Are your car’s battery terminals a corroded mess? If they are, this is a sign that your battery needs to be replaced. Primary Care Auto Repair can test your battery to see if it is too old. Usually, corrosion is caused by leaking battery acid and this happens in older batteries. You can check to see if your battery is leaking acid by cleaning the terminals and then gauging how long it takes for them to get corroded again. Let’s talk about how to clean your battery terminals below.
Step One: Grab What You Need
Here is a list of the supplies you’ll need to clean your battery terminals:
- Rubber gloves
- Baking soda
- Distilled water
- Mixing cup
- Toothbrush
- Spray bottle
- Paper towels
- Clean cloth
- Petroleum jelly
With the rubber gloves on throughout the entire process, mix about a tablespoon of baking soda with a cup of distilled water in the mixing cup. Stir the solution until all of the baking soda is dissolved. Once you have a clear solution, you’re ready to clean your battery cables.
Step Two: Disconnect the Battery Cables
Obviously, your vehicle is turned off and the parking brake is set. Pop the hood, and remove the negative cable from its terminal first. Once you’ve disconnected the negative cable, you can remove the positive cable. Do it in this exact order.
Step Three: Scrub Away the Corrosion
Take the old toothbrush and get the head wet with your cleaning solution. Use the toothbrush bristles to scrub away the corrosion that has built up on your battery terminals. Be careful not to get the battery too wet, but don’t worry at the same time if you do get the battery wet. Just don’t drench it. Keep scrubbing away until the terminals are clean.
Step Four: Dry and Protect
Take some paper towels and wipe away the cleaning solution and the corrosion. Next, take the spray bottle and fill it with distilled water. Spritz away the remaining cleaning solution and corrosion until the battery terminals are clean. Dry them with your clean cloth and allow them to air dry, as well. Protect them with a small dab of petroleum jelly on each terminal once they are completely dry.
Step Five: Reconnect the Battery Cables
Attach the positive cable to its terminal first. Then, attach the negative cable. Do this in this exact order.
Primary Care Auto Repair in Warwick, RI, would be happy to test your battery if it is corroding excessively. As we mentioned above, this is usually a sign that you need to replace the battery.