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Is the DC-powered stuff in my truck corroding my battery terminals?

• I was going to ask http://cartalk.cars.com, but I'm sure we can come up with an answer here. I use some DC powered "stuff" in my truck and I'm afraid that it may be causing corrosion on the battery terminals. True, false, indeterminate based on the facts presented? I currently use a standard adapter for a portable CD player which I have rigged to play through a tape deck (how old school) to play Audible stuff on CD-RW, since my in-dash CD player can't read CD-RW. This is the cheap method until I can find some money to install an MP3 capable CD player in dash. I also currently have a cell phone charger plugged in to the dash, which I keep plugged in at all times. I'm pretty sure that nothing bad is happening because of this, although it does have a cute little http://www.cingularpr.com/img-1mens_interactivo/mens_interactivo_12.gif that lights up and is lit whenever the truck is running. In the past, however (and this is when I noticed some relatively significant corrosion), I ran a power inverter, which I purchased for the express use of being able to plug in whatever I wanted to the truck. I wonder if running the inverter, which has a fan that runs all the time power is supplied to it, may have overdrawn something or whatever to cause some relatively minor corrosion. Yeah, I know I said it's significant and minor. Well, it is. Both. It's more than I've seen before and it's maybe 1/4 of an inch thick on the terminals. There is a little that appears to be leaking out of a seam in the battery, but that may be overflow. So, I guess the ultimate questions are, do I scrub off the corrosion (probably NOT using the http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/acid.asp)? I've http://www.drliew.net/archives/000866.htmlthat baking soda and water and a brush can do the trick. And you can smear some http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m4PRN/2003_June_10/102944147/p1/article.jhtml on the contacts to help prevent corrosion. Should I do all that? Should I be worried that this has happened?

• Answer:

  There is a little that appears to be leaking out of a seam in the battery. Considering this, my first thought would be to invest in a new battery. It's likely that the corrosion is unrelated to the connected gizmos but is a result of leaking electrolytes (overfilled cells) or gases being vented (overcharging). Corrosion can also be caused by incompatible metals, make sure there are no washers connected to the terminals and that your using quality cables. Batteries are intended to be closed systems and yours obviously isn't. No need to panic, but these things have been known to explode and nothing wipes out a pair of jeans like wiping battery acid all over them. Batteries aren't all that expensive and I would get one that doesn't leak and while your at it test the alternator output to make sure it isn't overcharging the battery. As far as cleaning it goes, just use a wire brush to scrape it off, they make special ones but anything should do. The grease may increase conduction and slow the spread of new corrosion, but there is something wrong here and masking the symptoms is eventually going to leave you on the side of the road with an uncharged cell phone.