Excessive Battery Terminal Corrosion

[redjmp]

My 97 4.0l xlt shows too much corrosion on the negative terminal. So much so that it has eaten through the stock clamp.
I have replaced the clamp with a standard type made of lead and now after just 3 weeks the connection of the old ground strap has failed due to too much corrosion.
The terminal connection is now fine showing no corrosion but where the copper wire meets the new lead terminal has now corroded badly and quickly.
I have never seen this problem on any of my previous cars.
Ok maybe a little corrosion after a year or 2 but not 2 or 3 weeks.
Truck seems to start and run fine even if I don't drive it for a few days.
Everything electrical works just fine as far as I can tell.
The only things that have been added are the daytime running lights ( I'm in Canada), and I added a special plug and adapter to run my boat trailer lights which work fine.
Although I haven't metered anything, the battery does spark quite a bit when I connect the terminal even with everything turned off and no key in the ignition.
Any ideas as to why there is so much corrosion?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

excessive corrosion can be caused by loose connections. i would disassemble the connections and clean everything up very well. if the cable has excessive corrosion, it should be replaced.

upon resassembly, coat everything in a healthy layer of petrolium jelly (vasoline). its messy but its very effective at preventing corrosion and lasts forever (i use this trick on my boat).

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

how old is your battery?
is it maintenance free?

 

[09ajmaros]

I have no idea, but does copper with lead make the corrosion seem like it happens quicker?

The cables will spark a little but shouldn't be that big, just a little flicker of light.

Interesting idea wicked, I have to clean mine monthly with baking soda and water, might give it a try

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

if it has caps on top its not maint. free.at about 3 years they start gassing more under charge,with the gas or vapor comes acid and it hunts down any metal it can to stick to.

should be a date code sticker letter/number.letter will be month,number will be year.

 

[fordboi415]

Corrosion can also indicate a battery going bad, have it tested at an outo parts store if possible

 

[shadetree]

Corrosion is caused by battery "gassing" sulphuric acid between the post and the case or other exits from the case. It gasses heavily during charging, and especially when the battery is nearing full charge. If the gassing is occuring frequently, it is probably because of the battery's age, or is being used heavily requiring frequent/heavy charging.

That is one of the main reason I use gel type batteries such as Optima. No gassing, and no corrosion.

I had a customer whose Mustang keep corroding the top radiator hold down bracket. It was near the battery, but had no connectoin to the battery. The battery was gassing and the gas was traveling down the hood sound deadening material to the bracket. I cut away the insulation and solved the poblem.shady

 

[jay jigless]

Here's an old timers trick that my dad has showed me all my life, the best thing to use to coat the battery terminal is hi-temp red lithium grease. corrosion will never appear! have never seen corrosion on any car that has red lithium on it. which has only been the ones that me or my dad has messed with. (around here). oh and dont be shy with the grease either, coat the connector as well as the treminal itself. plus lasts for years! i have used patrolium jelly but it seems to last a while then disipates. i hope that i have been useful and be very careful around the battery and be safe

 

[Scrambler82]

So we all agree that a coating of some type helps with the corrosion.

I use the standard battery terminal coating, red-ish in color needs to be coated all over the terminal, messy- yes, check the container, it may need to be applied to the post before the Battery Cable is re-attached.

As stated before have the battery checked at an Auto Parts Store.

If you do decide to replace the battery, it is good practice to replace the cables at the same time and replace them with a cable that is oversized for the application. i.e. if OEM is 4 ga then use 2-ga...
When changing Cables, alway clean the connection point to bare metal and use a Conductive, Non-Corrosion Grease all over the connecting point.
The Ground Cable needs to be the same size as the Power Cable or larger.
Another trick is to run an additional ground cable from the battery to a starter's mounting bolt or a location near the starter. (This helps the starter out when calling for all of the current that it uses).

luck,

 

[mulishiaranger]

You could also check the ground from your battery to your frame, that might be causing it also... could be loose, or shitty or whatever. Just a guess.

 

[LEVE]

It completely agree that a little grease on the battery posts and clamps is a good thing. I just use wheel bearing grease, since I've usually got a tub of it laying around. Along with that I do a few other things:

• I use those little green and red felt washers. I did not think they'd help until I tried them.
• I make sure the cable isn't corroded up it's wire under the insulation. If the copper wire is green/discolored it's likely time to change out the battery cables.
• I put pennies on the case of the battery, near each posts. Copper conducts electricity better than a lead and it's easier to get the fumes to be attracted to the copper rather than the battery post. It is the path of least resistance.

 

[bro2]

The problem is your battery, under the lead battery terminals when the battery is made their is seal. when some people install a battery they use a hamer or whatever to beat the terminal down on the batt. This breaks the seal under the lead terminal. Replace your battery and when installing your new battery use the right tools , you can buy a pair of terinal spreaders cheap it opens the battery cable ends so you can slide the end on the battery with out beating on it . I would use a cleaner and a grease or corosion preventer.