Yesterday, I went to my car to head down to the grocery store, only to find that my car wouldn’t start. Based on the symptoms (slow cranking, the dash lights that come on when you start the car were dim and so forth), I decided the battery is the problem: not surprising since the battery is about 4 years old.
Since I still haven’t found someone to jump start the car (I know I can find someone tomorrow, and there’s nothing I have to do until Wednesday), I popped the hood to take a look. Around the posts on the top of the battery that you connect the jumper cables to, there’s this very slightly greenish white substance - it looks dry and crumbly, although I didn’t test it. There is a fairly decent amount of it - that worried me since I wonder if it came from inside the battery.
What could this substance be? And more important, is it safe to jump start the car tomorrow so I can go buy a new battery?
If so, pop off the cables, and clean both the terminal ends and the battery terminals with a mild solution of water and baking soda.
Dry them off and your battery should hold a charge once you get someone to jump your car.
I’d recommend new cables and a new battery. The corrosion can work it’s way up into the covered part of the battery cable where you can’t see it. And that’s what will cause you to not get a good connection, and also can drain your battery.
What kind of car do you have? If you’ve got a good ole “merican” model, you shouldn’t have too much trouble changing out the cables and battery yourself.
It’s those teensy little rice rockets that are difficult to work on, even for girls with little hands like me.
As long as I can get it started, there’s an auto shop that will install the new one when I buy it there. I was just worried about an explosion or something - I certainly don’t want to blind/injure myself or anyone else!
And I assume it’s a top mount - I’ve never done too much dealing with car batteries. Is it a top mount if the posts are on the top?
Thanks for your help, really. I about panicked when I saw that on the battery!
It’s just surface corrosion, usually caused by moisture and not quite tight connections. It’s not a safety issue, however, you should try and prevent it with your next battery.
Ask the shop for their recommendations. There are small fiber washers to go under the cables which will limit corrosion. Years ago we used to smear vaseline over the posts and connections to prevent air/moisture from reaching them. I’ve seen people put liquid latex on them. Again, just ask the shop what they currently recommend.
Use a wire brush and vinegar to clean away the crud.
Rinse with fresh water and wipe dry.
Check water level and add distilled water.
Connect ground cable FIRST.
Connect the RED cable LAST.
Get boosted off and go straight to your local auto parts store.
Most of them will test your battery, install a replacement as needed and be most helpful. They want to sell you your next battery when the one in the car dies from misuse or old age.
You don’t want the ground cable still connected when working on the battery, as an accidental brush with a metal tool between the positive battery terminal and any metal part of the engine or body will result in a very unpleasant, and possibly dangerous, arc welding experience.
The ground ( = negative) cable should always be disconnected first and reconnected last.
Forgive the hijack, but this brings up a question I’ve always had. What’s the proper way to jump a car? I’ve heard it just about every way possible, but I’ve been sticking to the following: Start the donor car, connect the cables to it, connect the cables to the dead car and start it up.
What you’ve been doing is fine. There isn’t just one right way, with all others being wrong. However, there are areas where one way is preferable to another.
It doesn’t matter whether the donor car is started before or after the cables are hooked to it (assuming they’re not yet hooked to the receptor car). But – if the same person is starting that car and doing the cable hookup, then the car should be running first, otherwise there’s a jumper cable hooked up to the donor battery with its other ends hanging loose while the car is being started.
It’s recommended to hook up to the donor before the receptor because there may well be a spark at the last step of cable hookup. The donor car’s battery is being charged by its alternator and giving off a bit of hydrogen gas, so the farther away that spark is, the better. The receptor battery isn’t generating any gasses at the time.
It’s best to have the donor engine running before hooking up to the receptor battery to avoid the weak/dead battery hampering the starting of the donor car.
As with any battery related work, the last connection made should be to the negative. Some recommend this connection be made to some solid metal on the engine rather than the battery post for two reasons: to get a better connection (only significant if the battery cable connection has problems) and to keep the spark away from the battery (rather moot with the donor battery not doing anything).
HeidiKay, here’s how I was taught to jump-start a car. There have been times when my car regularly needed jump-starting; this procedure has worked every time without any difficulties.
Start with both cars shut off.
Connect a red clip of your jumper cables to the positive battery terminal of the Jumpee (dead car).
Make sure that the black clip on the Jumpee end of the cable is not grounded to anything.
Connect the other red clip to the positive battery teminal of the Jumper (working car).
Connect the black clip on the Jumpee end of the cables to the negative terminal of the Jumper’s battery.
Start the Jumper car.
Connect the remaining black clip to a grounding point on the Jumpee; somewhere on the frame, an exposed bolt-head, the engine block. Do not connect it to the negative terminal of the Jumpee’s battery. It’s probably not a good idea to connect it to other electrical components.
[CLEAR!!]
Try starting the Jumpee. Depending on how dead the battery is, you may have to wait a while before the other car can put enough life back into your battery.
If baking soda or vingar aren’t available, any carbonated beverage will do. I’d recommend club soda, since anything with sugar will leave a film of its own on the terminals.
One more thing - the battery may not be dead - I’ve had several occasions where the corrosion/oxide buildup was enough to prevent the electrical connection from the battery to the starter. Clean the battery posts and cables (one at a time: disconnect one cable, clean both cable end and associated battery post, reconnect it, then do the other. Do NOT let the cable ends touch each other or the car frame, as this may ground out the battery). Once reconnected, try starting the car. if it starts, your only problem was excessive gunk buildup on the battery terminals. If the car still won’t start, it’s new battery time.
FYI, the bluish-greenish-white corrosion is mostly hydrated copper sulfate, (CuSO[sub]4[/sub] • 5H[sub]2[/sub]O).
Copper from the terminals or wiring reacts with miniscule amounts of the sulfuric acid that may escape the battery. Over time, the CuSO[sub]4[/sub] accumulates enough to cause a poor connection between the battery terminals and the cables. Poor charging ability and poor power deilvery are the results; it’s halfway to having no battery at all.
That’s really not the best way. You don’t want the negative (ground) cable still connected while you’re working on battery, as an accidental brush with a metal tool between the positive post and any metal on the engine or body will result in an unpleasant and possibly dangerous arc welding experience. The safest way is to disconnect the negative cable first and reconnect it last, dealing with the positive while the negative is still disconnected.
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The cable ends, when disconnected, are not a concern. It’s connecting between the battery posts, or the positive post and ground if the negative isn’t disconnected, that will short across the battery.
Connect the positive cables to both cars first;
Connect one negative cable to the donor car’s negative terminal;
Connect the negative cable for the dead car to any metal structure on the engine itself (not the battery terminal) and make sure the cable is not going to get caught in any moving parts.
This last step is extremely important and it is the only way to be absolutely sure that a spark will not be created in the vicinity of the battery. Although you mentioned that the battery being jumped is dead, the donor car’s battery is not and that is where the current from the spark will originate. The spark can ignite hydrogen escaping from the dead battery. Hydrogen is usually produced while a battery is charging but can still be present near a dead battery.
I only mention this because I have had a battery explode while jumping it. My leather jacket was ruined by the electrolyte and, since I still had a grip on the cable, I nearly brained my self when I brought my hand up to guard my face. But these explosions are rare so don’t get stressed just follow the proper connection order.
BTW - The disconnect procedure is the exact opposite of the connection procedure and just as important, for the same reasons.