Car Battery Acid

[Fender1325]

Wifes 07 toyata yaris consistently has battery acid corrosion forming on her battery terminals.

Car cranks and runs great. Battery is 07/13. I just hit it with battery acid neutralizing spray and a wire brush about once a month, but it is getting a little ridiculous, isn't that?

Thoughts......

 

[pacemade]

Clean the terminals and check the cables, sometimes bad connections or resistance can cause corrosion, usually its the battery. Even if the battery is working now it will eventually lose it capacitance.

 

[pacemade]

Try not to spark near the top, battery waste (not the corrosion, the gases emitted) can be combustive.

 

[Wakefield]

Sometimes a battery is venting excessively or has a bad seal near a terminal.
Also could be higher than proper regulated system voltage boiling the battery.

 

[Karl_B]

I've come to view excessive off gassing as a sign that the battery is failing. I have a nice little Solar BA7 I use for quick checks on batteries, but you can also test with a voltmeter and check for voltage drop while cranking or see if it discharges excessively overnight.

 

[rlitman]

Sometimes a battery is venting excessively or has a bad seal near a terminal.
Also could be higher than proper regulated system voltage boiling the battery.

Could be. Most often, the post seal is what fails. The post is supposed to be sealed with epoxy into the case, but that leaks gases.

Spraying with cleaner is step 1.
Step 2 (and just as important), is treating with a sealer.

 

[pacemade]

Wakefield is right, excessive charging can cause corrosion. Try checking the voltage while the cars running. You don't want to go over 14.5v, have someone turn the lights, heater etc. on then off and see how the alternator is responding.

 

[Gogo300]

Clean the terminals and coat with Vaseline. Never had a problem since I started doing this.

 

[T_Roze]

Clean, and coat with Fluid Film. Works like a charm.

As others have said, check the charging system.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Fender1325]

noted - thanks guys

 

[lilredex]

Get some felt battery washers, soak them with oil and grease the cable ends.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...-ac619/10200599-P?zoneAssigned=1&prefZC=14202

 

[Richard Cranium]

I have seen people put grease over their terminals, Any thing that keeps the air off of them works.

 

[jkwilson]

Probably one of two things. Either there is a problem with the charging system, battery or cables, or somebody got torque happy and broke the seal between the battery case and the posts.

 

[Vantastic]

Your car is probably going to explode from all the acid. You should trade it in before you get hurt.

 

[kblee27]

Clean up and greased the seal around the battery post.

I use noco battery grease, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004AWO4NI/?tag=atomicindus08-20
and sometimes Fluid Film.

 

[Buster21]

All three of my Toyotas have the same problem. Remove the terminals and clean them with baking soda and a battery brush. Then apply the felt battery protector pads under the cables. End of problem.

 

[djjsr]

I've had 13 Toyotas. Almost all of them had corrosion problems either on the terminals or on the battery hold-down bar. You can clean off the top of the battery about once a week and spray some of that red stuff on the terminals but it probably will only be a temporary fix. The only sure fire cure I've found is to replace the battery with a sealed one. Toyota is STILL using batteries with caps, and they leak acid around the caps, unless you always drive on roads that are very smooth.

 

[four.cycle]

Any thing that keeps the air off of them works.

^ this.

Okay.... I sold every damn widget and gizmo and chemical you can name to "prevent" corrosion on and around battery terminals.
We had the felt washers, we had the aerosol "battery protector" spray, we had the "battery protector" grease, yada yada yada.....
Old school guys used to spray #97 Permatex "Hi-Tack" on the terminals. That works, but it makes a sticky mess.

Most of the suggestions above do that one all-important thing: they keep the atmosphere away from the metal on the battery terminal and the cable lug.

Step 1: remove battery cable from terminal.
Step 2: thoroughly clean both battery terminal and cable lug with wire brush/sandpaper/emery cloth/pocket knife/whatever. get it clean.
Step 3: re-attach cable to battery terminal.
Step 4: apply any substance or compound that will prevent air from getting to the battery terminal: clear Krylon, hairspray, Permatex "Hi-Tack", spray paint, whatever you got. aerosol usually works best, but mask off so you don't have **** spraying everywhere.

Every auto parts store has a whole rack of ******** they sell to do this job. Any kind of dope you can paint on will work and will cost a lot less and work better.

Okay... all that said: with a later-model car like that (which presumably has a "sealed" battery) it sounds like there might be other issues. Possibly a minute crack around the terminal allowing the gas to escape, or an over-charge condition.
Check both.

* oh.. and by the way: best cheap-*** battery terminal cleaner: Coca-Cola.

 

[Bondo]

Step 4: apply any substance or compound that will prevent air from getting to the battery terminal: clear Krylon, hairspray, Permatex "Hi-Tack", spray paint, whatever you got. aerosol usually works best, but mask off so you don't have **** spraying everywhere.

Ayuh,.... When workin' on a vehicle, 'bout any vehicle, there's a grease gun within reach,...

I've been slatherin' plain ole axle grease on battery terminals for 4 decades,...

Never, Ever had a corrosion issue with a well greased terminal,....

On boats, I grease any wirin' connections that might possibly see water/ corrosion as well as the battery connections,...

 

[shockwave]

I would clean off really good and check battery aswell since you don't want to have her stranded anywhere

Try crc battery cleaner it works great and the then glue pennies on top of battery in between post the pennies will take the remaining corrosion

 

[Doug Arthurs]

I was wondering when the penny trick would pop up. Use to do that on my 76 Plymouth Fury.

 

[md21722]

In every vehicle with a battery corrosion problem that I've ever owned, the vehicle normally started and charged correctly. Replacing the battery always fixed the issue. Last one had a bad battery, went dead, Auto Zone tested it and gave me a new one. When I said I was surprised it didn't last, they said if you maintained it likely would have.. and I replied I've never had a corrosion problem when the battery was good.

 

[gungatim]

does it have those crappy strap type cable clamps? I've found those don't ever seem to fit well and stay tight. may be worth cutting them off and putting real lead terminals on (had to do that with my daughters vw), then going with some of the suggestions above. I've used the permatex high-tack but it's too expensive now to waste on a battery, so I just use grease...

 

[wayne55]

Had the problem on the positive post only. Tried everything and would not stop corrosion. Finally I took some clear epoxy and put around battery post. That fixed that but battery died shortly after anyway. Even though I could not see anything, there had to be a leak of gas around pos. post causing original problem just as someone above stated.

 

[four.cycle]

"...plain ole axle grease..."

again, anything that keeps the air away from the connection will work.
axle grease, Vaseline (I believe was mentioned up-thread), lipstick, candle wax, ad nauseum.

just don't use aerosol K&W "Copper Coat" gasket adhesive.

 

[anndel]

Clean it good, use grease, vaseline or a battery terminal spray coating. It happens all the time to my 3 vehicles and stopped when I cleaned and sprayed them.

 

[padronanniversary]

I always use a can of Diet Coke. works great cleaning it. I've moved from generic Walmart Vaseline to fluid film on my new trucks. been doing this for decades when I first get the vehicle, and 4-5 years later when I need to replace battery terminals have always been clean

 

[brook41]

Noco makes a kit they carry it at Walmart P/N MC101, it costs a little under $4. It contains two felt washers that fit over the terminals,they provide a barrier against acid fumes that seep through improperly sealed batteries. The kit also contains a spray on corrosion inhibitor that protects the cable connectors.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/NOCO-Battery-Treatment-Kit/16213366
I had a similar situation on my 2006 Milan, the washers and inhibitor kept my terminals clean for 3 years until I sold it. Also if you don't feel comfortable disconecting your battery the felt washers can be cut.

 

[Dave455]

A friend had a similar problem on a Toyota Celica. Was a right mess, and still don't really know why! It had the crappiest ever battery terminal clips, looked like they were made of 1/2 inch strips of tin!

For openers I cut 'em off, then replaced 'em with regular terminal clamps, then covered them in petroleum jelly/Vaseline as usual.

No further issues!

 

[ttpete]

The strap type terminals work just fine if they're not abused. When I sold my 12 year old Ford truck, they were original and still in good shape. If you have a bad cable end, replace the cable if you don't have the proper crimping tool to replace the cable end. The cable ends that use a cable clamp with 2 bolts are garbage.

Don't put stress on battery terminal posts. No pounding, prying or twisting, it will break the sealant and cause an acid vapor leak. Proper battery service requires a terminal puller and a terminal spreader to open it up for re-installation.

 

[kblee27]

For cleaning the terminal off corrosion salt, I use CRC and Permatex battery terminal cleaner.

Then I found a handheld pressurized sprayer adjusted for a water jet will do the same thing. In fact, the result is much cleaner than using the above. And water is basically free.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BX4VXI/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[redmondjp]

As stated above, if the battery is good and not being overcharged, the acid is probably coming from a leaky seal around the post(s). I have used epoxy and also silicone RTV to seal this area, after cleaning and drying the area first.

The red NOCO-impregnated washers placed underneath the terminals work well for me - how they work is to block the path on the surfaces so that acid can't creep up onto the terminals. The only downside to using these washers is that in some cases, they prevent the terminals from tightening since the battery posts are tapered, and the washers keep the terminal from dropping down as far on the posts.