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How to Clean Car Battery Terminals

10/12/2020 5:59:00 PM | (2323) View Count | Return

how to clean car battery terminals

After a little while, corrosion often sets in on car battery terminals. This corrosion often looks like green or blue-green fungus growing on the terminals of your battery. The battery cables are attached to the terminals of your car's battery. Even if there is a significant amount of corrosion of your car battery terminals, the battery does not necessarily need to be replaced. It's pretty easy to learn how to clean car battery terminals. Read on to learn how to clean corrosion off of your car battery terminals.

Inspecting The Battery

The first thing that you should do when preparing to clean off your car battery terminals is inspect the battery. You want to be sure that there is no exposed wiring in the battery cables that are connected to your vehicle's battery. Also, you want to ensure that your car's battery is not leaking acid. Once you have ensured this, take a good look at the extent of the corrosion. The more corrosion there is, the more cleaning solution you need to prepare. You can still successfully clean off your car battery terminals, even if there is a lot of corrosion.

Mixing The Cleaning Solution

To clean the corrosion off of your car battery terminals, you're going to need to mix up a cleaning solution. This may sound a little involved, but all you need is baking soda and water. You shouldn't need more than a tablespoon or two of baking soda and a cup or two of water. Simply pour the baking soda into the water and mix it in. You're also going to need an old toothbrush to scrub down your car battery terminals. If you don't have an old toothbrush, you can use any sort of brush or rag you may have lying around.

Cleaning The Terminals

Cleaning the terminals of corrosion should be easy and quick. All you have to do is wet your brush in the solution and start scrubbing. This process is quite safe as long as you take the proper precautions, namely not starting the car while you are cleaning off the battery. Usually, the corrosion will come right off. However, you may have to scrub for a little while if there is a lot of corrosion on your car battery terminals.

Come Into United Tire Today

If you need to get your car battery terminals cleaned off or if you need any other basic automotive maintenance, United Tire is the place to go. We have tire shops throughout the Philadelphia area, so there's bound to be one within a convenient distance. Our technicians are knowledgeable, experienced, and friendly. We truly value the communities we serve, and we take care to treat our customers like family. If you need automotive maintenance, come into your local United Tire today. You can also make an appointment for a convenient time in the future.