So here's the latest little problem I've encountered. My battery terminals are constantly having corrosion on them within two days of cleaning them off with the wire terminal cleaner brush. Is it possible that the terminals themselves are cracked or loose?

Also my negative battery cable end (part that connects to the terminal post) was overtightened at one time and now has come loose and there is no way of tightening it any more. What are my options here? Buy a whole new negative cable? Or can I buy a new end for it and would that be a good enough of a fix? How big of a pain is it to replace the negative cable?

 

Hey hockeyfan, you can buy just an end for the cable, but you're going to end up getting corrosion where it joins the old cable. Better off replacing the entire length. It's a bit of a pain, there's a bracket that connects to the frame, when I did mine, I had to pry that bracket off, and re-solder it to the new cable. From there, it goes to the block. Not a horrible job, but not exactly fun. As for the posts, buy those little green and red discs that they sell. They go on the posts, then your cables. They're chemically treated with something to prevent corrosion. Good luck, Peace, Dave.

 

The plastic case of the battery is molded to the lead posts, and they always leak. Yours, moreso than most. That's why the terminals keep corroding. If the battery is still in warranty, try to trade it out. If not, put the felt discs on them to slow down the acid, and treat them frequently with battery cleaner/leak detector. Don't use battery terminal sealer on the felt.

You can buy good replacement terminals at NAPA or most other decent parts stores. The absolute best are the solder-on type, which require a pellet of solder & a propane torch to install. For the best seal, get some weatherproof heat-shrink tubing to cover the ends of the cables. There's an article in the Tech Writeups forum on FSB, so check it out.

The next-best are crimp-on terminals, but they require a special tool to install. The absolute worst are the clamp-on terminals; especially the crappy color-coded ones. NEVER use those.

 

I agree, the terminals are leaking. I'd suggest smearing some blue silicone around the base of the terminals, THEN install the 95 cent felt washers. It'll help keep the acid inside and it'll make the felt washers last longer. Just make sure the silicone dries before you put the washers on or you risk glueing (sp) them to the top of the battery.

 

If you do replace the ground cable (you will eventually) save yourself a future headache. Rather than using a factory cable with the intermediate ground, run 2 cables: a long one that goes from battery down to the block and a short one that runs from the ground point on the block up to the ground point on the frame. This will eliminate the tendency of the ground cable to corrode at the midpoint.

 

Thank you all for you quick responses!