Batteries??!

[Lincolnmania]

when i do a vehicle service and i see the terminals have corrosion, i use battery terminal cleaner, then wash it off with water and dry and spray terminal protectant.....about 7 bucks for the two spray cans.....good stuff

[GoodSamaritan]

Here, is an old timers trick that has always worked for me. If you have corrosion troubles with your battery terminals on a top post, try setting a couple of pennies on top of the battery near the terminals. They work like a sacrificial anode, and corrode first. You may use a drop or two of glue to hold them on if you like, but mine seem to stay put nicely without it. Just don't tape over them or use two way tape that lifts them above the surface of the battery.

Oh and the guy who came up with side terminals, should be dropped off in the desert with a truck that has a dead side post battery and a pair of cheap jumper cables...

[91waggin]

Here, is an old timers trick that has always worked for me. If you have corrosion troubles with your battery terminals on a top post, try setting a couple of pennies on top of the battery near the terminals. They work like a sacrificial anode, and corrode first. You may use a drop or two of glue to hold them on if you like, but mine seem to stay put nicely without it. Just don't tape over them or use two way tape that lifts them above the surface of the battery.

Oh and the guy who came up with side terminals, should be dropped off in the desert with a truck that has a dead side post battery and a pair of cheap jumper cables...

Coca Cola works too, but is messy.

[saiyaneye]

I use fucking neverstart as well, I usually kill them before the warrenty is up so I can get a fresh one. Last time I swapped batteries though they stopped carrying side post/top post batteries. I use a mix of both top and side post.

[gadget73]

Coke is acidic, it won't neutralize the battery acid. It contains carbonic acid. Baking soda is a base, which will neutral the sulphuric acid in the battery.

The penny trick shouldn't actually work unless I'm way off on my admittedly basic chemistry understanding. Lead is less noble than copper is, the lead should sacrifice to the copper.

[91waggin]

Coke is acidic, it won't neutralize the battery acid. It contains carbonic acid. Baking soda is a base, which will neutral the sulphuric acid in the battery.

The penny trick shouldn't actually work unless I'm way off on my admittedly basic chemistry understanding. Lead is less noble than copper is, the lead should sacrifice to the copper.

According to wikipedia, the penny is 97.5% zinc and only 2.5% copper.

[gadget73]

yes but the outside is copper, which is whats exposed. The zinc wouldn't be exposed and therefore unable to react with anything. Cut one in half sometime, you'll see what I mean. The middle is silver in color. Also the copper plated zinc thing has only been true since 1981 I want to say. Sometime in the 80s at any rate. prior to that it was 95% copper. I tend to think of "old timer tricks" as stuff before I was born, back when pennies were actually copper.

[GoodSamaritan]

Well, my grandpa would be 95 this week if he were still living, and he told me this one about 15 years ago. It might have been something he had just learned, but I assumed it was another one of his old tricks. The vast majority of his suggestions worked. It has worked for me in the past. Maybe it shouldn't work, but it does. I just put a penny close to each terminal when I put on a new battery or right after I have cleaned one. After a few days/weeks the pennies are corroded, but the terminals stay clean.


Another one is black pepper in a leaky radiator, which works like a charm, but only on older brass radiators.

[P72Ford]

I can definitely see the penny trick as something that works. However, in anode applications zinc is the metal of choice, at least in my experience. However, copper should work as well, judging by their locations on the table (right next to each other).

So, I would say even if the penny started to corrode to the point where the copper gild wore off, the zinc center of the penny would still be a viable anode.

Has anyone ever used Copp-Shield? I use that on my battery terminals whenever I have them off, and have never had a corrosions issue. It is very similar to anti-sieze, except its copper in color. Works great, but it might be expensive; I'm not sure since my Dad is the one that buys it. Its supposed to improve the contact, and protect against corrosion.