How to Clean Corroded Car Battery Terminals
by Rose Kivi
Corrosion on your car battery terminals can prevent your car from starting. Cleaning the corrosion is an easy do-it-yourself job when you follow some simple directions.
Step 1
Make sure your car engine is turned off.
Step 2
Remove the negative battery cable first by loosening it with a flat-head screwdriver and lifting it off the battery terminal. After removal from the terminal, set the negative cable away from the positive battery terminal and metal.
Step 3
Remove the positive battery cable using the same removal method as the negative cable. Do not let the negative and positive battery cables touch.
Step 4
Pour Coca Cola or baking soda and water on the battery terminals and the battery cable ends.
Step 5
Scrub the battery terminals and the battery cable ends with a toothbrush until the corrosion is removed.
Step 6
Pour water on the battery terminals and the battery cable ends to rinse Coca Cola or baking soda off.
Step 7
Let battery terminals and battery cables dry.
Step 8
Apply a thin coat of Vaseline to battery terminals.
Step 9
Slide the positive cable onto the battery terminal and tighten.
Step 10
Slide the negative cable onto the battery terminal and tighten.
Things You'll Need
- Flat-head screwdriver
- Coca Cola or baking soda and water
- Water
- Toothbrush
- Vaseline
Writer Bio
Rose Kivi has been a writer for more than 10 years. She has a background in the nursing field, wildlife rehabilitation and habitat conservation. Kivi has authored educational textbooks, patient health care pamphlets, animal husbandry guides, outdoor survival manuals and was a contributing writer for two books in the Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Series.
