# Car Battery Corrosion

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-battery-corrosion/118738>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 13, 2002, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-battery-corrosion/118738 "2002-07-13T03:36:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2002, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-battery-corrosion/118738/1 "2002-07-13T03:36:18Z")

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I was wondering, what is that white corrosion you get from a battery? Whatever it is appears to be either acidic or basic in solution–not sure which, as I have no handy way to test pH.

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**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2002, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-battery-corrosion/118738/2 "2002-07-13T14:02:13Z")

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Considering that the terminals are lead and the battery vents sulphuric acid, I’d guess that it’s lead oxide and sulphuric acid.