wrote:
What works best to clean corroded automobile battery terminals and
more importantly to prevent future corrosion?






Baking soda w/ water and a scrub with a wire brush. Don't allow the
cleaner to get inside the battery. Polyurethane on the posts or even
petroleum jelly will deter corrosion. An old trick is to lay a penny
next to the terminal. It will corrode instead.

"Sherman" wrote in message
...

What works best to clean corroded automobile battery terminals and
more importantly to prevent future corrosion?


This is Turtle.

Pour Diet Dr. Pepper on terminals and watch it burn off. Pour it on the terminal
3 or 4 times and rinse good with water. then let dry and put Vasiline Jelly on
it to prevent it again.

TURTLE

P.S. Any carbonated water drink will work.

TURTLE wrote:
"Sherman" wrote in message
...

What works best to clean corroded automobile battery terminals and
more importantly to prevent future corrosion?



This is Turtle.

Pour Diet Dr. Pepper on terminals and watch it burn off. Pour it on the terminal
3 or 4 times and rinse good with water. then let dry and put Vasiline Jelly on
it to prevent it again.

TURTLE

P.S. Any carbonated water drink will work.



That's because they contain phosphoric acid. Now you know why you're
teeth look so bad. ;-)

"G Henslee" wrote in message
...
Sherman wrote:
What works best to clean corroded automobile battery terminals and
more importantly to prevent future corrosion?






Baking soda w/ water and a scrub with a wire brush. Don't allow the
cleaner to get inside the battery. Polyurethane on the posts or even
petroleum jelly will deter corrosion. An old trick is to lay a penny
next to the terminal. It will corrode instead.




Awww geez what did those people ever do to you to give silly advice like
that ?


To the OP

Newer batteries don't usually gas enough to cause serious corrosion unless
there is a battery or charging system problem
particularly if your application uses side terminals.

brush off as much of the corrosion as possible THEN
Loosen the nuts, and carefully remove the terminals and make sure to clean
the post and inside of the terminal until it's shiny reattach the cable and
get the battery and charging system checked.

Just flush the outside of the battery with regular water to remove as much
acid as possible.

Using alkali's like baking soda will rot out your battery tray, hold-downs,
or fender faster than the battery acid.

And keep your pennies in your pocket, or give it to a charity as it won't
make any difference to acid.


AMUN

In article , Sherman wrote:

What works best to clean corroded automobile battery terminals and
more importantly to prevent future corrosion?

Remove terminals from battery and clean thoroughly with a wire brush to remove
all deposits and corrosion. Liberally coat all terminal and post surfaces with
anti-oxidant compound (OxGard, found in the electrical department at most home
centers and hardware stores, works great). Reassemble.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter
by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com
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"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...
In article , Sherman
wrote:

What works best to clean corroded automobile battery terminals and
more importantly to prevent future corrosion?

Remove terminals from battery and clean thoroughly with a wire brush to
remove
all deposits and corrosion. Liberally coat all terminal and post surfaces
with
anti-oxidant compound (OxGard, found in the electrical department at most
home
centers and hardware stores, works great). Reassemble.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter
by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com
You must use your REAL email address to get a response.



I suggest you go to the auto parts store and get a battery terminal cleaner.
They are easier to use than a wire brush. As for the anti-oxidant stuff
they sell for inflated prices I have found that Vaseline works better.

I don't think I've ever read it anywhere but I suspect that the gooey stuff
that forms on top of storage batteries eventually will become conductive and
form a path between the terminals. This may only be my paranoia but I
always keep my battery tops clean just in case.

In article , "Ulysses" wrote:
I suggest you go to the auto parts store and get a battery terminal cleaner.
They are easier to use than a wire brush. As for the anti-oxidant stuff
they sell for inflated prices I have found that Vaseline works better.

Ummmm.... Vaseline is an electrical insulator. If you apply it between the
terminal and the post -- which is where you *really* need corrosion prevention
-- it ain't gonna work. OxGard, on the other hand, is conductive, and can be
applied where it's needed the most.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Doug Miller wrote:
In article , "Ulysses" wrote:

I suggest you go to the auto parts store and get a battery terminal cleaner.
They are easier to use than a wire brush. As for the anti-oxidant stuff
they sell for inflated prices I have found that Vaseline works better.


Ummmm.... Vaseline is an electrical insulator. If you apply it between the
terminal and the post -- which is where you *really* need corrosion prevention
-- it ain't gonna work. OxGard, on the other hand, is conductive, and can be
applied where it's needed the most.


How come there is so much corrosion between the
terminal and the post? In most cases they are the
same material (lead), so the corrosion isn't
caused by dissimilar materials.

I like what another person wrote--new batteries
don't have much corrosion. So what does that tell
you? Maybe cleanliness is a deterrent and that
corrosive gas or corrosive liquids are a problem?

In my experience, covering the whole connection
with some type of material is what prevents
corrosion on older batteries. As for vaseline--it
works. And if you put a light coat on the
connections surfaces, it still works because it is
thin and squeezes out so you get a good electrical
connection. But, I prefer to have the connection
clean, make the connection and tighten, then rub
in whatever you want, and vaseline is just fine,
but I think a heavy grease works better. Lasts
for several years. Best bet is a good battery and
charger so you don't get any spewing of corrosive
materials.

George E. Cawthon wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:

In article , "Ulysses"
wrote:

I suggest you go to the auto parts store and get a battery terminal
cleaner.
They are easier to use than a wire brush. As for the anti-oxidant stuff
they sell for inflated prices I have found that Vaseline works better.



Ummmm.... Vaseline is an electrical insulator. If you apply it between
the terminal and the post -- which is where you *really* need
corrosion prevention -- it ain't gonna work. OxGard, on the other
hand, is conductive, and can be applied where it's needed the most.


How come there is so much corrosion between the terminal and the post?
In most cases they are the same material (lead), so the corrosion isn't
caused by dissimilar materials.

I like what another person wrote--new batteries don't have much
corrosion. So what does that tell you? Maybe cleanliness is a
deterrent and that corrosive gas or corrosive liquids are a problem?

In my experience, covering the whole connection with some type of
material is what prevents corrosion on older batteries. As for
vaseline--it works. And if you put a light coat on the connections
surfaces, it still works because it is thin and squeezes out so you get
a good electrical connection. But, I prefer to have the connection
clean, make the connection and tighten, then rub in whatever you want,
and vaseline is just fine, but I think a heavy grease works better.
Lasts for several years. Best bet is a good battery and charger so you
don't get any spewing of corrosive materials.

I've preferred Kopr-Shield for about 40 years. It used to be available
only through electrical supply houses, but small bottles of have made
their way into the auto supply stores now;

http://autos.idg-usa.com/25002.html

AFAIK It's a light grease loaded with finely divided copper powder which
both prevents corrosion and fills up the microscopic roughness on the
surfaces of the mating parts, increasing the amount of contacting metal.

Jeff

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented."

In article , "George E. Cawthon" wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In article , "Ulysses"
wrote:

I suggest you go to the auto parts store and get a battery terminal cleaner.
They are easier to use than a wire brush. As for the anti-oxidant stuff
they sell for inflated prices I have found that Vaseline works better.


Ummmm.... Vaseline is an electrical insulator. If you apply it between the
terminal and the post -- which is where you *really* need corrosion
prevention
-- it ain't gonna work. OxGard, on the other hand, is conductive, and can be
applied where it's needed the most.


How come there is so much corrosion between the
terminal and the post? In most cases they are the
same material (lead), so the corrosion isn't
caused by dissimilar materials.

I like what another person wrote--new batteries
don't have much corrosion. So what does that tell
you? Maybe cleanliness is a deterrent and that
corrosive gas or corrosive liquids are a problem?

Precisely.

In my experience, covering the whole connection
with some type of material is what prevents
corrosion on older batteries.

As long as the connection stays tight. And if it doesn't, well, that's why you
should put OxGard in between the post and terminal.

As for vaseline--it works.

Not if you put it between the post and terminal... :-)


--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

"Sherman" wrote in message
...

What works best to clean corroded automobile battery terminals and
more importantly to prevent future corrosion?






I've always just cleaned them (already described above) and then a thin
coating of non-conductive grease (basically just about any grease!).
No worries at all. Learned this when I worked in the mechanics shop years
ago.
Cheers,
cc

just a safety note-if you use a wire brush to clean post or terminals, be
really careful when brushing. The metal fragments can fly into your eyes.
"Sherman" wrote in message
...

What works best to clean corroded automobile battery terminals and
more importantly to prevent future corrosion?