When your battery grows old and corrodes, it can severely affect your battery's charge. In fact, thick corrosion can cause your car to not start at all. Read on to learn more about battery corrosion and what you can do about it.
Understanding Corrosion
The best way to explain how battery corrosion starts is due to poor battery maintenance. If you add too much water to your battery, it can cause leaks and corrosion. Since most car batteries hold a mixture of acid and water, they can corrode easily if the substance leaks out. Another common cause of corrosion is overcharging your battery. However, battery corrosion can develop easier as the battery ages.
If you see a buildup of white, blue, or green substances around your battery terminals, it is corrosion. The color of the corrosion itself can be very telling of the nature of the problem. White corrosion is often caused by leaking acid from the battery casing. Whereas green materials tend to develop when oxygen occurs with the battery’s copper cables. And blue corrosion occurs when sulfuric acid touches the copper terminal clamps.
Corrosion can limit the power transferred from the battery to the engine, which will ultimately affect your engine startups. That is why it is important to regularly clean your battery. You can start with this by combining water and baking soda to make a cleaning solution. Next, you should disconnect the battery before scrubbing the terminals. Once the corrosion is effectively removed, rinse the battery and properly reconnect the battery to your vehicle.
Car batteries can last anywhere between 3-5 years depending on how well you take care of them. If your vehicle’s battery keeps corroding or experiencing issues, please stop by Snellville Auto Center for a battery test today. We can let you know if you’re due for a battery replacement.