i knew that baking soda and water would clean acid off of
battery cable ends , but dont get it in the battery because the soda
will nutralize the acid and ruin the battery.... but today i just hung
the two battery cable ends into a cup of water and they were clean in
about an hour, i mean perfectly clean of acid.those felt washers really
help atot to keep acid off the cable ends so i figured i better use them
this time..i took the batteries out and hosed them off good ... it was
just a battery maintenance day..lucas

http://www.minibite.com/america/malone.htm

wrote:

i knew that baking soda and water would clean acid off of
battery cable ends , but dont get it in the battery because the soda
will nutralize the acid and ruin the battery.... but today i just hung
the two battery cable ends into a cup of water and they were clean in
about an hour, i mean perfectly clean of acid.those felt washers really
help atot to keep acid off the cable ends so i figured i better use them
this time..i took the batteries out and hosed them off good ... it was
just a battery maintenance day..lucas

http://www.minibite.com/america/malone.htm


Were you dealing with a side terminal battery with bolted in ends or a
top terminal battery with clamped on connectors? I can't say I'm
familiar with using those felt washers on side terminal connections.

Using Kopr-Shield (Made by Thomas and Betts) on the metal parts of the
cable ends, including the contacting surfaces, will retard corrosion
quite well.

I still have an 8 ounce can of Kopr-Shield which I got maybe 30 years
ago, and use it any time I'm making up an electrical connection in a
car, including smearing it on the bases of lamp bulbs.

The way it was explained to me is that it's a grease with very fine
copper powder mixed into it. When pressure is applied by its being
clamped between two metal surfaces the grease squeezes out of the way
and the copper powder "connects" the surfaces. But an unsqueezed "blob"
of it won't create a short if it spans two conductors at different
potentials. (I once proved that with my ohmmeter by measuring between
the metal can the stuff came in and a piece of bare wire placed in the
grease inside and found no significant resistance.)

The can is still about half full, and my gearhead son will probably
inherit what's left in it when I end up "on the wrong side of the
grass". G

Kopr-Shield is described he

http://tinyurl.com/2kb35s

Happy Holidays to All!

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.98*10^14 fathoms per fortnight.

On Sun, 18 Nov 2007 14:01:51 -0500, wrote:

i knew that baking soda and water would clean acid off of
battery cable ends , but dont get it in the battery because the soda
will nutralize the acid and ruin the battery.... but today i just hung
the two battery cable ends into a cup of water and they were clean in
about an hour, i mean perfectly clean of acid.those felt washers really
help atot to keep acid off the cable ends so i figured i better use them
this time..i took the batteries out and hosed them off good ... it was
just a battery maintenance day..lucas

*http://www.minibite.com/america/malone.htm

An old trick was to place a copper penny on top of the battery. It
attracted the corrosion away from the cable terminal. You just changed
the penny.

Another was to smear bearing grease (lightly coat) on the terminal.
Spray white lithium grease is another approach.

I understand the felt pads need to be replaced periodically as they
lose effectiveness.

IMO the soda and a water hose is fast and easy. Wet the battery good
and sprinkle the soda on and let set a moment and rinse wash with the
hose.