Battery Corrosion can be found 75% of the time under the hood of automobiles, in boats, and golf carts. Battery corrosion can be a real burden to get rid of once it starts if not addressed quickly. Doing nothing about a corrosion problem will lead to other problems down the road. The corrosion eventually interferes with the connection between the battery and cables attached to the battery. Common problems due to corrosion are automobile starter dragging, charging problems related to your battery, and no starting ability. In golf carts, not being able to charge all batteries evenly, cables becoming hot and melting during charging, and of course short run times due to state of charge of the batteries. Boat batteries attract corrosion, because of the high humidity and sometime salts that are present in their environments. You may pose the question, what is corrosion? A battery has sulfuric acid inside and produces hydrogen gas, which is the main factor behind the corrosion which naturally occurs on your battery cables. This is because when your automobile and battery are running, small amounts of gas are released through the batteries vent cap or caps.The gas naturally combine with the heat, grime and humidity in the air, and some other things like grease, oil and coolant, to form corrosion on your battery cables and terminals. Once corrosion makes a home on your battery and connections things will only get worse over time.

Preventing corrosion is simple and easy to do. You can purchase battery terminal spray at your local Auto Parts store that will prevent corrosion from forming. Just spray your battery posts and terminal connections thoroughly. You can also use white lithium wheel bearing grease, and apply thoroughly to the battery posts and terminal connections. DO NOT USE jelly or Vaseline, due to their melting point. When battery corrosion is already present, it must be completely removed before applying any corrosion inhibitor. The first thing you will want to do is remove the black and red battery connections in that order. Be careful not to allow the cables to touch any other part of the automobile, especially if their is two batteries installed, the red positive will still be hot from the other battery. Once you have your connections free, you are now ready to begin cleaning the corrosion away. A wire brush works best for scrubbing away battery corrosion. Mixing one cup of water to two tablespoons of baking soda is a excellent cleaning agent. Once you have all of the corrosion gone, and the battery and connectors are dry. You then must coat the battery posts with the terminal spray or lithium grease. Put your terminals back on red positive first, then black negative. Tighten your cable connections, and the job is complete. Always remember to wear safety goggles and rubber gloves when working with batteries.