Cleaning after my Battery

Hi everyone, I need some advise.

I have been stuck in the US longer that I was expected (Business trip and not related to Sandy) and I did not have a lot of time to play with my P38 for about a month. When I decided to use the car this week end the battery was too low and I could not start the car. Anyway JAF (equivalent to AA) jump started the car and everything went fine. Still I knew the battery was old and weak and I decided to change it (what my dealer did).

The problem is as follow, when I checked for the battery saw a lot of oxidation (white thingy) that dropped in front of the battery Screen Shot 2012-11-06 at 8.23.04 PM.png that seems to have been there for a while. My understanding is that it is common and not a big deal, however I must do something about it. Now my dealer was suppose to do something about it but did not (I won't complain since they offer me many stuff for free), so I am would like to clean this and put some rust stopper this week-end by my self.

Now, I do not want to unplug the battery since I do not want to deal with all the troubles that I can have by doing so, but do you think that I can "Move" the battery a bit in order to have a better access to this area? Do you have any recommendation on who to clean this (I heard plain vanilla water will do just fine), what should I be careful about (there are many cables lying around).

Sorry for this long post and thanks for the advise
http://cl.ly/image/0s3B2B2F0P1c

Very hot water to rinse it away. If you slacken but do not remove negative battery lead, then switch ignition on and off, then disconnect negative lead with 17 seconds. You should not have any problems when reconnecting. Always disconnect negative first then positive. Reconnect positive lead first then negative lead.

Before you start just check that your battery terminals are tight then you can move the battery a little. This stuff is mildly acidic so be careful, rubber gloves and eye protection is not a bad idea. Lots of water and a stiff brush will do the trick but if you want to neutralise it add some baking soda, Alka Seltzer or similar to the water. You don't want to use a water jet or pressure washer as that will just blast bits all over the place and might cause you electrical issues.

Thanks guys! And good idea with the Baking soda thingy... I will try to see how much I can clean without having to move too much the battery. Is adding rust stopper of good idea or it is overkill?

wammers said:

switch ignition on and off, then disconnect negative lead with 17 seconds. You should not have any problems when reconnecting.

Click to expand...

There were some posts in the past advising to wait longer than 17 seconds before disconnecting battery, because of sat-nav, if power down of sat-nav is interrupted it may damage sat-nav.

How to work it around?

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/2058407-post5.html
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/1991828-post2.html

qwertz said:

There were some posts in the past advising to wait longer than 17 seconds before disconnecting battery, because of sat-nav, if power down of sat-nav is interrupted it may damage sat-nav.

How to work it around?

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/2058407-post5.html
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/1991828-post2.html

Click to expand...

On the L322 yes, not on the P38. That is the procedure given in the handbook for battery disconnection on the P38.

SpacePig said:

Thanks guys! And good idea with the Baking soda thingy... I will try to see how much I can clean without having to move too much the battery. Is adding rust stopper of good idea or it is overkill?

Click to expand...

Either a rust stopper or some Hammerite (or whatever sealant paint you have, wherever you are) is never a bad idea.

It is a simple job to do - but take advice from Wammers re electronics.

What we usually do do is to
fit a jump pack across the leads to ensure continuity of power to electronics.(+ve first)
remove battery.
wire brush terminals
flush any deposits on the bodywork by using copious water
dry well
use rust killer or similar on any damaged areas
Hammerite or any thick paint
fit an acid absorbant mat (Halfrauds sell them) to cope with any future acid spills.
replace battery
CAREFULLY clean the cable terminals, ensuring you dont break contact.
refit the cables to the battery terminals.
tighten securely
remove jump leads (negative first)
tighten clamps
use plenty of Vaseline or Coppaslip over terminals to act as a barrier.

Job done

hi mate you can also get a donor battery and jump leads either another car alongside i.e. to use with the jump leads or just a battery (fully charged ) and jump leads ,then connect to your terminal leads so you can access the connector bolts and ensure you have a good connection then release your own battery off your car remove and do your cleaning ,,,,so in effect you are supplying your car with a continous live feed to the car ,this procedure also prevents loss of sync etc ,wich is the common fault to all of us who just take the battery off without thinking and then you cause all kind of problems ,,i know ive been there ,, this works fine as long as you ensure a good connection ,,,ceers and kind regards MOZZ

see above

Halfords | Car Battery Chargers | Halfords | Car Battery Chargers | Battery Chargers

Thanks Guy!

The Battery mat is indeed a good idea!