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It can happen to even the most attentive car owner. You pop your hood and are greeted with the unpleasant surprise of corrosive gunk enveloping the terminal around your car battery.
Don’t worry. Luckily, it’s an easy fix.
You can get that terminal looking — and working — like new with just a few minutes and some common household materials. So, next time you’re under the hood, take a glance at your battery. Catching corrosion before it disrupts the electrical current can save you a lot of time, money and hassle.
In this post, we’ll teach you how to clean battery corrosion and teach you all you need to know about the corrosion-removal process.
All alkaline batteries — from the ones in your remote control to those powering your heavy-duty truck — can leak over time.
But why do batteries corrode?
Corrosion is the result of the natural chemical processes that occur within the battery cell. Common alkaline batteries include caustic chemicals that can deteriorate even the most well-built cylinders over a long enough timespan.
The terminal that holds your battery under the hood is a main source of corrosion. The greenish tint to some forms of corrosion often comes from the copper components housed in the clamp that connects the engine to the electrode. When the copper gets wet, it emits the greenish tint when exposed to oxygen in the atmosphere.
Batteries also corrode due to chemical agents within the battery, which include sulfuric acid. As these chemicals react and the battery’s temperature fluctuates, hydrogen gas is released which brings some chemicals into contact with the outside.
Sulfuric acid can also leak from the terminals of old or underused batteries, or from terminals attached to an alternator that is overcharging the battery. Exposure to the sulfuric acid causes a phenomenon called ‘sulfation,’ whereby sulfur crystals form around the terminal.
Noticing the corrosion on your battery terminal under the hood of your vehicle is the first — and most — important step. Luckily, once you’ve found the evidence of corrosion, it is very simple to clean corroded battery terminals.
In this section, we’ll show you how to clean corroded battery terminals and housings — with a few simple ingredients you probably have lying around the house!
Before we begin, we should mention that in order to clean corroded battery terminals, you may come into contact with hazardous chemicals. In order to prevent injury, it is suggested you wear latex gloves and eye protection while cleaning your battery, as well as closely following the safety procedure outlined for disconnecting the battery’s electric terminals.
This is a very important step!
In order to prevent injury, it is important that you disconnect the NEGATIVE BATTERY CABLE FIRST before disconnecting the positive cable. The negative terminal will be black in color and marked with a (–) negative symbol and the letters “NEG.” Again, this negative cable should be removed FIRST.
Next, you will remove the positive battery cable. The positive terminal will be identified by the color red, and marked with the (+) plus sign and the abbreviation “POS.” The positive cable should be removed SECOND.
Got that? Good!
Now we can get to the good stuff.
Since you have your cables disconnected from the terminal, now is a great time to check the cables for any damage caused by wear or tear. Look closely to ensure they do not exhibit any frayed, dried-out or cracked cables. Frayed cables are a common culprit when your car doesn’t start.
When cleaning the residue from battery acid leakage, you’re going to need a cleaning compound. No matter which option you go with, make sure you avoid getting any of the compound onto your engine or the body of your vehicle — where it can cause damage. If you do have a spill, make sure to clean all surrounding areas quickly and thoroughly.
Let’s look at some popular options for cleaning compounds:
In terms of safety and convenience, keeping a bottle of commercial battery cleaner from the local auto parts store is likely your best bet. It comes ready-to-use out of the bottle — with no mixing or measuring required — and is formulated to not only clean the battery, but also neutralize battery acid.
The ol’ baking soda trick is a tried-and-true remedy for cleaning your car battery terminal, and is a great option if you do not have any commercial cleaner on hand. Baking soda is a natural base, and will neutralize the battery acid while you clean the terminal. To make this compound, you will need about 1 teaspoon of baking soda and about 8 ounces of water.
This is a common home remedy, so we would be remiss to leave it out of this list. It makes sense to use a cleaning agent that is basic on the pH scale in order to neutralize the acidity. While Coca-Cola is an acid, people have sworn by this method of cleaning for generations. If you do choose to use this soft drink as a cleaning agent, make sure to avoid getting any of the liquid onto the engine, where ascorbic acid and synthetic sugars may damage components.
This is another friendly reminder that wearing latex gloves and protective eyewear for this step is recommended to keep you safe from any acidic compounds you might otherwise come into contact with.
Once you’re ready, thoroughly clean the battery of all corroded parts using the cleaning agent you’ve chosen. Carefully avoid getting the cleaning liquids onto your engine or the body of your car, where it could cause damage. In order to protect the rest of your vehicle, we recommend taking the battery out completely during this step.
Clean the corroded terminal and any part of the battery that has been affected with a cloth, toothbrush, wire brush or other cleaning implement. If you are using baking soda, you may choose to pour the baking soda onto the terminal and carefully add a few drops of water, or mix the baking soda into solution before applying with the toothbrush or cloth. Re-apply as necessary.
Once you’ve cleaned all the grime from your battery, rinse lightly by using a damp — not wet — cloth. Then, use a clean dry cloth to dry the entire battery thoroughly. Air dry until all residual dampness has evaporated.
Let’s avoid doing this again.
In order to prevent future corrosion, add some protectant to the battery post area of the terminal, near where it connects to the cable. You can find terminal protector pads -- thin, circular red and black colored pads coated in protectant -- at your local auto parts store.
If you don’t have any pads available, you can use common petroleum jelly. Add a glop and smear it around the battery post to prevent moisture from causing the battery to corrode in the future.
To prevent electric shock, it’s important to reconnect your battery the opposite from the way you disconnected it at the beginning. That is:
Now you’re ready to start up your engine and be on your way!
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