Car battery maintenance is one thing everyone forgets about.  Cleaning the posts or terminals is only one of the tasks required. Did you ever wonder what all that yellow or white crust build up was on the connections? This is corrosion caused from the battery acid.

When a battery is recharging, there is a chemical reaction causing sulfuric acid fumes to be created and they have to go somewhere. The fumes attack the outside terminals and mix with in the dirt that comes to rest on the top or sides of the battery causing a slow to medium discharge.

Want to see for yourself. Get a volt meter that will measure DC voltage. Place the scale on the meter to read 12 volts or higher. Place your red test lead on the positive terminal of the battery. Place the black lead in the dirt close to the positive terminal on the battery and slowly move it in the dirt closer to the negative terminal. Are you getting a reading?

The closer to move to the negative terminal the higher the reading will be. A high voltage reading half way to the negative terminal is not good. This means the power is leaking from the positive terminal to the negative terminal with ease and discharging your battery.

Not getting a reading until you’re very close to the negative terminal? This is a good sign your battery has minimum or no power loss across the external body of the battery but may have internal problems. This can be checked with a load tester at a local garage.

Always take safety precautions using safety glasses and gloves when working on batteries as they contain sulfuric acid and can cause severe burns. Cleaning that messy battery can be a breeze. Warm water and baking soda work extremely well.

If you don’t have baking soda but you do own a swimming pool, powdered PH up will also work as it does the same thing as baking soda. It will neutralize the acid build up on the external case of the battery and connections.

Remember a clean battery can extend its life. It’s your money so keep it in your pocket.