Battery terminal corrosion

My '98 GP wouldn't start and wouldn't take a jump start the other day. Upon inspection the positive battery terminal had become corroded and surrounded with the green fuzz. I cleaned up the terminal and harness, replaced the terminal bolt, and neutralized everything with a baking soda solution and rinsed with distilled water. Two days later the problem was back and now I can't go a day or two without having to disassemble and clean. I've never had this problem come back so quickly before. The battery is relatively new (18 months on a 72-month heavy duty), holds a charge and shows green in the indicator, but my only guess is that it's leaking acid and needs to be replaced. Any other ideas?

JGM

Reply to
JGM
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You are probably correct. Green is copper sulphate. ... Probably sulfuric acid getting on the copper wire. Do you grease everything after cleaning?

Reply to
Paul

Reply to
Marky

Most likely,the corrosion has spread under the plastic insulator. When you disconnect the cable you are moving it and making a temporary repair by making a new connection. Replace the cable and i`ll bet you`re problem will be solved!

Reply to
Philip Wagner

Do you have a custom stereo installed? Check your grounds. This can be a result of you drawing to many amps and not being able to ground the current sufficiently.

Reply to
Eklectik

To follow up on this, it looks like I had a battery that was oozing acid onto the cable (and the tray and the nearby wiring harnesses etc). It's possible I did the damage myself by overtightening the terminal bolt after cleaning the corrosion the first time, but I suspect a bad Delco design (the failing battery was a dealer replacement under warranty for the original that had a similar problem). In any event, I cleaned everything up and bought a new battery and all seems to be well.

Another data point for Jim's first rule of electrical problems: it's the battery.

JGM

Reply to
JGM

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