What would be good to clean battery leads?
- Thread starter GDawg
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streethorse
15 Year Member
helty
some Ukrainian's enjoying a handjob via my credit
Coke works good. Any acidic substance will do the trick.
However, there is a lot more to it than just getting the white stuff off.
You should get a battery terminal cleaner and disconnect the terminals and clean the posts and everything.
Then slip some shrink wrap tubing over the negative lead and cover up the little bit of exposed copper near the crimp to the batter terminal that gets water spray on it from the under hood gap.
Then install felt washers on the posts.
Then coat all exposed metal with silicone dielectric grease.
Then reconnect battery.
And if you really want to get fancy pull the battery completely and also clean all the garbage out of your battery tray such as dirt and dead insects. If you have any problems with the battery tray just get a new one at the Ford parts counter for $14 like I did.
Illustration of "exposed copper near the crimp" with shrink wrap applied:
View attachment 448961
View attachment 448963
However, there is a lot more to it than just getting the white stuff off.
You should get a battery terminal cleaner and disconnect the terminals and clean the posts and everything.
Then slip some shrink wrap tubing over the negative lead and cover up the little bit of exposed copper near the crimp to the batter terminal that gets water spray on it from the under hood gap.
Then install felt washers on the posts.
Then coat all exposed metal with silicone dielectric grease.
Then reconnect battery.
And if you really want to get fancy pull the battery completely and also clean all the garbage out of your battery tray such as dirt and dead insects. If you have any problems with the battery tray just get a new one at the Ford parts counter for $14 like I did.
Illustration of "exposed copper near the crimp" with shrink wrap applied:
View attachment 448961
View attachment 448963
helty
some Ukrainian's enjoying a handjob via my credit
killy, your attention to detail never ceases to amaze me. If you ever sell your car, the re-sale value should be the highest of any mustang of the same year/mileage. Good on ya. 
One day I thought; "Hey, those battery terminals need some attention..."
JimC said:
+1
After you do this and it dries, put some vaseline on the terminals and it will keep the corrosion from coming back for a long time.
As for terminals ... you could get some like these:
They are gold plated and work excellent. They are like 25 bucks for both of em' and super easy to put on. You just cut off the old pieces of junk right where the wire connects and then strip it down just a little, then slide the wire into the new connectors and two screws tighten down to hold it on. And on the positive terminal, there are hex screws that hold the wires in (even easier) and plus it has like 4 slots in case you have speakers or other accessories that need to be connected to the positive terminal.
Just a thought ... I got them at like Autozone I think.
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DTNODYA said:+1
After you do this and it dries, put some vaseline on the terminals and it will keep the corrosion from coming back for a long time.
As for terminals ... you could get some like these:
They are gold plated and work excellent. They are like 25 bucks for both of em' and super easy to put on. You just cut off the old pieces of junk right where the wire connects and then strip it down just a little, then slide the wire into the new connectors and two screws tighten down to hold it on. And on the positive terminal, there are hex screws that hold the wires in (even easier) and plus it has like 4 slots in case you have speakers or other accessories that need to be connected to the positive terminal.
Just a thought ... I got them at like Autozone I think.
Those are nice.
My negative connector was so rusty that I couldn't turn the nut. I ran out and bought a replacement for it for the short term. It's brass and went on easy. My positive connector looks fine for now. I'm going to look around and see what I can find and then buy a red top Optima.
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triggz
Founding Member
You can replace the terminals with some gold plated ones from walmart. They look a lot better and wont corrode.
BLK_ROUSH
Founding Member
All great suggestions ..... +1 on the aftermarket terminals and Red top Optima.
So love the cranking power, since mine sits more.
Also, a good time to think about a battery Relocation kit too.
So love the cranking power, since mine sits more.
Also, a good time to think about a battery Relocation kit too.
a wire brush and get the felt washers like killy said. I had a massive problem with corrosion, and had to clean the terminals every few days. I cleaned it off real well, threw on the washers, and 3-4 months later, theyre still as clean as day 1.
White Stang
Member
J/k:
black_96_GT
New Member
Baking soda and water mixture does the trick. Scub them down with a wire brush (terminals also) and put some vaseline on the terminals to prevent the corrosion from coming back. The ultimate cheap route.
GDawg said:Those are nice.
My negative connector was so rusty that I couldn't turn the nut. I ran out and bought a replacement for it for the short term. It's brass and went on easy. My positive connector looks fine for now. I'm going to look around and see what I can find and then buy a red top Optima.
Here's a pic I found of how I did my trucks terminals ... used a gold connector for the positive and a quick disconnect (cheap-o, but works great) for the negative terminal.
Yeah, I think I am going to get an Optima sometime soon also. My car eats normal batteries for some reason.
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