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Battery terminal corrosion

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Old Apr 26, 2015 | 02:04 AM
  #1  
phoskins's Avatar
phoskins
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Battery terminal corrosion

Just asking for any quick ideas you folks might have. My '94 4.0 OHV 2wd Automatic has always had a problem with corrosion on the positive battery terminal.
I know this can happen on any vehicle, but of all the vehicles I've known, this is by far the worst. I've tried coating the terminals but it doesn't help much.
 
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Old Apr 26, 2015 | 10:15 AM
  #2  
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Have the charging system checked to see if its properly operating, as if its over charging the battery it'll out gas more & cause cable clamp corrosion.
If your battery has caps, check each cell to make sure its properly topped up with Distilled water. While your at it with the cell caps off, check each cells specific gravity with your temperature compensated hydrometer, to see if one or more cells are wimpy & is down on charge. If more than one cell is down, it may be time to consider replacing that puppy before the summer heat finishes it off.
If the battery is 4-5 years old, its likely suffering from internal sulfation on the grids & that can cause more gassing & corrosion when it vents & also works the alternator, starter, fuel pump, ignition system harder, all a vicious circle.
Degrease the corroded clamp/s & use a commercial battery cleaner spray that changes color from bright red/pink, to yellow when it contacts acid, or baking soda dissolved in warm water in a cup & dunk the corroded clamp in the cleaner & let er foam until it stops. Repeat the process if all corrosion wasn't removed with the first treatment. Dunk all the way up to where the cable wire strands are attached to the clamp if they're visible & corroded too, so that area also gets cleaned.
Then rinse in fresh water & dry with a heat gun on low, or a hair dryer. Clean the clamp post contact area & battery post so that they are bright & No corrosion is seen. Fasten the cable to the post & coat all surfaces with a protector that'll hold up to under hood heat, like CRC or NOCO battery spray protector, or cleaner products.
Some thoughts for consideration, let us know how it goes.
 
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Old Apr 27, 2015 | 10:05 PM
  #3  
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Hank85713
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From: Tucson USA
couple pf things you can do. 1 is to seal the terminal with RTV/silicone this is something that will help keep the fumes in the battery. 2. you can add some mineral oil to the cells to keep the water from evaporating as fast and this should help with the corrosion issue.
Lastly once clean apply some of the corrosion spray stuff, but everything will need to be clean 1st.
 
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Old Apr 27, 2015 | 10:38 PM
  #4  
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I have actually gotten a battery warrantied for corroding the terminals badly it cost me 0 dollars. Some brands are worse than others. It Is worth a try.
 
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