Hey guys

So since I park my TL for the winter I decided to swap batteries between my winter beater and the TL throughout winter before I got my ctek charger.

I have left the battery from the winter beater in the TL as it was newer however I am finding I have to clean the terminal multiple times a year.

I had the battery tested, the battery is rated for 700CCA and tested at 659CCA, 12.54V @ 27 degrees celcius (which is a good battery).

Now I beleive this battery is bigger than the one from Acura. In my research online this could be caused by a bad battery or bad charging system?

I haven't had any problems with the vehicle not starting however the build up is eating up my terminal posts!

Any opinions?

Here is an image of the battery as I pulled it out of the TL, I have thoroughly cleaned and dried it, put dielectric grease on both posts and connectors, bought one of those set of cotton stuff that sits between the post and connector. I'll check in a month or so and see if it comes back.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8tgxkhk62f...818_144255.jpg

 

Maybe - depends upon the actual specifications for your specific battery. But, the general guidelines say a *good* battery is 12.65V @27C/ 80F degrees, and that 12.54V is about an 85% charge, not a full charge.

It also depends upon just how the load test was done, and the conditions under which the voltage was actually measured - not the temp, but whether or not the surface charge on the battery was removed, before checking the voltage - see more here:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14546038#post14546038

You have taken the proper measures to prevent more corrosion, and the corrosion on those battery terminals is indeed severe.

Never heard of the brand on the battery in your pic, which is the first indication of your problem - crap battery. Please understand what I actually mean - the only real difference between a brand name and a poor quality battery is generally just the QC (quality control) during manufacturing.

Corrosion is caused simply by gas leaking from the battery around the seal (or lack thereof) around the battery posts. That is why those felt pads work - they contain an acid neutralizing *stuff*, and help to seal for gas leaks around the posts.

So its possible that your battery has a lesser quality seal around the battery posts - and maybe its not really any worse than the seals on the OEM RDX battery delivered in my own car? how can I say that?

The OEM battery delivered in my 2009 RDX had massive amount of chassis grease on the battery posts and battery cable ends. There was simply no way for any gas to leak out of the battery. And I am guessing that when you switched batteries, you did nothing to seal the battery posts. They sell those spray anti-corrosion cans, as well as those treated felt circles, for a reason. JMO

When I installed a new battery in my RDX:

1) cleaned the posts and cable ends with lacquer thinner. If reinstalling a used battery, I clean the top of the battery and posts with 1/2 a box of baking soda in a 1/2 gallon of water, a toothbrush, then fully rinse it off.
2) used a brass metal brush on the battery posts and inside the cable ends, to remove any oxidation
3) carefully applied dielectric grease around the bottoms of the posts (the boss), but not on the posts, to seal the top of the battery
4) installed treated felt circles on the battery posts
5) installed the cable ends
6) smeared dielectric grease over everything: cable ends, posts, and felt pads

 

Oh, and usually once every year or two, I clean the top of any battery with the baking soda/ water mix. But I think I did that only once for the RDX battery in 4 years, before replacing it. I did not have to clean the posts/ cable ends, just the battery top.

And I notice that the dielectric grease I used on the new battery, is not holding up as well as the heavy chassis grease on the original OEM battery. It seems to wash away just from the rain and car wash.