Battery corrosion

[VViCKiD]

Hi guys,

I just looked at my battery and noticed that it had corrosion around the leads. Ie. it was a lime green, powdered kind've corrosion.

I've replaced one of my battery (about 3 months ago) and was wondering if this had something to do with it ? The corrosion only happens on the older battery. Also is this something to worry about ?

Thanks in advance !

[Geoff]

I don't think it has anything to do with the battery age. Suggest you remove the cable from the battery then wash both down with BOILING water.

There are proberly special products you can buy but you could try a coating of WD40 or a smear of greese onto the terminal & cable

[fragmeister]

Hi VViCKiD,

This is an interesting subject , and not just because I don't have a life!

To fix this just wash the terminal down using a stiff brush a bi-carb solution and then coat it with CRC battery terminal protector... )costs about 15 bucks from Repco)

Watch the powder though its very corrosive....not the sort of thing you want in you eyes.

The green powder is thought by some to be caused by the dissimilar metals corrosion effect with salt in solution as the electrolyte.

However, the same thing happens on lead battery terminals ( not common these days) and on Anderson plugs which are usually silver plated contacts.

Some believe that the corrosion is simply caused by acid vapour which is vented from even from most "sealed" batteries settling on the battery terminals and simply corroding them.

However, my Minkota Anderson plug which is in the anchor well , a long way from the batteries only corrode on the positive terminal which is a sign of a galvanic reaction. In this case both contacts are silver plated but I suspect that the silver plating

either wears through to the brass underneath or it is porous in the first place.

Personally, I think it can be due to either cause.

Cheers

Jim

Edited December 8, 2014 by fragmeister

[muddie]

Bicarb should help for cleaning because it neutralises acid. An old idea was to use cold tea to wash it. Anyway, after you have it clean, I find a smear of grease or vaseline keeps it nice for ages. Just renew when/if you disturb the connection.

If the corroded are includes the copper wire in the cables themselves, it might be necessary to cut a small length off the end to get back to clean wire and re-terminate the cable.

[VViCKiD]

Thanks for the response guys ! puts my mind at ease. Yeah I previously hadn't had it covered in grease.

So will give that a shot.

[spaners]

Also keep the top of the battery dry,a wet top will cause a voltage draw from the pos to neg terminal.