How to Clean Corroded Car Battery Terminals
Corrosion on your car battery terminals can prevent your car from starting. Cleaning the corrosion is an easy do-it-yourself job when you follow some simple directions.
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Things You'll Need
- Flat-head screwdriver
- Coca Cola or baking soda and water
- Water
- Toothbrush
- Vaseline
Instructions
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1
Make sure your car engine is turned off.
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2
Remove the negative battery cable first by loosening it with a flat-head screwdriver and lifting it off the battery terminal. After removal from the terminal, set the negative cable away from the positive battery terminal and metal.
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3
Remove the positive battery cable using the same removal method as the negative cable. Do not let the negative and positive battery cables touch.
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4
Pour Coca Cola or baking soda and water on the battery terminals and the battery cable ends.
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5
Scrub the battery terminals and the battery cable ends with a toothbrush until the corrosion is removed.
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6
Pour water on the battery terminals and the battery cable ends to rinse Coca Cola or baking soda off.
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7
Let battery terminals and battery cables dry.
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8
Apply a thin coat of Vaseline to battery terminals.
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9
Slide the positive cable onto the battery terminal and tighten.
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10
Slide the negative cable onto the battery terminal and tighten.
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1
Tips & Warnings
The battery terminals are the two posts on the top of the car battery that the battery cables connect to.
To prevent electric shock, always remove the negative battery cable first.
To prevent an electrical short in the vehicle, do not place the removed negative battery cable onto metal.
To prevent electric shock, always replace the positive battery cable first.
To prevent electric shock, never let the negative and positive battery cables touch.
Resources
- Photo Credit dead battery image by Katrina Miller from Fotolia.com
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Comments
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I can tell you've never worked on a car, or been in science class... You could submerge a car battery underwater and it will never short out. Car batteries run at approximately 12volts DC, no where near enough voltage to damage itself or others by a short circuit through a liquid, by pouring either water or soda on top of a car battery the battery will not overheat, the battery will not explode, nothing will even get warm as the battery does not have enough power to cause such a reaction. And saying that corrosion will not inhibit the car from getting a connection to the battery is incorrect to, the current running to and from the battery and car cause the corrosion and the corrosion grows from where the current is moving the most, you do not have a perfectly smooth connection between battery and cable, on a microscopic level it looks like two pieces of sandpaper touching, so one by one the corrosion grows on these so called micro-connections and eats them away till their is a complete film of it between the battery post and cable.
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coke does not remove corrosion better than any other liquid.
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THIS IS DANGEROUS: Coke and tap water conduct electricity. When a conductor goes from one battery terminal to the other it causes a short circuit which causes batteries to overheat and explode! THIS ARTICLE IS BAD ADVICE! As long as there is a connection between the cable and the battery the corrosion does not inhibit the battery from functioning.
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ckayewynn
Mar 18, 2010
This was very easy to do for anyone. Thanks for all the good info. - Cheryl
