Help Battery terminal bolts and nuts Corroded onto battery

[SmknVTEC]

Hi folks.

A few months ago I did not drive my car for about 6 weeks and could not start it. Then, I noticed the car took a few cranks to fire up. I later noticed that the battery had some major corrosion at the positive end I believe it is (the black side not the red side). Since the car is a 2000 model I figured and was told by a mechanic, that the OEM battery was at the end of its life. So, I purchased a 545 Odyssey racing battery and mounting bracket from Dali Racing.

We went to put the new, very small battery in her today and found that corrosive mess seems to have eaten away the battery terminal connecting bolts and nuts. We absolutely could not get that sucker off. So, I think I will have to break down and have a mechanic look at it but my question is; does anyone know of a place where I can get an aftermarket battery cable and terminal with associated hardware (nuts bolts, etc)? I think both the terminal and cable might be compromised. Doing an NSX Prime search revealed this site: http://www.stingerelectronics.com/web/prods/battery_terminals.asp
That covers the terminals but how about the cable(s)? Maybe I should just go to the dealer and get ripped off on the OEM parts? Please help. Thanks…

 

[drew]

Any decent auto-parts or stereo supply should have what you need. Just show up with what is left of your existing cables and they can find or fabricate something that will work.

This is easy stuff.

That stuff from stinger is beyond overkill...like using a sledgehammer to kill a mosquito, but you can't argue with the effectiveness.

Drew

 

[Hugh]

Mix a solution of baking soda and water then liberally apply it to the corroded terminals. It will dissolve the corrosion. Having a small brass brush to help it along wouldn't hurt. Many car audio stores sell aftermarket terminals made by Monster, Tsunami and others. You can go to a Best Buy or Circuit City and have them do the install for you. Once everything is clean, use dielectric grease on the terminals and connections to prevent future corrosion.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

If you don't have a big aftermarket system, you can use the cheaper Stinger or other aftermarket terminals. Make sure you check how the terminals mount to the battery posts and determine if it will be a hassle to remove in the future. Some posts are NSX unfriendly. Make sure there are enough connections for all your positives and negatives.

To get rid of some of the corrosion, you should try mixing some baking soda and water. It will react with the corrosion and eat a lot of it off. Then just rinse the areas with water to get all the corrosion and baking soda off.

To mount the battery terminals, you just need to cut the cables closest to the old battery terminals. Then trim them so that they will fit into your new terminals. It's pretty rare that you need to replace the cable, there should be enough to work with. It's just tough on the back to work under the hood, I usually climb in.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

Ok Hugh beat me to the reply. What he said and I said plus keep in mind that positive and negative terminals are not the same, they are not interchangable as one is larger than the other.

Also, if you get the expensive Stinger terminals with the compression rings instead of the bolts, there is less of a risk corrosion and they hold a lot tighter than anything else. I have seen aftermarket terminals rust even though they are gold plated. In any case, these terminals are a lot better than the OEM stuff.

 

[latzke]

Mix a solution of baking soda and water then liberally apply it to the corroded terminals. It will dissolve the corrosion.
...
Once everything is clean, use dielectric grease on the terminals and connections to prevent future corrosion.

Ditto on the baking soda & water...love the resulting green-foam water slick. :wink:

I learned a another prevention trick this last year when I had a shop put new connectors on my Accord's battery cables. Once everything was back together they shot each (terminal + connector + exposed copper cord) with glossy black spray paint. Seems to be working well...no corrosion yet, doesn't attract dirt, isn't messy, etc.

 

[nsxtasy]

You can just buy terminals to install on your new battery. (For that matter, you could have bought the version of the Odyssey battery that comes with terminals, the PC545T instead of PC545).

 

[Tai]

The black terminal is negative just FYI. The same thing happened to me. I recommend cleaning them first and then replacing them at some point with nicer car audio battery terminals.

TK

 

[SmknVTEC]

Hi guys,
As always thanks for the replies. I will go to a local stereo installer out here that says they can take care of it. Nsxtasy, I wish I knew about the PC545T instead of the one I got. Although, I did not realize the terminals were that bad until we got into it. Anyway, I will let you all know how it goes when they get it in the car. Thanks again, Matt

 

[Hugh]

You can just buy terminals to install on your new battery. (For that matter, you could have bought the version of the Odyssey battery that comes with terminals, the PC545T instead of PC545).

He has an NSX, not a damn Harley! :biggrin:

 

[CL65 Captain]

You can also use Coke... amazing to watch it foam and eat away the corrossion. ... makes you think twice about drinking that stuff.

 

[nsxtasy]

He has an NSX, not a damn Harley! :biggrin:

Odyssey batteries come in a variety of sizes and cold cranking amps. I didn't want to risk starting difficulties - NSX batteries drain quick enough as it is - so I bought the PC925T battery for mine. There's also a PC680T size in between.

I bought mine from Portable Power Systems when I found that their prices are much better than (NAME OF FRAUDULENT PARTS VENDOR DELETED). They were very helpful, too, noting that the T in the model number means it has the terminals, and that the models with MJ in the model number have a metal jacket, suitable for cars where the battery is next to heat-producing components (e.g. exhaust manifolds) but not necessary for the NSX.