Jeroen1000

Hi everyone,

I have a 1996 Civc EJ9 1.4 iS petrol car.
I'd like to clean my battery but I was wondering:

1) Can I completely detach the battery or should I make sure I keep power with a booster? I do not have an alarm and I'm not to lazy to reprogram the clock and my radio presets, but will it mess with other more important stuff?

2) I'm going to buy a spray to protect the battery terminals. Should I first spray the terminals and then connect the leads, or connect the leads first? If I use Vaseline, I need to connect the leads first because we do not want to increase resistance. But I'm not sure when I use a spray.

3) Should I wait a certain amount of time before disconnecting the battery after having turned off the ignition?

Regarding an alternator test:

When the car is idle (this takes a while after having started) I should measure the voltage between the 2 battery terminals. What should it read? I'm finding all kinds of numbers but most seem to indicate somewhere between 13.8 and 14.7.

When the car is idle, and I turn on the blower, rear window heating, radio, lights...
What minimum voltage should I still read?

Are there any more easy alternator tests?

Many thanks to all for your tips!

Cheers,
Jeroen

Former User

Fluctuating voltages may indicate a bad voltage regulator inside the alternator.

Jeroen1000

I have not measured it yet. I was just wondering what I'm suppose to see when I do.

That having said, it is 20 degrees Fahrenheit where I live. I left my car overnight (and before I went to sleep, I also turned on the headlights for 3 minutes). Then I measured my battery in the morning and I had 12.58v. Seems like plenty considering the temperature.

Now what I did notice is that the cable from the negative terminal is quite rusty where it grounds to the chassis. I'd probably have to clean that.

So what else should I check? I assume I need to verify whether the start motor receives the juice. But how does one do that?

Anyone that know the answer to my other questions, please feel free to do so)

motegicivic

I would take off the leads before cleaning it, you can buy a battery brush about 3 bucks, you clean the terminals on the battery by twisting it, then there is brush part you clean the leads going to the battery. You can use baking soda and water if you would like or a spray battery cleaner.

As for voltage measure with car off, should be about 12 volts, use a multimeter, positive lead to battery and negative to negative on the battery.

Turn car on and measure voltage should be about 14 volts running.

Jeroen1000

Some good news, the alternator is fine!
I left my car off from 5 PM to 7 AM the next morning (with the car still off), I got 12,75v. So it does appear to be required to switch _on_ your headlights for a few minutes, then switch them off and let the voltage stabilize for about 5 to 10 minutes before measuring the battery voltage.

So I think the battery is fine too.

The bad news is that the battery tray is quite rusty. Especially at its base where it is bolted to the chassis. I'm worried I'm going to destroy the bolt when getting it out.
Fingers crossed:-)

Wrona

spray some silicone spray on the bolt before you pull it out just slowly turn the bolt they're not torqued that much in there

Jeroen1000

I've sprayed some WD40 on there and I'm going to do that again today. That will give it plenty of time by Saturday to soak in.

I have one last idiot question. Is is allow to rinse a battery with a garden hose? Of should I take very great care no puddle of water develops between the battery posts?

teggi

Just hose it off, 12 v wont do any harm.

Wrona

i spray off my engine bay all the time ull be fine i dont cover anything but that filter

take the battery use a steel wool brush no need to spray the battery unless theres some acid builtup

motegicivic

How dirty is the battery? How about some shop towels and degreaser and just wipe it down?

I am not crazy about hosing it.