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What is Battery Corrosion? Causes and Prevention of Corrosion on Positive Terminal

Corroded batteries stop your car from starting. This is because when a car battery corrodes, the passage of electrical current to the battery is disrupted.

When a steady flow of electric current is interrupted, the car simply stops functioning. From that, you can contemplate how crucial it is to prevent batteries from corroding.

This article is here to help you contemplate the causes of battery corrosion and ways of fixing the issue at affordable rates.

By the end of the article, you will have basic information about what causes car battery corrosion on positive terminals and how to prevent it.

Before you could say, Jack Robinson, we are kicking off the writing!

Table of Contents

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  • What is Battery Corrosion?
  • Primary Causes of Car Battery Corrosion
    • 1. Precipitation Near Copper Clamps
    • 2. Leakage of Hydrogen Gas from the Battery
    • 3. Over Filling Water in the Battery
    • 4. Overcharging of the Battery
  • Prevention of Car Battery Corrosion
    • 1. Apply Vaseline or Grease around Terminals
    • 2. Applying Copper Clamps Around the Terminals
    • 3. Apply Battery Terminal Protectors
    • 4. Use Multi-Meter to Regulate the Charging of the Battery
    • 5. Clean the Terminal with a Solution of Water and Baking Soda
  • Final Statement

What is Battery Corrosion?

Ever seen a bluish or greenish substance surrounding battery terminals, battery posts, or battery cables?

Well, if you saw it last night, it is high time you took things seriously. This substance symbolizes that your battery is corroded.

Normally, that substance is pure white and is known as anhydrous copper sulphate or lead sulphate. This whitish material turns blue whenever it is exposed to moisture.

Contrary to that, the blue-colored material that you see around the battery terminals when it corrodes is hydrated copper sulphate.

Accumulation of these substances causes the battery to corrode. When a battery corrodes, the flow of electrical current to it faces resistance. As a consequence of this supplemented resistance to current flow, the car stops working.

Primary Causes of Car Battery Corrosion

Brought up below are some of the major causes of car battery corrosion:

1. Precipitation Near Copper Clamps

Copper is one of the best conductors of electricity. However, its conductive ability diminishes when it is teamed with sulphate to form copper sulphate.

Precipitation of copper sulphate leads to poor conduction of electric current on terminals. Note that copper sulphate accumulated around copper clamps is bluish in texture.

Previously, it was whitish. It becomes bluish when it chemically reacts with the moisture.

2. Leakage of Hydrogen Gas from the Battery

The natural surrounding contains 78 percent of Nitrogen gas and 21 percent of Oxygen gas. Similarly, one of the major components of car batteries is hydrogen.

Leakage of hydrogen gas from a battery can cause battery corrosion. This released hydrogen gas then chemically reacts with other gases in the air and forms a corrosive environment for batteries.

3. Over Filling Water in the Battery

Batteries do become corrosive if you replenish them with excessive water or when they have not been maintained for quite a few years. Poorly maintained batteries often corrode due to excessive leakage of electrolytes from the terminals.

These problems are more common in lead batteries. Occasional maintenance and repair of the battery can lessen the occurrence of these problems.

4. Overcharging of the Battery

The job of an alternator is to supply electric power to the battery so that the electrical components of the car can function optimally. Sometimes, the alternator overcharges the battery, which leads to battery corrosion.

This problem is simple to tackle. You only need a measuring device called a multimeter to regulate the charging value of the car battery. Make sure it doesn’t exceed 14 volts.

Overcharging the battery results in corrosion around the positive terminal. So next time someone asks you what causes car battery corrosion on the positive terminal. Tell him the reason mentioned above!

Prevention of Car Battery Corrosion

Outlined below are some easy-to-take steps that can fix the problem of battery corrosion for you without a hefty investment!

1. Apply Vaseline or Grease around Terminals

In winter, we put vaseline on our lips to keep them hydrated and curtail exorbitant dryness. Similarly, mechanics put vaseline or grease around the terminals so that they won’t corrode.

Note that greasing terminals attract dirt particles. Within no time, terminals are governed by hundreds of thousands of dirt particles.

2. Applying Copper Clamps Around the Terminals

Copper compression clamps are made from thin copper. They serve as a good conductor of electric current, and that is why most people put them on the terminals to minimize the chances of battery corrosion.

3. Apply Battery Terminal Protectors

Just like screen protectors are applied by 99% of Android and iPhone users to safeguard the screen and enhance its life span, battery terminal protectors are applied by mechanics on the ends to protect the battery from corrosion.

Together with extensive protection from corrosion, battery protectors improve battery life and intensify the charging capacity of the battery.

Most people replace the old battery with a new one before applying a battery protector. This is because old batteries are more susceptible to electrolyte leakage, hydrogen leakage, and corrosion.

4. Use Multi-Meter to Regulate the Charging of the Battery

A bunch of batteries corrodes because of two reasons: overcharging or undercharging batteries. It is easy to find out if corrosion happened because of overcharging or undercharging.

When the positive terminal is surrounded by precipitated substances (lead sulphate or copper sulphate), it is a sign that the battery is overcharged.

If the same substances surround the negative terminal, it means the battery is undercharged. Both conditions are not ideal for the life of the battery, and that is why you must keep a multi-meter with you for measuring the amount of charge.

5. Clean the Terminal with a Solution of Water and Baking Soda

The easiest thing you could do at home to make the environment less susceptible to corrosion is to clean the terminals once a week.

For cleaning purposes, you need to make a solution that contains water mixed with baking soda. Gently apply this solution on terminals with the help of a brush.

In case you don’t want to use a watery solution, fearing that you will end up pouring extra water on terminals, you can simply pour baking soda on terminals. And then remove it with the help of a sponge.

Final Statement

Battery corrosion is not a big issue as it seems to be. Some little preventive measures, in the beginning, can save us from making hefty investments later. The article has discussed some of the preventive measures. Hopefully, they will help you!

By Michael Crawford | Last Updated: December 22, 2022

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