Battery 101

battery terminal corrosion

There are a couple times a year when humidity, heat, or cold, and other elements, result in battery problems.
WHAT KIND OF PROBLEMS?
The problems that are most common result in battery draw or insulation from recharging. When starting,  there is a big current draw to turn the engine over. When charging at low current flow,  it takes very little resistance to reduce or prevent charging the battery from the generator. What kind of resistance? Any kind of corrosion as shown in the photo. Or a “blackening” of the positive or negative terminal. All terminals and cable connectors need to be cleaned to a Bright Color to make a good low resistance connection. If you have any White or Green Stuff on your your battery terminals, you also probably have conductivity across the top of the battery positive to negative terminals. This is a very low current draw on your battery. Over time your battery can go dead. Clean the terminals and the battery top with Baking Soda and Water.

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