Regularly checking and cleaning your battery terminals is essential when it comes to maintaining your car’s care. It’s very easy for the terminals to become corroded and impair the function of your car’s battery. So the question is, can you clean your battery without disconnecting the terminals?
You can clean battery terminals without disconnecting them so long as the ignition is turned off. To clean a connected battery terminal, you should spray hot water over the corrosion and use a brush to scrub away any grime.
In the rest of this article, I will go on to talk about how you can tell if your battery has become corroded, how to clean the terminals both connected and disconnected, why batteries corrode, and how you can prevent this in the future.
Contents
How Do You Tell if Your Battery Is Corroded?
It’s essential to be able to tell when your car battery is corroded. Luckily the signs are pretty apparent.
You can tell that your battery is corroding if you notice a foamy cream or blue discharge that has dried around the terminals. This is battery acid that has reacted with the metal of the terminals resulting in a strange chemical reaction.
Battery acid is unsafe to touch, so be careful and wear gloves if you intend to get in there around the terminals and scrub it off.
If you notice battery acid on the outside of your battery, you will want to get it cleaned up as soon as possible in order to prevent it from interfering with the function of your vehicle’s battery.
How to Clean Battery Terminals Without Disconnecting
Next, I will walk you through how to clean your vehicle’s battery terminal without disconnecting it. It’s important to note that it is always safer to disconnect the battery terminals before cleaning. That being said, you can still clean them while attached if you do so carefully.
You will need:
- Gloves
- A cleaning solution such as water, vinegar, and baking soda
- A spray bottle
- An old toothbrush or other scrub brush
- A rag or towel
- A corrosion inhibitor
If you don’t already have a suitable inhibitor, I recommend Boeshield T-9 Rust & Corrosion Protection (available on Amazon). This lubricant comes in an easy-to-use spray bottle and will help keep your terminals corrosion-free in the future.
How to Clean Attached Battery Terminals
- Make sure that the car’s ignition is off. This step is crucial as you don’t want to electrocute yourself. Safety first!
- Pour your cleaning mixture into a spray bottle and spray the corrosion. Ensure the water and vinegar mixture is hot, and then spray it onto the battery where you see the corrosion. It should instantly start to vanish. You can also use a cup of water; just pour slowly.
- Take your scrub brush and carefully scrub away any leftover debris. It should only take a moment to get rid of any leftover residue.
- Pour some more of the cleaning mixture to eliminate any lingering residue. The goal is to have a corrosion-free battery when you are done, and at this point, your cables should be reasonably clean.
- Take a towel and pat dry the battery. It’s always best to remove whatever water you can from on top of the battery before starting it back up.
- Apply an inhibitor to the battery terminals. An inhibitor will help coat the metal of the terminals and help prevent the battery acid from reacting to the metal, forming corrosion.
Now that your battery is clean and you have taken steps to prevent it from corroding in the future, you are free to drive your car about without worry. It’s still important to check your battery once in a while to make sure the corrosion hasn’t returned.
If you are more of a visual learner, be sure to check out Kris Tran DIY Automotive’s video on how to clean car battery terminals in 30 seconds. Kris does an excellent job of showing how easily you can clean a battery without disconnecting the terminals.
How to Clean a Battery After Disconnecting the Terminals
The process for cleaning disconnected battery terminals is quite similar, but disconnecting your terminals will allow you to clean any corrosion that has occurred more thoroughly. Also, disconnecting the battery terminals for cleaning isn’t as much work as you might think.
You will need:
- A wrench
- Gloves
- A cleaning solution such as water, vinegar, and baking soda
- An old toothbrush or scrub brush
- A rag or towel
- A corrosion inhibitor
How to Clean Your Battery Once You Have Disconnected the Terminals
- Make sure the vehicle is off. Whenever you are working with electricity, it’s important to shut it off when you are touching the cables.
- Carefully remove the terminal cables. You will most likely need a wrench to get these cables out, and it’s essential to remove the negative cable followed by the positive one.
- Pour your cleaning mixture over the corrosion. Lightly pour some of the cleaning mixtures over the areas where you see corrosion and watch as it washes away.
- Use a scrub brush to clean any remaining residue. Use your brush to get into the tight spaces where corrosion could be hiding. Also, be sure you are wearing gloves when working around battery acid.
- Clean off any remaining liquid and residue using a rag or towel. You will want the battery cables to be dry so that your inhibitor can adhere properly.
- Spray on your corrosion inhibitor. Follow the application instructions of whichever inhibitor you have chosen to get the best results.
- Reattach the battery terminals. Use your wrench to reattach the terminals securely.
As you can see, removing the terminals to clean isn’t too complex and will undoubtedly result in a more thorough job. Not to mention it’s much safer than cleaning with them connected.
Once you have reattached your battery terminals, you are all set. Just be sure to keep up on any battery maintenance in the future in order to avoid corrosion.
Why Do Car Batteries Corrode?
Now that you know how to clean up the corrosion that sometimes occurs on car batteries, it’s time to understand why they corrode in the first place.
Car batteries corrode due to the corrosive gas inside of the battery interacting with the metal portion of the battery. Ultimately the corrosion you see on your car’s battery is due to a chemical reaction that happens when the gas touches the metal on the battery cables.
It’s very typical for batteries to corrode over time. Still, if you notice your battery frequently corroding despite cleaning steps taken to prevent this, chances are there is something wrong with the battery. If the corrosion continues to occur, you should have your battery looked at by a professional.
How to Prevent Battery Corrosion
Battery corrosion is bound to happen over time, but there are a few ways you can prevent it. So let’s take a look at some of the ways you can keep your battery safe from corrosion.
Check Your Battery Often
By checking the state of your battery regularly, you will be able to more quickly remedy the situation if you notice it has begun to corrode.
Several factors can cause corrosion, such as overcharged or undercharged batteries. This is why you should pay close attention to where the corrosion occurs. If you continue to notice corrosion, you should immediately get your car into a mechanic to have your battery checked.
Perform Regular Battery Terminal Maintenance
On top of regularly checking your battery for possible corrosion or other issues, it’s essential to keep your terminals clean.
As I talked about earlier, you should always strive to keep your battery corrosion-free and clean away any battery acid you notice reacting with your metal terminals. This will help your battery to function correctly and last longer.
Again, if you notice corrosion seems to be a frequent problem for your battery, it’s probably time to have it looked at or replaced.
Apply Battery Terminal Grease or an Inhibitor
Terminal grease and other inhibitors work so well because they create a barrier to keep the battery acid and metal from touching. This helps keep them from forming a chemical reaction resulting in the strange blue or cream substance we are able to see and call corrosion.
Terminal grease and inhibitors are easy to apply and will keep your battery from corroding so easily. Plus, grease and inhibitors can be purchased relatively cheaply compared to the price of a brand new battery.
Conclusion
So technically, you can clean your battery terminals without disconnecting them, and many do since it’s so quick and easy.
However, it’s important to remember that when you clean your terminals without disconnecting, you cannot clean the corrosion away as thoroughly. Not to mention it’s not as safe to clean them while connected. If you choose to clean them while connected, remember to make sure your ignition is off and always wear gloves.
Also, be sure to disconnect them to clean them if the corrosion problem persists.