Cool Battery Cleaner

I just had my truck start acting up only to find that it was my battery. The negative cable had a build up of that white fluffy stuff even tho I'd put protectant on it when I installed the battery.

I got to playing with it and found that the negative cable clamp had been eaten right through and it also wasn't making good conduct.

Took off into town to Pep Boys figuring they'd have the best supply of battery cleaners both mechanical and chemical. Not only were they expensive, but they were sold out of most everything. Not to worry Wally World was next door.

They had everything I needed and was dollars cheaper on every piece!

For a chemical battery cleaner I chose the newer foaming Battery Cleaner & Acid Detector (by Noco) $2.49 for 14 oz. (Pep Boys was $3.99 for a can half the size).

I WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZED! I can take back my mechanical terminal cleaner as it ate all the crud off the terminal and cable almost instantly! It didn't shine, but it wasn't far from it.

I was also able to see that only one "prong" of my negative cable was eaten thru so I can just reinstall the newly cleaned cable and not have to got thru the arduous chore of replacing the whole ground cable.

My clamp bolt wouldn't move prior to the move and I almost stripped the head, but after using the battery cleaner it also will turn.

THIS STUFF IS GREAT!!

When I take the mechanical terminal cleaner and the negative cable back I'm going to get another can to give to my Mother In Law who lives about 2 hours away who is always asking me to come over and do something small. Twice she's been stuck with battery issues and this would have taken care of the problem both times.

I'm still going to spray the posts with the protectant to lengthen the intervals between me having to clean the terminals.

I'll look for the battery cleaner at wally world. I have one vehicle that "grows white stuff." As for the protectant, I've had pretty good luck with wheel bearing grease.

The spray on protectant is so much cleaner to use not only at application, but also later when you've got to clean terminals or replace the battery.

Yah, I mix the grease with a bit of Arm & Hammer baking soda. I dip dirty terminals into a mixture of hot water and baking soda to clean, then blow dry with compressed air. I spread a 1/4" ring around the post, place the terminal and tighten, then spread a thin layer on top, taking care to seal the joint between the post and terminal, and all the crevices. Been doing it for years, never an issue.

Carter

All this is easier if you just fix the bad chassis or engine ground ;)

What if you want to clean a hot battery?

John Brown wrote: All this is easier if you just fix the bad chassis or engine ground ;)

Is that what causes the buildup of white ick?

Is a bad ground what causes the battery to grow crystals?

If so that is the problem with my pickup trucks battery. The thing looks like a science project gone amock, especially after a liberal coating of baking soda in the battery tray. This may be the reason the battery is so damned ugly. Good advice John!

I've cleaned the grounds and still I get it. I cleaned at least the 3 easy to access grounds today. None of them looked like they needed to be cleaned, but I did anyway since that's the cause of most transient gremlins in a car with an ecu.

The crystals come from acid 'gassing' out of the battery around the terminal seals and sometimes the vent caps. Batteries are made much cheaper than they used to be so you see a lot more of this. Those goofy looking felt washers will work good if they are soaked in some kind of sticky lube before they are put on because the lube acts sort of like silicone sealant.

Good to know about the gas venting, my e30 battery has been forming an enormous corrosion flower for the last few months. Guess it's time to insert another new to me battery.