i need help im not sure how to clean my battery terminals?

Question

im not sure how i should go about this. once i have the connectors removed from the battery it self i want to soak them in baking soda and water to dissovle all the acid. then dry them off really good. but the thing is that they are held in place to the battery terminals by a threaded hex screw. im worried if i take a steel wrench to it to remove the screw i might get a shock could it kill me. how should i go about cleaning them do you think?

Answer 1

Start with the negative terminal. Take it off first, once you do this, you can use a special battery brush found at an auto parts store. It is a wire brush that will clean the post on the battery and the inside of the connector too. You can also get a battery spray that will protect the terminals from corrosion, some people use Vasoline instead.

Once you do the negative post, then go ahead and do the positive the same way. when done put the positive one on first and then the negative. The only thing is not to touch the two posts together with any tools. It won't kill you but it will get your attention, if nothing else it will scare the heck out of you. Good luck.

Answer 2

I dropped a wrench once on a car battery, wouldnt you know it the thing landed perfectly on top of both terminals? Welded itself to the damn things, sparks flying everywhere, im screaming. I grab another larger wrench i had handy and pried it off. It was funnier than anything looking back on it now.
So, just be careful not to do that and you will be ok. Thats about the only thing bad that can happen, you really cant get shocked - a car battery is only 12 volts. Just remove the terminals, clean the crud off and put them back on.

Answer 3

Fordman is right. Get battery post cleaner from your local parts store (usually on the counter top) they cost like 3 bucks. They have to parts to them, a wire brush the sits in the holder. The holder is also the post cleaner and the bush is for the terminals. Dissconnect the negative first then the postive. I suggest removing both so there is no possible to even get a spark. After you clean them, put a lil vaseline on them and reconnect. Total time of maybe 10 minutes.

Answer 4

Well, first... there really won't be enough potential (voltage) for the shock to pass through you...

that said, you should still mind the terminals. Remove the grounding (negative or black) terminal first. Then remove the positive terminal. Once they're off, just don't go touching the wrench to both terminals at once unless you want your wrench welded to the battery :)

Answer 5

always take the ground terminal off first, it's usualy black and has "-" on the case by the negative terminal. If both are black then find the one that runs to the starter that is the positive terminal and take the other one off first.

Shorting a battery to ground can cause them to explode especialy if you have just charged it, they build up hydrogen gas inside and a spark can set it off. I had a friend do that shorted the pos terminal to ground while charging the battery and kaboom, if that ever happens find water and flush your eyes asap. that is sulphuric acid in a battery and taking a shower in it aint fun.

Answer 6

You will not get shock for unscrewing the terminal screw by using a steel or any type of wrench unless you touch both terminal at the same time. Undo each bolts one at a time, better yet, put a towel on the other screw/bolt while you undoing it. This will prevent you from accidentally touching it with the tool.

Answer 7

Only way you are going to get shocked is if you touch the two terminals together with something conductive. I.E. Wrench. Don't let it touch both terminals, and your fine. Use a wire brush to take off the acid corrosion. Believe it or not Pepsi also works by disolving it.

Answer 8

i'm not sure what your doing or attempting to end. The battery could desire to be crammed with electrolyte (acid). The top factors of the electrolyte are actually not lost for the time of primary battery operation.The occasional addition of water is by using the fact hydrogen and oxygen molecules are lost for the time of charging and discharging cycles of an unsealed battery.The electrolyte is acid, while the battery is charged. because of the fact the battery is discharged the electrolytes specific gravity will become much less. In a ineffective battery you have surely water interior the cells. out of your submit, you have bumped off the acid and crammed the battery with water.so which you particularly, made it a ineffective battery. i'm stunned it works,and that i doubt it is going to artwork very long.The arching you communicate approximately, is extremely risky.Batteries supply off hydrogen gasoline while charging. they'll explode!!!!!!!! many times on your face. circulate purchase a sparkling battery. learn on the internet how a lead acid battery works.

Answer 9

go ahead and take off the teminals with a wrench. it shouldnt shock you, as long as you dont touch it to both terminals at the same time, and even if it does shock you, its not enough to hurt you. have you ever licked a 9V battery? its just a little more than that. the only problem is that if you connect the two terminals for long enough, it will drain your battery and possibly ruin it, so basicall, just be careful not to touch the wrench to both of them.

Answer 10

just pour boiling hot water over the terminals to remove acid gunk.
you can buy battery pads to fit under terminals to stop the buildup, while your there buy a battery terminal cleaning brush