Sep 25, 2020 Pageview:789
The problem of a corroded battery terminals is a nightmare for most people. It has been discovered that majority of car owners don’t know how to solve this problem. They keep on spending money unnecessarily to hire the services of battery repair experts. The truth is that this is one issue that you can resolve even without any knowledge or experience. It is all about looking in the right direction.
Have you been searching for how to clean corrosion battery terminals? Do you know that most of the suggested methods either don’t work or are ineffective? There is no need putting your car battery at risk. This post will be revealing everything you need to know about cleaning corroded battery terminals. Just check out the details below to understand how this is done.
Just as mentioned above, cleaning corrosion battery terminals is very easy especially when you are adopting the right methods. Below are some of the proven ways to overcome this issue.
Step 1
The first step to take is having your battery cables disconnected. In order to avoid any form of spark from the battery, it is important to disconnect its negative before positive. In order to identify the negative and positive sides, check for their respective signs like (-) and (+). Note that there are times it can be an abbreviation like POS (for positive) and NEG (for negative).
Step 2
Once you have completed the above steps, the next thing is checking the cables whether they have been damaged or not. There are instances when cables will show corrosion signs. At such point, replacement is the only solution.
Step 3
This is the stage where you need to clean the battery in order to ensure every sign of corrosion is removed. Although there are lots of methods to get this done, only one has proven to be very effective for car owners over the years. This is the use of baking soda. The best part about this method is that it is very easy to carry out.
Just get one teaspoon of baking soda. A glass of water will also be required for the solution. In order to scrub the battery terminals (corroded areas) effectively, you will need a brush. A condemned toothbrush can serve this purpose.
Pour the baking soda on the corroded areas. After that, pour water on the baking soda. You are going to notice the reaction of two ingredients. At this point, just make use of the brush in scrubbing until the terminals become clean once again.
It is also recommended that you clean the cables using the same process. In case you can’t get access to water, coke can be used as substitute. However, ensure it used alongside baking soda with caution since your engine is at risk of being damaged due to the synthetic sugar it contains. Sticking with water and baking soda is the safest solution though.
The Preventive Method
In case your car battery isn’t affected by corrosion, such can be prevented through the use of petroleum jelly. Just have a tablespoon of this applied on both terminals.
Most people are yet to understand the fact that there are implications/consequences for not cleaning corrosion battery terminals. Some of these will be revealed below.
Short Battery Lifespan
One of the most notable reasons why your car battery isn’t lasting as long as possible is ignored corroded terminals. It can easily damage such battery thereby shortening its lifespan. There are worse scenarios whereby it can cause damage to air conditioner lines, electrical wiring and more.
Once you don’t attend to this problem on time, such battery may have to be replaced. Of course, this will cost you more than a simple maintenance routine.
Faulty Engine
Do you know that corroded battery terminals can affect your car engine? This is one problem that most people are not aware of. It can be very frustrating having to repair your car engine over and over again. However, it has been discovered that corrosion terminals can affect your car engine more than imagined.
When the cables are affected, there is every chance that current won’t flow as expected to the engine and other components. This creates a situation where the engine starts and stops abruptly. It is only a matter of time before such engine will finally breakdown. In a nutshell, corrosion bring about loose battery terminals.
Having discussed the simplest methods to help you clean corroded battery terminals, there is no doubt that you must be very eager about getting started. There are some tools that need to be at your disposal. These could be:
Pair of hand gloves
Toothbrush
Water
baking soda
Locking pliers
The pair of hand gloves will be needed to ensure your hands don’t come in physical contact with such mixture once the cleaning process starts. This is very important since corrosion is as a result of leaked sulfuric acid which can be very dangerous to your health.
Toothbrush is for the purpose of scrubbing after water has been poured on baking soda. Just scrub hardly until there are no signs of corrosion on the terminals anymore. The locking pliers are needed after the cleaning process is completed. They will be used to ensure the cables are firm on the battery terminals to avoid any form of disconnection.
Based on the above, there is every reason to believe that you have understood everything about corrosion battery terminals including how it can be handled. For starters, you can adopt the strategies explained. They are easy and can be used by anyone to ensure car batteries are in the best condition. Don’t forget that ignoring such problem will make your car not work as expected. It is a maintenance routine that every car owner is expected to master.
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