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Car Forum / Nissan / Nissan Maxima / August 2005

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Battery Terminal Corrosion

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David Geesaman - 29 Aug 2005 23:58 GMT
    Well, I've been seeing significant corrosion buildup on my battery
positive terminal for at least a year.  At first I tried cleaning the
post/terminal to bare metal but the corrosion came back.  When I changed
my clutch I cleaned all the connection points to the starter and ground
to frame, and the corrosion came back again.
    So I finally bought new positive and negative wires and installed them
yesterday.  I expected to find measurable resistance in the old wires,
or damage somewhere, but I found nothing.  All ground points I could
find in the engine bay (including the starter housing) came to less than
.1 Ohm to the negative lead.  I'm kinda kerbaffled at this point.

    Aside from replacing parts and waiting to see if the corrosion returns,
how can I find the source of this corrosion?
    (Sure would be nice since I know the car's been running 3-5mpg worse
than it used to for no explainable reason)

    Dave
Dave_s - 30 Aug 2005 13:08 GMT
I am having the exact same problem with an old battery on a 87 MAXIMA.
Only see corrosion at positive terminal.
The battery still is OK but have used 70 of 72 months warranty.
I keep buying new red and green felt no-corrosion  washers for the
terminals. White powder appears quickly after each bare metal cleaning.

My battery is a sealed no-maintenace  battery.
Is the usual car battery vented under the top plastic labels?
NAPA salesman suggested the case might be leaking battery fluid
overwhelming the red no-corrosion washer.
Suggestions please.

Thanks, Dave_s

>     Well, I've been seeing significant corrosion buildup on my battery
> positive terminal for at least a year.  At first I tried cleaning the
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
>     Dave
David Geesaman - 30 Aug 2005 14:30 GMT
>I am having the exact same problem with an old battery on a 87 MAXIMA.
> Only see corrosion at positive terminal.
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> Thanks, Dave_s

   I haven't tried the washers, but I did install a new battery at one
point.  This one is still performing just fine at 12.8v.  In my case I'm
almost certain the battery is not the problem.

   Dave
E Meyer - 30 Aug 2005 15:10 GMT
A common source of corrosion is the seal around the positive post itself.
There seems to be an irresistible desire in the minds of battery installers
to give the cable a yank after installing it.  A little too hard of a pull
ruptures the seal around the post and the gas starts bubbling up around it.
There's nothing you can do about it beyond routine cleaning of the post or
replacing the battery.

On 8/30/05 7:08 AM, in article 11h8j04fi86cs14@corp.supernews.com, "Dave_s"
<group78@dslextreme.com> wrote:

> I am having the exact same problem with an old battery on a 87 MAXIMA.
> Only see corrosion at positive terminal.
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
>>
>>     Dave
Richard Tomkins - 30 Aug 2005 19:24 GMT
In the past, on another vehicle I cleaned the whole area with a mixture of
water and baking soda, to neutralize the acid.

The covering of the terminals and bare connections with petroleum jelly is a
good idea. It collects dust but prevents oxidation and will provide a
minimal seal against leaks around the posts.

Overcharging could cause the internal liquid to boil and vapours will want
to escape by the easiest means possible, around broken seals at the post.
Could the normal vent holes be plugged?

> I am having the exact same problem with an old battery on a 87 MAXIMA.
> Only see corrosion at positive terminal.
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
> >
> >     Dave
Al Moodie - 30 Aug 2005 15:29 GMT
>    Well, I've been seeing significant corrosion buildup on my battery
>positive terminal for at least a year.

The answer to battery terminal corrosion problems:

1) Clean connectors and posts with a wire brush
2) Pour boing water over terminals and posts (at your own risk) this
will eliminate all traces of corrosion
3) Smear posts and connectors with petroleum jelly (can be bought at
most pharmacies). This forms a protective coating preventing
corrosion.

Al Moodie.
David Geesaman - 30 Aug 2005 16:24 GMT
>> Well, I've been seeing significant corrosion buildup on my battery
>>positive terminal for at least a year.
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> Al Moodie.

   Thanks for the info.  So you're saying, then, that it's strictly a
battery issue.  Can I get a warrantied battery replaced for this?  If not,
is there any risk to living with it and periodically cleaning the corrosion
as long as it's still holding 12.8v?
   What about the greenish corrosion I saw on the grounds - I could be
convinced it's simply copper patina, a separate issue.  Agree?

   Dave
 
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