[winkawak]

Getting battery corrosion on battery wire, will this cause a problem? Is this wire replaceable?

 

[winkawak]

yeah mine was like that. the red cover keep me from noticing the defective battery.
You need to replace the entire wiring harness. looks like this.
View attachment 304536 View attachment 304536

That is what im afraid of, uninstalling and installing time and labor is not something i think i can do on a ramp. I was thinking cutting the tape and dip it in baking soda and water for couple minute then wrap it up again.

 

[winkawak]

I would strip back the loom and cable insulation to see how far it runs. If cleaning doesn’t work out, you may be able to remove a section of the cable, make repairs. I’d hate to have replace that harness, it’s bound to be expensive.

When i strip it back the corrosion is not bad, its only about less than an inch down the copper wires. I used alot of baking soda mixed with water, i even dipped it in it but somehow i can only get 90% of corrosion off. Theres still some blue stuff stuck on wires that toothbrush cant even get off. Im going to try battery corrosion cleaner see if its helps.

 

[winkawak]

I’ve used the corrosion cleaner (messy stuff) on mine, and it worked out well, but you need to get that cable super-clean. I purchased some small (toothbrush sized) wire brushes from Lowes and went to work. It was actually pretty time-consuming but worth it.

i feel wire brush are too harsh on copper wires, wouldnt it easily scratches and possibly weakens the copper wires? Yea i also got corossion preventative spray after im done cleaning.

 

[winkawak]

It won’t hurt the wires. Get one with brass bristles if you’re worried about that. The corrosion does more damage than a brush ever will.

from google it saying brass is stronger than copper, wouldnt it scratch the heck out of the copper wires? I have one of those battery terminal brush but doesnt seem suitable for copper wires.

 

[winkawak]

Yeah, brass it more mild than steel, but still harder than copper. You are going to scrape and scratch the corrosion off, so some minor scratches to the outer surfaces of wire strands will hurt nothing, unless the cable is nearly corroded through to the point of breaking. And if that’s the case, it just needs to be replaced. It’s just not that delicate In my opinion. If you want it to be factory pristine, then you may as well just forget about cleaning it up, and just replace everything.

They’re really isn’t too many options here. Cleanup it and repair it, or just replace it. I think you are worrying to much about scratching the wire strands.

should i use copper bristle brush instead lol? will it still get the corrosion off?

 

[winkawak]

I guess a copper brush could be used too … I’m not sure how effective that would be, or where you would find one. Have you actually seen them available somewhere? That would be akin to rubbing a bunch of copper wires together lol. In every shop I’ve worked in, a wire brush was the way (with regards to cleaning). That’s been several decades ago, but I doubt things have changed that much. Perhaps they have.

Look at the thickness (thinness) of the battery terminal on the wire cable. Look at the scratches on it. Now look at the thickness of the copper cable it’s wrapped around. If scratching the surface up were a problem, do you think that battery terminal brush would be made of Steele?

Of course a dealership would never make a repair on this, they’d replace the whole shebang-abang, as would any other pro-shop. They don’t want to have any come-backs, and it’s your money, not theirs.

I found some copper brush bristle online but not sure if its effective lol. The battery terminal brush is very harsh it actually scraps layers of terminal off when using it. Yea i would replace it too if it wasnt the whole startup harness all connected to it.

 

[winkawak]

​

I think you’re being overly cautious, but I understand. The cable is thick enough, that removing a small amount of material by brushing with a steel or brass bristled brush is inconsequential. I’ve done this exact procedure at least 50 times (probably more), and the only side effect was a clean/shiny surface without corrosion.

In any case, when you do get it cleaned up properly, please post a pic. We really need activity on this forum (Just say’n).

Last night an idea popped in my head, instead of searching for battery corrosion solutions i searched for copper corrosion solution instead. All of solution for battery corrosion are the same but none says anything about the cables. Searching for copper corrosion i found new valuable information that i can think can help anyone else whos also in the same situation im in. Baking soda and water will only neutralize the corrosion but will not completely get rid of it, what i found is in order to get rid of corrosion on copper wires you need a mixture of vinegar and salt. Within a minute of dipping it in vinegar and salt the corrosion completely went away. As you can see the new shinning almost new copper wires. After you see all the corrosion gone dip it in baking soda and water for extra protection then spray it down with corrosion preventative spray. As for right now i only wrapped it down with electrical tape 33+, after couple weeks or so ill check again for corrosion. If theres no more corrosion im going to us heat shrink tube to permanetely seal it up.

I used a cup of white vinegar and a couple teaspoons of salt to do the trick.

​

 

[winkawak]

If a battery leaks its defective

not leaking

 

[winkawak]

thats good , mine was leaking at 2 years from new.

mine was too lmao with the factory motorcraft battery.

 

[winkawak]

Wow, that looks amazing! Great job.

What is the mix of salt/vinegar you used, and was it white vinegar?

thanks, im pretty happy with the results too lol
a cup of vinegar and couple teaspoon of salt will do the trick

 

[winkawak]

White vinegar?

Yup white vinegar

 

[winkawak]

Nice work! I'll keep this tip in the back pocket for my car.

FWIW, I use household white vinegar for de-rusting (unplated) steel. Works a treat. Have revived many a flea-market tool find this way. But like the OP, always have to seal/protect the surface with something or the corrosion will resume. For tools I use boiled linseed oil or water, but there is probably some nice parts-store spray for corrosion protection on battery cables. Or you could just slather dielectric grease on it.

Good to know! I used NOCO NCP2 A202 12.25 Oz Oil-Based Battery Corrosion Preventative Spray, good reviews but its messy(had to use empty quart container to spray it in). I would probably use grease or oil but not in a spray can.

 

[winkawak]

I haven’t had any particular problems, but I’m going to tryout your magic vinegar elixir on my old Crown Vic. It’s due for a cleanup and I want to see this in action.

hahaha vinegar and salt will not disappoint you. If youre talking about the preventative spray its my first time using it, im hoping its as good as the reviews says.

 

[winkawak]

Hey winkawak, would you consider making a DIY section post outlining your process?

The whole process is like 2 steps lol, yea i can write one up once im home and free.