Battery terminal advice

[Guest]

Pretty chilly here today, so I decided to take the 57 out for a newspaper run and had to dittle around with cleaning battery terminals at the grocery. (Don't we all love making parking lot repairs when it's just under freezing?)

Got me to thinking as I was wire brushing things down, back when I was in HS and worked p/t at a gas station, the old mechanic there insisted on using wheel bearing grease on the battery posts, saying it kept down corrosion. It kept out the air, that's for sure and in FL where I lived at the time, it was salt air.

Does anyone use a slather of something to keep the rusticles away?

[buddymander]

I coat the whole post and cable end with grease, inside and out, and there will be no corrosion.

[DKing]

Clean the terminals real good and make the connections while they are dry. Then when you are happy with the connections, then coat the outside area with die-electric (sp?) grease. Any auto parts store will have this hanging with all the other lubricants.



David King
1964 Studebaker Commander
1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham (615)
1966 Pontiac GTO convertible

[Gunslinger]

Most auto supply store carry spray battery sealer...use to seal the distributor from moisture, the spark plug wires, battery cables, etc. It works well.




Poet...Mystic...Soldier of Fortune. As always...self-absorbed, adversarial, cocky and in general a malcontent.

[DEEPNHOCK]

David said it properly.
Any good auto supply and truck supply place, or truck stop sells electrical connection dielectric grease.
Truckers use it on their light wiring connectors all the time to protect from corrosion.
Permatex sells it #31824

http://www.permatex.com/products/Automotive/specialized_maintenance_repair/electrical_system_maintenance/Permatex_Bulb_Lamp_Electrical_Connector_Dielectric_Grease.htm

[u]battery terminals</u>, ignition components and other electrical connections.
Soem interesting contrary reading is at:

quote:Originally posted by DKing

Clean the terminals real good and make the connections while they are dry. Then when you are happy with the connections, then coat the outside area with die-electric (sp?) grease. Any auto parts store will have this hanging with all the other lubricants.

[showbizkid]

Also, make sure you have felt washers under the terminals and make sure the terminals are not installed too low on the battery posts. It's a well-known fact that any metal touching the battery case will eventually corrode; most folks have their terminals installed too low on the posts and they wind up laying on the case, which causes the corrosion to start. So those felt washers actually do make a difference!

The dielectric grease is a great tip, too.

I've done both of these things on all my cars for years and haven't had corrosion issues on the cables or terminals since I began doing it.


[img=left]http://members.cox.net/clarknovak/lark.gif[/img=left]

Clark in San Diego
'63 F2/Lark Standard

http://studeblogger.blogspot.com

https://www.studebakersandiego.com

[buddymander]

No way--If you coat it AFTER you connect it, you'll still have pockets of air between the connecting surfaces that will corrode. I coat everything with grease and then make the attachments. That way, even surfaces that you can't see are protected. And the grease does a better job of making the connection and conducting electricity than air pockets.

[Guest]

Buddym, that's what the old mechanic taught me, too.

Thanks all for the great advice!

[DEEPNHOCK]

I have learned to never say never on a forum....Including this one.

http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum6/HTML/001202.html

Stubborn attitudes is one thing.
Learning something new is another.
I have been on a forced corrosion learning curve, forced upon me professionally since the advent of calcium chloride in the transportation world.
Old school tricks is one thing, but technological progress, advancement, and application is another.
I read the manufacturers instructions, and the industries advice.
It changes, and our own knowledge and attitudes should adjust accordingly.
Not a slam, but things don't stay the same any more... No matter how bad we want them to.
Slime it up before, during, or after... It's better than nothing.
But since a dielectric grease does not conduct electricity, it will not make the connection better.
It will only prevent an environment where corrosion can start and grow.
If you are using a lithium grease, you might have a point, as lithium is a heavy metal.
But the two greases are light years apart in design and application.
HTIH
Jeff[8D]

quote:Originally posted by buddymander

No way--If you coat it AFTER you connect it, you'll still have pockets of air between the connecting surfaces that will corrode. I coat everything with grease and then make the attachments. That way, even surfaces that you can't see are protected. And the grease does a better job of making the connection and conducting electricity than air pockets.

[Invalid User Name]

Right you are Jeff. A dielectric material means that electrical current will not pass through it. The center of a capacitor is a dielectric. This is what makes them work. Old air-variable capacitors use simply air between the plates. Myself, I use bearing grease on battery terminals. I have been doing it for years and I lay a penny on top of the battery in honor of the old man I worked for as a kid. He would skin me if I didn't put one on the batteries when we serviced a car.

Doug

Venice, Florida
1950 Champion 9G F1

[dean pearson]

Speaking of Jeff's old school tricks,
My grandfather allways left a penny on top of his battery.
He said the copper would attract the corrosion before anything else and just replace the penny as needed.

Is that B.S. or have any of you heard the same thing?

Dean.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Like the sacrificial anode that is on almost all boats?
Sure...
But which is the softer metal that will be dissolved through electrolysis?
Copper, or lead?
I admit to having done no research in this area.
(I have saved all my pennies, and I use my ^%$# nickles (nickels) in brake, hood, and clutch springs)
Jeff[8D]

quote:Originally posted by dean pearson

Speaking of Jeff's old school tricks,
My grandfather allways left a penny on top of his battery.
He said the copper would attract the corrosion before anything else and just replace the penny as needed.

Is that B.S. or have any of you heard the same thing?

Dean.

[buddymander]

Dang it, now ya got me goin out to the garage to check my grease for "dielectricity".. Hey, what keeps the pennies from falling off the batteries? You guys must be drivin those second gear start studies. You know what? Aww, never mind.

[laughinlark]

Put a spot of dielectric grease on the bottom of penny. That will hold it in place.


Gordon

[gordr]

Practically any grease is dielectric. "Dielectric grease" is specifically compounded for that purpose.

General Motors, and other manufacturers, slather dielectric grease on signal bulb bases and numerous other connectors. Any electrical connector in good physical condition will develop enough force to push the grease aside at the actual points of contact. The grease coats those parts of the terminals that don't make contact, and helps prevent the growth of corrosion, which left unchecked WILL wick into those parts of the terminals which DO make contact.

By the way, lithium is a light metal. In fact, it's the lightest of all metals.

Gord Richmond, within Weasel range of the Alberta Badlands