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Corrosion build up on your battery terminals affects the longevity
of your cars electrical out put and over all life of your battery.
If enough corrosion builds up on your cars battery,it can cause
the battery connections to not be effective in out put or
recharging.

Corrosion causes a barrier between the terminals and post of your
battery and if left un attended can leave you in the middle of no

where broke down.

There are many things you can buy at the local auto parts store but
I am going to show you how to use the simple things that you have
around your house.

1)Loosen the little bolts on each terminal,start with the negative
terminal first.This is important to keep the cable lead from arching
and causing a spark.Sparks are a dangerous thing when changing a
battery or removing corrosion.

A spark can cause explosions to your battery.Make sure to wear safety
glasses and if you have them a set of dish washing rubber gloves.This
will keep the acid off your hands and the glasses will protect your
eyes from mishap.

2)A box of "Arm & Hammer"baking soda and a piece of steel wool are
good to have on hand.You probably already have them in your kitchen
and it will keep you out of the auto parts store.

3)Remove the cable leads from the battery post.

4)Mix a little water with the Baking soda to form a paste.The paste
adheres to the terminals and you can clean the connections better.

5)Once you have the paste done,take your steel wool and dip it in to
the paste.Coat the steel wool on both sides.

6)Take the steel wool with the paste and clean all around the
terminals and connectors,make sure to clean throughly.

7)If your battery has caps to add water,make sure the caps are on
tight.If the baking soda gets in to your battery it will neutralize
the batteries acid and render the battery useless.

8)Once all the terminals and connectors have been cleaned,use a glass
of water to rinse the baking soda paste from the leads and terminals.

9)Before replacing the leads back on your battery,find a little grease
or shortening from the kitchen.Apply it generously inside the battery
leads and to the post of the battery.

10)When reattaching the battery cables,start with the reverse of the
way you took them off.Attach the positive lead first and then the
negative.

Tighten the lead bolts to snug,be careful not to over tighten and
your done.Start your engine and check you voltage Gage inside the
car.It should show a charging range of normal.

Learn more about this author, Rex Coker.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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