Why is one of my battery terminals perpetually snowed over with corrosion?

[dug777]

Car: http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/dug777/323.JPG

Garage had to replace the hoop that goes over one of the terminals last service it was so corroded.

Looks like the abominable snowman again now.

EDIT: Should mention that I've got no starting, idle or running problems.

 

[herm0016]

it is on the positive or negative terminal? It could be causing problems with electrical systems, draining current from the battery to anything that is also touching the corrosion.

 

[bruceb]

You need to do some preventive maintenance to keep that from happening again.
Clean the terminals with Baking Soda & water throughly. Then use a terminal cleaner,
which will scrap the posts & also cleans the inside of the terminal lug. Then before you
reconnect the wires, get those Red & Green anti corrode washers at an auto parts store.
They really do help. When you put the lugs back on, make sure they are well tightened.
And put a dab of grease over the lug after they are installed. Check the cables for internal
corrosion and high ohmage and replace if needed.

 

[Squisher]

Originally posted by: bruceb
You need to do some preventive maintenance to keep that from happening again.
Clean the terminals with Baking Soda & water throughly. Then use a terminal cleaner,
which will scrap the posts & also cleans the inside of the terminal lug. Then before you
reconnect the wires, get those Red & Green anti corrode washers at an auto parts store.
They really do help. When you put the lugs back on, make sure they are well tightened.
And put a dab of grease over the lug after they are installed. Check the cables for internal
corrosion and high ohmage and replace if needed.

:thumbsup:

I know they make a special spray grease just for battery terminals. Regular grease is probably just as good and I'm probably wasting my money, but maybe they endow this grease with some special magic that keeps the fuzzies away.

 

[mooseracing]

Your battery is venting and leaking acid at the terminal, it will slowly fall off, if you wait that long. Just clean it with backing soda and use some of the cloth washers.

And unless you have access to a lug cleaner with the straight blades in it that cuts the terminals round the others just rough it up and remove the surface oxidation.

The special grease is usually just dielectric grease, but it is a grease that prohibits flow of the juice, so I would be careful using too much. I've seen it disable vehicles.

 

[marincounty]

I just use petroleum jelly after I clean the terminals. Works fine.

 

[OdiN]

Yeah I use those felt washers from AutoZone for the terminals. The ones I get come with the grease for the terminals.

But yeah you need a terminal cleaner to really clean the terminals good.