How to Check Terminals in Your Car

Video Transcript

"NATHAN MCCULLOUGH: Hi, my name is Nate McCullough on behalf of Expert Village. In these clips, we're going to talk about some of the tips and tricks in order to properly winterize your vehicle. In this clip, we're going to talk about your vehicle's positive and negative battery terminals. I have two different replacement types I want to show you. What we have are the solid lead ones right here. These are my preference. If you have to replace a battery terminal, it's a good idea to go with these. They also have some light duty steel ones and just due to room constraints, you may have to use one of these. If your vehicle comes with one of these from the factory, you're going to have to use the replacement. The reason why you may ever have to pay some attention to your battery terminals, say, you go to the parts store and have your battery tested. And the battery test is fine and you're still experiencing trouble starting your engine in the wintertime or, for that nature, in the summertime. What happens is, over time, corrosion develops and builds between the battery and the terminal. It is possible to take a part and clean them. They make special tools for it. They're not extremely expensive. For about five bucks, you can get a terminal scrubber. If you take your battery terminal covers off and you see what looks like a bluish green furriness on there, that's not mold. That is the lead sulfide oxide which is growing and it's actually a form of insulation. It will take and reduce the amount of power sent from the battery to your positive battery terminals. If your terminals aren't all beat up and they haven't been degraded to the point that they're splitting in half or coming apart when you try and service them, then it's okay to take and clean them up. If that looks like you're going to have a problem out of it, if you see severe gouges just from the corrosion eating a way at it, it's probably going to be a good idea to go ahead and have them changed or change them yourself. For the five bucks you'll spend on battery terminals and the small amount of time it would take to fix them, it's going to beat the heck out of being stranded somewhere in the mall parking lot in the wintertime with no heat. Those are just some hints and tips for you in order to service your battery terminals and ensure that your vehicle will start when you need it to."