clean the battery contacts??

If the battery contacts are clean and not corroded, leave them alone. Maybe make sure they are tight (use the appropriate size wrench) but do not over-tighten.

Make sure you battery has sufficient water level (only use distilled water if you add any). Be extremely careful when adding water to a battery and be sure not to overfill. Overfilling may spill acid out the top of the battery which is very harmful to you and your battery.

Some people use a weak solution of baking soda to clean corroded batteries, but be extremely careful about this because of any of the baking soda solution gets into the battery it will be ruined. After using a baking soda solution, wash everything off with lots of water.

Mark, Is there something you can spray on there? I notice when I start the car when it is cold it starts but then I Hear a brief ooomph sound.

Any idea's? Josh

How old is your battery. A battery is cheaper than a battery plus tow. If the battery is older than 5 years you might want to replace it.

I don't know what that has to do with the battery, but maybe I don't understand exactly what you are talking about. Make sure your terminals are tight, but don't overtighten.

There are "plastic" type sprays you can on the terminals that prevents corrosion. Some people use grease. All this does is to keep water and air (which are necessary for corrosion) away from the terminals. But if they are not corroded, then I would leave them alone.

That's not good advice. The corrosion on the terminals that will cause problems (radio and lights OK, no crank) cannot be seen. It is inside the connectors and must be removed by taking apart the connector and using battery terminal brushes (inside and outside wire brushes). Tightening will not solve the problem. Reconnect using a felt ring on top of the battery. Coat with grease (not WD-40) to seal out the air.

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I never said that one should tighten the battery cable in order to solve a corrosion problem. Obviously, if the terminals are corroded they need to be removed and completely cleaned.

All nuts, bolts, and screws on a car should be properly tightened (but not over-tightened on a battery). I have seen loose battery cables that had absolutely no corrosion.

if you see any acid crud on post and terminal, remove terminal, make a solution of baking soda and water and dip cable terminal in solution to neutralize acid. with a paper towel, carefully dip in solution and wipe battery terminal. Don't let the solution drip and get inside of battery. If battery is old, then consider replacing with new battery. Battery cost is around $40-60. Might be cheap insurance to replace every 4 years.

Again, you might not see the corrosion. And, the corrosion must be removed by mechanical means, e.g., a brush.

Some Toyotas come with those red foam pads around the battery terminals that stop corrosion. They seem to work well and can be bought in auto stores, but some people say grease and sprays work just as well.

A non mechanical friend who never checked his battery had corrosion so bad that it completed the circuit when it connected both terminals of his battery.

"William W. Plummer" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...