ford141 Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 I have a 2008 Edge that I purchased about 6 months ago. The battery terminals were very corroded when I bought it, which I cleaned immdiately and treated. Since then I have had to clean and treat them 2 more times, approximately every 2 months. I even doused the terminals in Coke to neutralize the acidity the last time I cleaned them but the corrosion continues to come back. Is there any long term solution to keep the corrosion from coming back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Did you wirebrush the terminals? What are you using to "treat" the terminals? How old is the battery? How much driving do you do? I had corrosion problems on mine as well, had the dealer clean it off & treat it over a year ago. So far, so good. Something like this will protect your battery terminals: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_counterman's-choice-battery-protector-permatex_7730003-p http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BOKML2/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bce Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Did you wirebrush the terminals? What are you using to "treat" the terminals? How old is the battery? How much driving do you do? I had corrosion problems on mine as well, had the dealer clean it off & treat it over a year ago. So far, so good. Something like this will protect your battery terminals: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_counterman's-choice-battery-protector-permatex_7730003-p http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BOKML2/ Those work -- I've used something like the permatex before. I use the felt washers on my batteries now. Tired of buying the cans of stuff and only using them once. I keep forgetting where I put them in the garage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evh Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 I bought a 2009 Limited in 2010. It had 67K miles on it (company car). The previous owner had the battery replaced because of the corrosion (likely could have cleaned it). I also removed the new battery and put the disk thingies under the terminal and applied the goop to them, and I still have issues. Something about the design/placement, etc, makes these things corrode (and I take very good care of my car). It was so bad that when I replaced the spark plugs last summer (115K miles on them), one of the battery terminal connectors broke putting the batter back in due to the excessive corrosion. I had to order a part from Ford to fix it (note, I used a hose clamp to hold the terminal connector in place until the part came in - a real hack - but it worked!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ford141 Posted January 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 (edited) I did use a wire brush to throughly clean the terminals. The corrosion was so bad at the beginning that the clamps were completely frozen. I had to clean them just to get the bolts and clamps to work. I tried the spray stuff from the auto parts store first and the corrosion came back. The second time I did it I coated the posts and terminals in grease and then sprayed the stuff on them, it still corroded. I take care of the car, but I've only owned it for 6 months. The battery said it was replaced in March of 2013. Every time I pop the hood to wash the motor (once a month or so), there is new corrosion. I will also mention that the car seems to have been well cared for prior to me buying it. It was in very good shape, considering it is a 5 year old car with 80k on it. Edited January 9, 2014 by ford141 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Either the battery is leaking, or the terminals need to be replaced. My best guess at this point. Could be a bad ground, but I don't think so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Sounds like a leaky battery to me, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ford141 Posted January 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 So, I tackled the terminals again last night. I picked up a can of "battery terminal cleaner" from the local auto parts store that sprays on as a yellow foam and turns red when it contacts battery acid. As was suggested, the battery was leaking acid. This is a non-sealed maintenance-type battery with vent caps on the top. The battery was leaking acid out of the vent caps (don't know why - overfilled maybe?). I sprayed the battery and terminals multiple times and scrubbed the terminals with a wire brush and rinsed with water. The terminal clear is supposed to nuetralize acid, so I'm hoping it did the trick. After the multiple cleanings and rinse, I put those terminal donuts under the terminals and sprayed the top and bottom of the terminals with the red spray protective stuff. Hopefully that should take care of the problem. If not the battery will get replaced with a maintenance-free battery like I usually run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 You are one patient fella! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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