Battery Connection Corrosion

[nolanative]

I have a 2007 SEL+ with just over 16,000 miles. Went to crank the engine today, and nothing. Called roadside assistance, they came and jumped the battery and noticed there was some corrosion on the battery connection. He said to let the vehicle idle for a bit and then drive around for a little while to charge up battery. So I did. Let it idle for about 20 minutes, and then drove it around for another 20-25 minutes. As I was pulling into my parking garage at home, it stalled while I was in driving and had the vehicle in drive. Called roadside assistance back and they sent a towtruck and had it towed to the dealership. Will find out tomorrow what is wrong.

 

Anyone else experience any corrosion like this??

I'm wondering if a new altenator is needed.

[PU Pink55]

I have a 2007 SEL+ with just over 16,000 miles. Went to crank the engine today, and nothing. Called roadside assistance, they came and jumped the battery and noticed there was some corrosion on the battery connection. He said to let the vehicle idle for a bit and then drive around for a little while to charge up battery. So I did. Let it idle for about 20 minutes, and then drove it around for another 20-25 minutes. As I was pulling into my parking garage at home, it stalled while I was in driving and had the vehicle in drive. Called roadside assistance back and they sent a towtruck and had it towed to the dealership. Will find out tomorrow what is wrong.

 

Anyone else experience any corrosion like this??

I'm wondering if a new altenator is needed.

 

This will happen on almost every vehicle that the battery is not maintained. Battery terminals should be cleaned and treated to stop the corrosion. There are different ways to seal it to slow down/stop this from happening. Surprised the towtruck driver didn't clean them for you. Look in your owners manual for Battery, mine is on page 301 for the 2008 models.

Edited July 24, 2008 by PU Pink55

[evh]

Sharing some additional information on battery corrosion. I purchased a used 2009 with 65,000 miles in Sept of 2010. I had paperwork for all the historical work done on it and about a week before I got it, the battery was replaced at a Valvoline shop due to "corrosion" on the battery (hey, how about just cleaning it...). Anyhow, I was happy to have a new battery but noticed the terminals were still quite corroded. I had cleaned them a couple times but still a lot of corrosion. Roll forward to today and 113,000 miles. The car twice had all dash lights come on while driving and then they all eventually went out (check engine, etc.). I suspected the battery was not making good connection. Well today I replaced all the spark plugs and removed the battery to make the job easier and clean it. Wow, it was loaded with corrosion. In addition, I see the Valvoline shop replaced the 650 CCA battery with a 530 CCA one. The hold down in the battery compartment wont even hold it because it is smaller (the constant rattling may have lead to more corrosion?).

 

So I cleaned it and the terminals up real good. Put those red and green disks under the terminals and put grease on the outside to try to prevent it. When I was putting on the negative terminal, the bolt that squeezes the battery clamp broke. Note that our cars have a special new design and you can't simply get a new battery terminal at AutoZone. I had to go to the Ford garage and order one. I am not even sure they have the right one, we had to search on the computer. I will pick it up in a few days when it comes in. I hope it works.

 

So what do I do so I can keep driving it? I took a hose clamp and rigged it around the terminal to "squeeze" it tight. So far it is holding well. Thought I would share everything I found. The constant corrosion lead to the bolt corroding and ultimately breaking when I tried to tighten it. So you may want to spray penetrating oil on them before you need to loosen and tighten them.