Sue's Car Care Tips

When you see corrosion on the positive terminal, this means the battery may be overcharging. The substance can be either greenish blue or white depending on the type of metal of the terminal ends. If the substance is greenish blue, its copper sulfate. The copper from the terminal clamp reacts with the lead in the battery. If the clamps are aluminum, it’ll be whiter in color creating aluminum sulfate. You may notice the battery quality start to degrade.

The negative terminal can also get corroded. This is usually a white powdery substance. This is called sulfation. When a battery isn’t charged long enough, this can happen. If the vehicle used for short trips, the alternator may not be running long enough to properly charge the battery. Over time, you may notice loss of cranking power.

It’s also a good idea to have the battery tested if you’re noticing a lot of corrosion. Having too much corrosion can prevent your car from starting. At Highway Tire, we do a full battery cleaning service. The terminals are cleaned first and then we spray an inhibitor on them. After they are clean, we can test the battery for you. Below you can see an image of a heavily corroded battery