I was checking my Battery connector today evening and realized that the entire connector ring to the battery's positive node is corroded. It was covered with blue'ish tinted acid powder. Now I have to tow it to a dealer - doesn't look like i can just put it back together to drive to a Honda dealer (Acura dealer is a little farther away). Does anyone know how this can be fixed so i know ahead of time what to expect than be ripped off by the dealer?
Thanks!

I will attach a pic soon.

 

I have this problem on my car as well. It happens to each one, I spend a lot of time sitting in my car, with the radio on at my job. So I think it has something to do with drawing excessive amounts of power off the battery. More than it was designed for at least.

 

Pz_ - i dont think i have let my car sit drawing power from the battery. Did your connector corrode?

 

I cut off the oem one and replaced it with a new terminal on my friend TL.

 

same prob

 

thisaznboi - where did you buy the new terminal from - dealership or local shop? Can it be done by a novice?

 

just get a pair from auto zone, i think it's ~ $5.

cut the old pair off (minimal cutting and make sure you are cutting the right wires) and put the new ones on

or

buy a terminal cleaner ($3) and some terminal grease ($1). scrub off all the build up clean and apply a layer of grease then reconnect wires

 

clean it with a wire brush? Why would you tow your vehicle to the dealer? lol. Buy a can of battery terminal connector protectant too. Also wash it off with a mixture of baking soda and water. I can only imagine what the dealer will pull if you tow your vehicle to the dealer for this problem...

 

A wire brush and a can of cola. Problem solved.

 

If you look closer, the terminal plug looks like its broken... It doesn't look like the battery cable completely wraps around the terminal...?

 

This same exact thing just happened to my car last week. I had to have it towed to the dealer because my friend and I couldn't figure out what was going on with the car....the electrical systems were all going haywire. Fortunately I have free tows through my insurance.

My buddy who is a Honda Master Tech at the dealership found that this was the problem. He used a screwdriver to scrape the buildup off of the battery terminal and used a wire brush to scrape the buildup off of the connectors. He then put some grease on them and tightened them back down. What caused it he said was that there was a tiny gap in between the connector and the terminal.

Get them cleaned off, regrease them and then make sure they are very tight and you shouldn't have the problem again. Fortunately it only cost me a pack of cigarettes and a Mountain Dew for my tow truck driver as a tip to figure this out.

 

What stiffdogg06 said - the connector ring is broken - it wont wrap around the node and stay (maybe i can use a rubber band or electrical tape to hold it together to start the car so i dont have to tow). The pic was taken after i attempted to clean the connector.
I guess i will have to buy a connector from Autozone to see how a new one looks and figure out how and where to cut the wires. The connector area in the above pic (the area that is covered with the blue substance) is a lot of small copper wire strands if it is anything like the (-) side. Cutting that, re-connecting it and making sure that the connection is good is what I am concerned.

 

I had this problem too- about 2 weeks ago. It broke the terminal. I replaced it with a different one, but now the corrosion is starting to come back. Any idea why?

 

I will be putting on Permatex Battery Cleaner spray or any other battery cleaner spray once i fix the terminal. Found it on a motorcycle forum.

 

had this problem on an older car, cost me about 200 bones for everything (part + labor) of replacement of the cable

 

Had this issue two weeks ago where all my electronics in the car went nuts

 

Had the same problem last year. Kept having to pop the hood and wiggle the connector to get my car started. Finally found a more "solid" connector and got it put on when I got my sound system installed.

 

Slightly OT, but recently I added a power wire to my trunk. I went to Advance Auto and got a "Fleet" terminal, took a pair of bolt cutters to the cables, stripped a bit of the insulation and attached all 3 cables to the terminal. It worked so well, I did the same thing for another member the following weekend. The advantage of the Fleet terminal is you don't have to worry about the holes in the terminal not being big enough (one of the cables is 0 gauge)---the cable ends lay sandwiched between 2 metal plates which you tighten down. Its an ugly terminal, but if you have the plastic battery cover no one will see it.

 

Problem with letting the corrosion built up is that it will find it's way into the wiring harness and by cleaning just the clamp it won't take care of all the corrosion that resides inside the wiring. Many, many years ago the GM F body cars would have so much corrosion it would leak down and rot out the radiator support as well as the body mount and the left front or right front would acutually drop depending on the location of the battery.
The cables should be serviced regularly and no grease or protectant should be placed on the battery terminal before the cables are installed. Clean, connect and then spray with protectant.

 

good stuff all, OFFTOPIC, OP...how's the Kirkland/Costco battery holding up? in need of a battery and for $60 i might pull the trigger.

 

The corrosion was not localized to the terminal. The wire from the alternator to the battery terminal and from the battery terminal to the fuse box had corrosion inside. Now I have to order the entire wiring harness from the dealership or maybe i can look at Autozone for similar wiring harness.

The kirkland battery is holding up pretty good - 3yrs and going good.

Thanks for moving it to the correct forum.

 

One more question folks - can anyone tell me how to remove this piece that was below the battery tray. I removed the 4 screws at the 4 corners but it wont budge.
Dont have a manual to check whats holding it back. Any help will be much appreciated.
Thanks

 

theres a bolt underneath.
you kinda have to feel for it, as you cant see it.

 

Diy ftw!

 

Looks just like my car last week when I replaced the starter!

 

Thanks justnspace. I guess i have to access it through the hole to the left of your marking. Do you know what size spanner?
This DIY is becoming a pain.

 

the same size as all 4 you took out....a 9mm or 10mm.

 

Excellent - Thanks buddy.

 

and i think the hole is to small for a hand.

I just reached all the way over and felt for it.

 

^^^ Probably a 10mm

I'm with dwb, I'm waiting to pull the trigger on a pair of Tsunami terminals

 

Thanks John!

 

PM Majofo. He just did this to get to the starter. He used a 9" extension. Here's his post:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...0&postcount=42

 

I couldnt fit a wrench in that space. I tried to unscrew by feel and that thing was on like a mofo. I think i might have stripped so i had to leave it and work around it. A real PIA but somehow maanaged to remove the cable and install a new starter cable assy. Sprayed some Permatex battery sealer on it so lets see how it will hold up. Thanks for all your help!

 

Yep, the ring is broken. Tape will not work. One way to mcgiver this would be to use a pair of vice grips after cleaning any leftover copper...

This exact thing happened a couple months ago - I got the call from my wife - she got it jumped (a few people said she needed a new battery...yada yada yada....) I started to go ahead and buy a battery as I was out and knew the battery was older. Decided not to...

Got home, saw the corrosion, started to pull off the connector to clean, and riiiippp - the connector started to break open.. I stopped there - pulled out the battery load tester, and sure enough, it was fine.

Bought a brand new cable harness from Acura - $44 that day, installed it. Went ahead and did the negative a few days later (had to go to my regular Acura dealer where they had it...

SO, I think all is good - put the anticorrosive rings on the sucker (you know the good old red and green felt things...) and figured I'm good...

Nope, this morning my wife gets in the thing and no start. She hops in my 7 series (for the very first time - yikes... ! - We have been talking about having her drive it some just to learn how - it is that complex. Luckily I had shown her how to start and put the trans in gear... - ONe year after owning, I'm still finding cool stuff about the car...) anyway, she calls me late in the day to say everything is o.k.

SO, I get home and now the battery positive terminal (only) has a ton of corrosion, and the battery is reading 9.6 V and certainly failed the load test as it is undercharged, so I am wondering:

- Did the battery simply not get charged due to the corrosion (I'll charge the puppy up after cleaning once again the terminal

- Does a weak battery accelerate the corrosion? ( amount of current through the connector due to the additional charging after starting...) - by the way, I did test the charging voltage after startup during the last run through on this corrosion issue and it was fine.
- Could there be a crack in the top of the battery at the terminal leading up the corrosion?

- The ring terminal is a silver coated copper connector - when I clean it, I'll certainly wear off some of the coating...

- Should this terminal be greased up?

- Should we start going to a crimped on lead type of terminal .

- Seems like a common problem...

SO, for now, I guess charge it up, and consider a battery and terminal change.

 

I completely agree about checking the cable for corrosion, great advice.

Replacing the ring is fine but look into the harness before you do the ring. I learned my lesson long ago. If the corrosion gets into the cable it keeps going and going and going. Cut a little of the insulation back. If it's shiny copper wire put the replacement ring on. If it has corrosion, keep cutting back until you find fresh metal. Once it looks fresh, dig through the strands to make sure there's no corrosion under the surface. You may find that it needs a new cable. Believe me, if you don't do this now, you're asking for all kinds troubles down the road.

 

One more thing, I've never had corrosion issues with a drycell battery on any car.

 

I'll get a little bit of an update tonight as well as thought on that:

- I was thinking about getting an Optima dry cell, now I'm wondering if I should have done that at the same time I changed cables...

- One of the reason I did not is that I remembered that the terminals were corroding with a previous battery (I had a spare battery to replace a while ago)

- I went ahead and cleaned things up, and it has been charging a little while. An early load test indicates that I'll be buying a battery...

It has been cold - always happens - the first week of cold weather is the best test for a battery for the winter - this is when an old battery just gives up... I remember being surprised how well the battery did in the load test a couple months ago...

 

Lots of good info on addressing corroded terminals.
Is there any tricks to getting the electronic systems in the car to return to normal function after removing power? I think there is a code needed? Is that in the manual or any other place on the vehicle?
Thanks for the help.

 

I had same problem. Hope this info helps someone else.

A month ago my 2006 Acura CSX wouldn't start because of all the corrosion on the positive battery terminal. Cleaned it off (by the way, pour baking soda straight on it, then rinse it off with water), got it jumped, good to go. Problem recurred a few days later, bought a new battery.

Just yesterday the car wouldnt start again and there was more corrosion on the new battery's positive terminal, so something else is wrong here. Took it to the Acura dealer, after $55 diagnosis, they said to replace the positive battery terminal wire for $280 plus tax.

I may see if I can do it myself, but the dealer said "the mechanic isn't looking forward to this repair" so it is probably not for a beginner like me.

 

Did this corrosion just happen over night?