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From: Paul Michaels on 8 Nov 2009 15:18
The five year old battery in our 2005 Toyota Corolla S finally
wouldn't start the car last week. I popped the hood and the plastic
cover over the positive terminal. I noticed a lot of light blue
corrosion dust around the corroded terminal.

I went to Wal-Mart and got a new battery and replacement terminal. I
took pictures of the repair process and wrote up a quick guide.

Here's the guide - http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/Corroded-Car-Battery-Terminal-Replacement-Guide

I hope some of you find it useful. The total cost of the repair was
about $80 including the new batter for $75.

Cheers,
Paul Michaels
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
From: Tegger on 8 Nov 2009 18:20
Paul Michaels <paulmichaels79uf(a)gmail.com> wrote in
news:2e3e827c-00c0-4569-b82e-729720e1d09e(a)j19g2000yqk.googlegroups.com:

> The five year old battery in our 2005 Toyota Corolla S finally
> wouldn't start the car last week. I popped the hood and the plastic
> cover over the positive terminal. I noticed a lot of light blue
> corrosion dust around the corroded terminal.
>
> I went to Wal-Mart and got a new battery and replacement terminal. I
> took pictures of the repair process and wrote up a quick guide.
>
> Here's the guide -
> http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/Corroded-Car-Battery-Terminal-Replac
> ement-Guide
>
> I hope some of you find it useful. The total cost of the repair was
> about $80 including the new batter for $75.
>



That's nice. Next time be CAREFUL when tightening the teminals.

People reef them, bend them and end up cracking the case/terminal seal.
That's what causes the corrosion.

All you need to do is gently snug the nut so you can't rotate the teminal
by hand. And it helps to support the opposite side of the terminal as you
tighten to keep the terminal post from rocking and cracking the case seal.

--
Tegger

From: Ray O on 8 Nov 2009 18:35

"Paul Michaels" <paulmichaels79uf(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
news:2e3e827c-00c0-4569-b82e-729720e1d09e(a)j19g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...
> The five year old battery in our 2005 Toyota Corolla S finally
> wouldn't start the car last week. I popped the hood and the plastic
> cover over the positive terminal. I noticed a lot of light blue
> corrosion dust around the corroded terminal.
>
> I went to Wal-Mart and got a new battery and replacement terminal. I
> took pictures of the repair process and wrote up a quick guide.
>
> Here's the guide -
> http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/Corroded-Car-Battery-Terminal-Replacement-Guide
>
> I hope some of you find it useful. The total cost of the repair was
> about $80 including the new batter for $75.
>
> Cheers,
> Paul Michaels
> Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Good job, although I have a few comments and additional hints.

One should always wear safety goggles when working on batteries because
there is the possibility the battery case can burst or the acid fumes can
explode.

The corrosion on the battery terminal is not from leaking acid, but from the
acid fumes that escape from the battery when the battery is charging. The
fumes seep past the gap between the plastic battery case and the battery
posts. The felt battery washers that are sold at auto parts stores actually
help because they absorb and neutralize the acid fumes. You can buy battery
terminal protectant at auto parts stores, or you can apply dielectric grease
to the terminal to protect the metal and seal the gap between the case and
the post.

I would not vacuum the dust from the corrosion because the dust is corrosive
and can eventually damage the vacuum. I would dampen a paper towel and
while wearing gloves, wipe up the dust

--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)


From: Tegger on 8 Nov 2009 21:00
"Ray O" <rokigawa(a)NOSPAMtristarassociates.com> wrote in
news:hd7krn$ggj$1(a)news.eternal-september.org:

> The fumes seep past the gap between the plastic battery
> case and the battery posts.



That ONLY happens if the battery was defective, or if somebody was careless
when tightening the terminal nuts. Everybody likes to reef right down,
giving a few grunts to make sure the nut is good and tight. Like those
worm-type hose clamps. Stupid.

Case/post seal compromise /is/ possible as the battery ages, but it should
NOT happen to a battery that is a mere five years old, even in places like
Arizona.



> The felt battery washers that are sold at
> auto parts stores actually help because they absorb and neutralize the
> acid fumes. You can buy battery terminal protectant at auto parts
> stores, or you can apply dielectric grease to the terminal to protect
> the metal and seal the gap between the case and the post.



You can use any sort of non-water-soluble grease at all, even Crisco.
Anything that keeps oxygen away from the metal is acceptable.





--
Tegger

From: Ray O on 8 Nov 2009 21:45

"Tegger" <invalid(a)invalid.inv> wrote in message
news:Xns9CBDD590753CEtegger(a)208.90.168.18...
> "Ray O" <rokigawa(a)NOSPAMtristarassociates.com> wrote in
> news:hd7krn$ggj$1(a)news.eternal-september.org:
>
>> The fumes seep past the gap between the plastic battery
>> case and the battery posts.
>
>
>
> That ONLY happens if the battery was defective, or if somebody was
> careless
> when tightening the terminal nuts. Everybody likes to reef right down,
> giving a few grunts to make sure the nut is good and tight. Like those
> worm-type hose clamps. Stupid.
>
> Case/post seal compromise /is/ possible as the battery ages, but it should
> NOT happen to a battery that is a mere five years old, even in places like
> Arizona.
>

Makes sense...

>> The felt battery washers that are sold at
>> auto parts stores actually help because they absorb and neutralize the
>> acid fumes. You can buy battery terminal protectant at auto parts
>> stores, or you can apply dielectric grease to the terminal to protect
>> the metal and seal the gap between the case and the post.
>
>
>
> You can use any sort of non-water-soluble grease at all, even Crisco.
> Anything that keeps oxygen away from the metal is acceptable.
>

I used to use lithium grease but the stuff attracted a lot of dirt and make
a mess, got grease on jumper cable jaws when I was giving a jump, so I
switched to the spray protectant stuff.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)


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