Just something I've seemed to notice is that when the battery is new the posts stay relatively clean. But it seems that soon after they start to corrode up, the battery dies. Can anyone else confirm or explain this? Reason I ask is I have a 60 month battery that hit 61 months and I just had to clean the pos post on it. As I'm not interested in being stranded, I'm wondering if I should just go ahead and replace it.

 

Corrosion of the battery terminals happens over time and does not have much to do with the condition of the battery.

If the battery is working OK (you can do a load test to make sure), I'd just clean the corrosion off of the terminals, make sure the connection is tight and put some corrosion inhibitor on the terminal posts. The best stuff is a red, waxy coating that just about any auto parts place has. It works well.

61 months of service out of a battery is quite good.

Lou Braun

 

5 yrs on that battery is great. suggest you replace it if you dont want to be stranded. the battery may last another 1 or 2 or 3 months, but will it last another 6 months? you may want to buy a battery post cleaner from walmart (about $2). i clean my battery post terminals at least once a year, and keep the post tops coated with grease to keep down the oxidation you mention.

 

I look at the bulge in the ends. A new battery will be flat(or so). The older the battery the more bulge it will have. It's the plates expanding because of a chemical process. The older the battery the bigger it will be. Then failure.