I went out today to try and start my car, mind you it hasnt been driven in about 2 weeks because of the bad weather and snow we're having up here (im from Toronto) I go out every other day to start the car for a five minutes just so things wont freeze up and stuff. And today it wouldnt start. All you hear is a whining/winding noise from the alternator..the lights go on in the cluster/dash and the radio turns on fine too..but the car wont start. What could be the problem? So I check the batter and found some buildup on the battery terminals. Is this normal??

Coles notes:I doubt the battery has been changed by the previous owner of the car (although Im not 100% sure) Its a 94 so you never know..







Sorry for the bad quality of the pics..my hands were freezing when I took those therefore it was shaking a bit.

Thanks for the help in advance guys.

 

pour sum water all over it who cares the car still starts for me when i do it. and gets rid off all that crap

 

corrsion time for a new battery

 

baking soda mixed w/ water, use some brush to brush it on and wipe off the acid corrosion, no biggie,

 

get a brush and get all that crap out

after that
put a shitload of grease on the terminals..

 

boiling water is what you want to use, also you could use your lug wrench to maually turn the crank @ the pulley, maybe spinning the whole belt train area will help. (crank pulley is driver's side next to your front wheel.

 

boiling water? we were taught to use warm water with baking soda (to get rid of the acidic properties of the corosion) and scrub it with a wire brush

 

pour some coca cola on the terminals, the acid from the soda will clear that right up. use a battery brush on the terminals, and your set to go.....
you dont need very much, pour it on, let it soak for a min, and thats it.....

 

do exactly this. i had the same problem. Get a pan or kettle or whatever you want to call it. pour water in from the sink as much as you can put in ur jug. then boil the water. turn the car on. while the engine is running pour the water on the battery's terminals. it will boil off all the buildup.

 

grease? boiling water?

baking soda and water is what you need to neutrailze the acid.
if you arent worried about the acid then just blow it away and get it off, it will eat threw your clothes and irritate your skin and is very bad for your eyes.

once you get it all clean, like the other members said, use a wire brush to make it all nice and exposed.

either get battery terminal protection spray from the store, or use vaseline on the terminals to prevent corrosion.

 

There's kits you can buy at checker, auto zone, or pep boys that should come with a brush and solution you can use to clean that up.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by psychoticmindset &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">There's kits you can buy at checker, auto zone, or pep boys that should come with a brush and solution you can use to clean that up. </TD></TR></TABLE>

lol kits damn u guys want everything to be eazy

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Honda97 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">lol kits damn u guys want everything to be eazy </TD></TR></TABLE>

lol yep.....why make it hard if it don't have to be Though I have to admit...thats the first time I've heard of the boiling water technique....I'll have to try that some time.

 

yea its really easy it just boils off all the acid. it makes it look pretty new

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hybridej7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">pour some coca cola on the terminals, the acid from the soda will clear that right up. use a battery brush on the terminals, and your set to go.....
you dont need very much, pour it on, let it soak for a min, and thats it.....</TD></TR></TABLE>

i've used this meathod before, and it works well
it got the terminals extra shiny, without any scrubbing

 

Thanks for all the help and suggestions..i'll post an update once ive finished working on it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dan GSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i've used this meathod before, and it works well
it got the terminals extra shiny, without any scrubbing</TD></TR></TABLE>

I did this as well... basically sprayed engine cleaner all over the place and poured out my drink on the battery. Waited 15 min and rinsed. Worked well for me.