Excessive Battery Acid ruined me tonight.

[svgllmnt]

Tonight I found myself going to start my car, when, oh hey, it wouldn't start. I touched every light fixture to make sure I didn't leave something on and that definitely wasn't the case. I opened the hood to prepare my car for a jump when I came to find a shit-ton (yes, a shit ton) of battery acid built up on top of the positive terminal.

I recently had the oil changed about a month and a half ago, and besides them suggesting I get a new battery SOON, they didn't mention anything about the battery acid or potential corrosion. Jerks.

SO, my roommate came out to help me clean off the acid and hopefully jump-start my car. While cleaning, we noticed the terminals were incredibly loose, and not only that, completely destroyed.

Any advisement would be much appreciated, I have to a. call the place where I purchased the piece of crap duralast battery (autozone) in the morning regarding my 2 year warranty and b. figure out what the hell I need to do so I can get my car back up and running again.

This is normal right? Right as you hit the 5 year mark with your car all hell has to break loose on a night when everything is closed because of a holiday right?

[swidd]

wow wtf, how old was the battery? Less than two years?

[svgllmnt]

I replaced it around August 09.

[.Kevin.]

You bought it at Autozone isn't that like the crappiest play in the US where the ricers hang?

[Klink10]

Loose terminals and moisture. If the battery is no good replace. Clean the cable ends and neutralize with Coca Cola. Determine how much damage to the cables and replace if necessary. Coat the terminals with a thin layer of dialectric (sp?) grease and tighten. Periodic check for tightness and moisture build up. If you keep it outside the water will get on it so you have to keep them dry or do your best at it. Everytime I wash mine I have to go in and dry the water off the motor with alot of effort paid to electric components. Had that issue though not to that degree. I saw where my neg terminal was doing a slight color change and found my screw in batt. terminal was loose. Problem solved. My advice anyway.

[mazilla]

You bought it at Autozone isn't that like the crappiest play in the US where the ricers hang?

wut?

[.Kevin.]

wut?

Autozone is like the crappiest place in the USA for auto parts and ricers hang out there I thought.

Did I mispell my statement or what.

[mazilla]

Autozone is like the crappiest place in the USA for auto parts and ricers hang out there I thought.

Did I mispell my statement or what.

It's just another average auto parts store...I've never heard of it having a rep as a hangout for ricers. I don't think anybody really hangs out at auto parts stores(at least not anywhere I've ever lived), but they do have half an isle of garbage dress up parts for random cars.

[svgllmnt]

Regardless, the people who changed my oil didn't mention possible corrosion, if this sort of thing was building up, why didn't they offer to charge me to clean it off? Also, autozone, pep boys, etc. They're all the same - they sell discounted things I need for my car. It works, except of course in this case.

[rl67pinoy]

i noticed some corrosion on the (+) on my batt.couple weeks ago, not as bad as yours.... i got it cleaned and sprayed with anti-corrosion . usually the battery will last 2-3 years depends on where you live. only advice to you is keep your eye on your equipment and prevent they from breaking instead of waiting for them to break.

[nemelek]

That's the worst I have ever seen. I always change my own oil and give everything a quick look over while the hood is up. Usually in the fall I'll clean the termanals myself.

[svgllmnt]

Thanks for the advice. At least I'll know what to do in the future.

Southern California has had more rain in the last 6 months than we had in the last two years combined; I didn't realize that was something I had to look out for.

[Hershey]

That's a first for me . Hope you have better days ahead . Will check our terminals .

[RedRide]

You bought it at Autozone isn't that like the crappiest play in the US where the ricers hang?

Actually, the" Duralast" battery from Auto zone is made by "Johnson Controls", the same company that makes Optima batteries.
The Duralast is supposed to be a very good budget battery.

Having said that, it's the worst case of battery corrosion I have ever seen. The question that begs to be asked is how did the owner let it progress so far? The corosion did not develope overnight.
One should open the hood at least weekly to see whats going on under there!

Battery corrosion occurs because there is no complete seal betwen the case and the posts. So, I suspect that the battery was defective from the start and I would go back to Autozone for a warranty adjustment. There was probably a less than acceptable post seal in that particular battery.

BTW, Optima batteries are completely sealed and do not experiences any sort of corrosion problems.

[.Kevin.]

Ah I understand, not american so I just figured I'd ask.

My rule is open the hood once a week dust it off and usually if anythings wrong I'll notice right off the bat.

[YarisSedan]

Thats why I always spray the battery terminals with that anti corossive paint that prevents that from ever happening.

[svgllmnt]

Having never run in to something like this before, I wouldn't have even thought to check it out. But what really irritates me and I'm not placing blame on anyone but myself, is that I had an oil change about a month ago and they people who changed the oil had to have seen what was going on there right?

[svgllmnt]

by the way, this is what it looked like this morning.

My friend suggested I clean everything off with baking soda when I get home, I just wanted to take better pictures during the day so when I go in to autozone I can show them what happened.

[Klink10]

Not necessarily. You could have a small crack near one of the terminals. You running any big stereo stuff? If not grounded out properly that could be a contributor. There are all kinds of variables. Cough this one up, get a good quality battery clean and nuetralize everything, treat and go.

Just saw your new post, before I cleaned in the compartment I would pull out as much as I could. Otherwise your just cleaning and rinsing that acid in areas within the compartment you don't want it to go. I think I would really pull the tray in addition and clean that as well.

I could see me in there with a case of Coke going to town. I feel for you brother. Good luck

[RedRide]

Yes, baking soda/water soulution is good as it will help to "netralliz" the acid/PH of the residue.

[rl67pinoy]

go to oreilly or walmart they got the spray thing that turn pink when detects acid also neutralizes it. the hose off. dont use soda(coke) errthing will get sticky... imma try to upload the pic of the spray

[rl67pinoy]

heres the cleaner and protector spray

[rl67pinoy]

lol pic is HUGE

[Altitude]

Zoiks! That is bad. Worst I've seen. Looks like it ate away the post clamps too, you might need a new cable/clamp.

[svgllmnt]

Well I got the baking soda treatment working and got the whole area pretty clean. The clamp portion (bear with me on specific terms, I'm not 100% sure on what they're ACTUALLY called) broke off entirely I dusted with baking soda, scrubbed with a toothbrush and rinsed with a lot of water. (picture #1)

Got a replacement battery from autozone despite the dude there telling me "the battery is good. it charge good" NO IT NOT GOOD MOTHERFUCKER. It's leaking battery acid, DO YOU NOT SEE WHERE IT'S LEAKING FROM? (picture #5) I had to control myself, exchanged the battery bought a new "universal" terminal and some corrosion spray.

Got back to the house, went to take the bolt off the top of picture #2 and it wouldn't budge. Re-baking soda'd it, sprayed the corrosion spray on it and even tried some lube job spray. Nothing worked. The bolt won't budge and at this point, I feel like I don't have much of a choice besides taking it to Toyota.

The cables look fine, the fuses look ok, but this damn bolt is preventing me from moving on. It looked like, once I got everything clean (and yes, I got more of the corrosion off of the main terrible-bolt area) that all I needed to do was remove the (rusted?) orange piece from between the bolt & the crap stuck underneath and swap in a new terminal and tada, good as new. But nope! This bolt has decided to ruin my life.

Again, any advisement or suggestions would be much appreciated. It appears not many people have run in to this issue before, so I understand if everyone is just as baffled as I am. But anything helps.

By the way, I know I f-ed up. I'm still convinced the battery was defective, but I do need to check these things out on a regular basis and having never owned a toyota before and being a girl who only does routine things and weighs the pros/cons of taking the advise of any dipshit in any auto repair establishment - I didn't know this was something that could happen. I learn as I go and now, I know.

[rl67pinoy]

take the old battery outta there so you got more room to wrench , take the plastic part on top of batt. off again more room...spray WD-40 on bolt. let it soak then, use two wrench. good luck

[Bluevitz-rs]

Keep giving it the baking soda treatment until all that blue acid is gone. There should be no coloring on the metal parts.

[Klink10]

I agree with Bluevitz. I also realize now that facilities and tool availability might be an issue. But to really get all that out and neutralized that whole piece needs to soak. So far the battery has come out, can you detach your issued piece from the other end and take it out? If so then take it to someone with an air ratchet and do a quick zap on it. If not the two wrench method after a good soak is the only option.

Oh and you were right, if there is leakage from that post then it is defective. The issue would be proving how that area got to be that way. Past tense now.

[svgllmnt]

I can't disconnect the piece attached to the bolt/starter cable. That bolt won't budge and while all the plugs behind it come out, I don't see any possible way to take it out to soak it.

[MickZEL]

Hello. Try bolt pour brake fluid, and leave overnight.
Before filling the knock with a hammer on the side bolts (not much)
(In Russia, rip rusty bolts:))

[Hartside]

If your using brake fluid don't get any on the paint as it will damage it badly. Best to stick with a release spray, but give it time to penetrate. When your eventually sorted and everything is back to normal, smear the terminals with petroleum jelly (Vaseline) It's your cheapest option and works well

[1stToyota]

Looks like there's a crack in the case near the post...and dielectric silicone grease goes on neatly w/ a brush; acid won't come back.

[MickZEL]

Brake fluid do not need much, enough blow the whistle on fitting. It works

[dobbiedoo]

While you were under the hood did you at least check your oil level? You live in a warm place change your oil yourself.

[Vinceb]

I could see me in there with a case of Coke going to town. I feel for you brother. Good luck

why do you suggest coke? how is an acid going to neutralize an acid? I have used coke to clean things before, but never a battery. Baking soda and some kind of dielectric grease when it's all clean would have been my suggestion. i'm at almost 3 years on the stock battery, no corrosion issues at all.

[Klink10]

why do you suggest coke? how is an acid going to neutralize an acid? I have used coke to clean things before, but never a battery. Baking soda and some kind of dielectric grease when it's all clean would have been my suggestion. i'm at almost 3 years on the stock battery, no corrosion issues at all.

Read it during a google check on another website. Trust me it worked. It was handy and I didn't want to mix a batch of baking soda when I could pour coke in a bowl and let it sit. Took no time at all followed by a rinse/dry and treat with dialectric grease. The big issue was determining the cause which was a loose neg. battery terminal. I have the screw in types on a non stock battery (pics in the garage).

[CTScott]

That part with the stuck bolt is called the "block, fusible link" (82620-52050). It's only $12 from the dealer (the clamp is a separate part, and that is about $20). With the corrosion the bolt and nut may be fused to where they can't be removed without snapping the bolt.