I've heard everything from "loose connection" to low battery ? ? ? ? ? :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :seeya

 

technically? Electrolysis. If I spelt it correctly.

Its basically when two dissimular metals are caused to corrode... either by their mere presence, or by some 3rd party chemical.

in this case, its battery acid and the act of charging a battery.

the best cure? add some protectant to the posts before putting the cables to them and keep them nice and tight.

cleaning is best done with a Diet Coke. Why waste a good one?

 

That makes good sense, aren't most terminals AND posts made of lead? :)

 

Yes, terminals and posts are lead. Wire is copper though, I'm pretty sure that's where the extra electrons are being moved from.

J :seeya

 

Ummmmm, copper wire, you may be dead-on there. Why does the corrosion usually start at the 2 lead connections though? I've had it (corrosion) back up the cable on me before, as much as a foot or so, but most of the time it's the contact point of the terminal & post, at least it appears that way ? ? ? ?

 

Clean terminals with battery terminal cleaner, (brush type), and battery leads.
reinstall clamps securely. (optional, spray lightly with WD40) :cheers:

 

Just making an educated guess there, :lol. I'm no chemist, but I did stay at a holiday in express last night :lol:

Anyway, I think the corrosion appears there the most because of the transfer of electrons across the gap between terminals. Just another guess though, elementary chemistry, don't fail me now.

J :seeya

 

I also believe a good tight connection makes a big difference, whats your views Watson ? ? ? ? ? ? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

Its oxidation and electrolysis. I dont know enough about Chemistry to explain it thoroughly, i'm just a physics major.

 

To prevent corrosion, clean up the terminals, clamp down tightly and then cover with petroleum jelly. The jelly will prevent oxidation and is easy to clean up if needed.

 

Very good you'all, BUT, once it has begun, one will never completely irradicate it (corrosion) unless you replace the entire cable, battery, etc . . . . . . :smash: :smash: :smash: :smash: :smash: :smash:

 

A little more technical insight. I think we are missing the effects of "out gassing" here in this thread. There is indeed a migration of ions from one battery pole to the other, exterior to the cell. In fact, there tends to be a migration between any two points with a potential difference, which is actually a potential gradient along the whole wire length. The ions are produced from the internal cell reactions of the battery. A simple demo/trick that I learned while working on aircraft that illustrates the migrating ions: Many "sealed" lead-acid batteries will corrode their terminals if they're not protected with a grease film or paint barrier. Well if the battery is sealed, what causes the corrosion? It's the escaping ions looking for a
more attractive element to settle on in an attempt to neutralize their odd, and
undesired valence. If you don't protect the battery terminals, they WILL
corrode. The demo/trick: Do not grease or paint the battery posts and
terminals, which makes a God-awful mess if you have to work on the battery.
Instead stick a shiny copper penny to the top of the battery with a spot of
grease. Place it midway between the two posts, and stop worrying. The penny will actually "intercept" the migrating ions and the battery posts will stay corrosion-free. However, the penny will corrode like a big dog! Change it every few weeks and all will remain corrosion-free. Okay - big long ramble
to suggest that maybe some free ions are causing big problems.

Change the change and you will be just fine. My post is deliberately non-technical in nature. I can elaborate more if needed, but as I stated a bunch of free ions causing big problems! :)
:D

 

You're right, I never even thought about "Out gassing". I think you have nailed the true problem :cool: I for one, appreciate the technical insight into an age old problem. I'm gonna give that penny-thing a try............ Isn't this fun you'll ? ? ? ? ? :yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod:


[Modified by edsalinas, 12:19 PM 12/2/2002]

 

hmm... totally forgot about outgassing, too.

good catch.

time to capture those pesky little free ions.

 

What a great thread this has been ! ! ! I read it all again this morning and laughed so hard I almost wet myself.... This last one is a classic. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Yeap, time to capture all those pesky little free ions ! ! ! ! :cheers:


[Modified by edsalinas, 5:50 AM 12/3/2002]