I noticed quite a bit of corrosion has recently formed on the negative post of my battery. I have a gut feeling it was caused by water that must have settled there unnoticed after I did my first engine wash ever at a coin car wash place 2 or 3 weeks ago.

So here's my questions....

1- what is the best way to clean the cable and battery post?
2- what is the best way to keep the corrosion from coming back?
3- when I remove the negative cable, will I suffer any problems to anything important? I realize I'll have to reset the clock and radio pre-sets, but will anything else be affected, i.e. TPS system, etc?

I know this is pretty simple stuff, but I want to go into the clean-up knowing all I should.

Thanks in advance for any advice offered.

 

midnightman,


I had my battery go dead and the only thing I had to reset was the radio stations and the clock. I did see one post where some said that their TMPS had to be reactivated when they took their battery out for 30 mins, but that doesn't sound normal to me. If you are worried there is a backup battery you can buy that plugs into the the cigarette lighter to maintain your electronic memory.

To clean the contact I recommend using warm water and baking soda. Add as much soda as possible until you can't get anymore into solution. Then clean the post and terminal, be sure to rinse it throughly.

Once you get it back together coat the terminals with Vaseline. The Vaseline will seal out the batter vapors and keep the terminal clean.

Since you're see the corrosion I am guessing your battery has a cell dying causing the other to boil hotter thus creating more acid vapors. I would suspect you will be replacing the battery before too long. When you do replace the battery don't buy a cheep one

 

Also, a pair of those chemically treated red and green felt pads placed under the terminals help a whole lot. You can find them anywhere. (Wally World Auto parts store etc...)

 

Okay, I cleaned up almost all of the offending corrosion and all seems good.

The funny thing is that the only affected aspect of the electrical system disconnect was having to reset the clock. Even the radio pre-sets stayed intact.

 

add some Silicone Dieelectric compound to the posts, you will never have corrosion or poor contact again.
stuff comes in tube at automotive stores (about $6.00) and used in electrical connections during assembly to rpvent corrosion