Should I clean car battery terminals? and if so how?
 

On Mar 22, 11:28*am, "Steve B" wrote:
"blueman" wrote in message

...

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?
- What is the best & also easiest/fastest way to do it?

Thanks

The fastest/easiest way is not the best. *Any soda pop can be drizzled on
there, and it will cause some of the corrosion to be dissolved. *But it does
not get down into the terminals.

To clean terminals, you need a battery brush.

http://www.amazon.com/Car-Automoble-.../dp/B000UEMNYM

You must remove the terminals, and you must use two wrenches, one on each
end of the bolt to keep from cracking off the whole terminal. *Also, if it
is severely corroded, you might break off the bolt. *Once the cable is off,
it can be cleaned with a battery brush until it is shiny. *Special grease
can be put on the terminals to keep corrosion down. *Treated felt pads can
then be put on the terminals before reinstalling the cables.

If you have green corrosion on your terminals, you are not far away from
hearing the click click rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Pouring Coca Cola on there might buy you a little time, but they need to be
cleaned RIGHT.

Steve

And be very sure to remove the ground terminal (black wire) first! If
you work on the positive terminal first, you run the risk of shorting
out if the wrench which is in contact with the terminal hits the
engine block or body or some other grounded piece of metal.

Paul