I have a problem with the battery on my car. There's a problem with the positive clamp on the battery. No, my battery is not dead but my car can't start sometimes. I would turn the key and once the engine is about to start, everything just dies. No electricity in the car, whatsoever. I have to pop up the hood and adjust the clamp everytime with a hexagon wrench. But the problem occurs over and over again. Is there a way to fix this permanently so I don't have to pop up my hood? My guess is that I have to scrub the battery dipole. Sometimes I would wipe burnt stuff off the clamp, what is that? It comes out like ashes. Please help!

 

I'd try cleaning the battery terminals and cable clamps. If you don't have one, you might want to spend a couple of bucks on a "battery terminal brush" at any discount auto parts store. I've done it other ways, but the right tool makes the job so much faster and easier.

One end has a hole surrounded by wire bristles: you just push it down over the battery terminal and rotate it. The other end is a tapered brush that you insert into the cable clamp and rotate it around. (The cable clamp is also tapered, so you insert the brush into the larger end.) This cleans any corrosion and oxidation off the post and clamp, ensuring good electrical contact. After you put it together, smear some grease around the surface of the clamp to kind of seal it off. The grease helps prevent corrosion. The "like ashes" stuff sounds like corrosion on the terminal/clamp.

I think cleaning the terminals and clamps might well solve your problem. It is routine maintenance that probably should be done occassionally anyway.

REMEMBER: when you do this, you'll put the radio in theft mode and will have to enter its code, so make sure you can find this before you disconnect the battery.

Also remember to remove the negative clamp first and install it last. That way it's impossible to create a short-circuit if the metal wrench touches the body while removing the positive cable.

 

RSX,

There are two items here that shoudl be noted...your lack of cranking power (but still power and no drained battery), and the possible appearance of ashes on the terminal. With these two items combined, I would say the possibilities are good that the pole on your battery is loose, or at least one of the connecting wires. You don't have a short, or else the battery would be dead, and the ashes tell me something is arcing heavy enough to burn something, which points to a partially open connection that's getting jiggled back and forth (hence the arcing). check the integrity of the battery itself, and the connections/wires immediately surrounding it.

 

I think ashes just keep coming, I still haven't bought the wire brush yet, but I will soon. This has never happened before until this stupid body shop decides to loosen it. I have tried tightening over and over but it doesn't help? What am I supposed to look for in the connections? Do you guys suggest that I buy a new battery? And what grease do i use?

 

You want to disconnect both terminals. The posts in the battery should be solid; if you can move one of them around then I'd say the battery's bad. Likewise, the wires should be solidly connected where they go into the terminals. If they're loose, that's your problem. Some battery clamps clamp to the wires with two bolts, others are fused to the wires at the factory and would have to be replaced if loose.

Remember to check the connections at the other ends of both battery wires.

You'll want to clean the terminals and clamps with a wire brush while you've got it apart, regardless of the problem. However, I tend to agree with MacGyver after reading your initial post over again. Usually, if the battery terminals/clamps just need to be cleaned, everything will work but the starter. There's usually enough contact to work the radio, etc. It's just that the resistance is too high to flow enough current for the starter. However, ordinary corrosion on the posts/terminals is powdery and white (or sometimes has a greenish tint), so it might be mistaken for ashes.

Use any grease you have. It's just to keep the air and other corrosives (like battery fumes) away from the terminals. I believe that petroleum jelly is recommended, but I've used grease from the grease gun

 

I greased the terminals with Shin Etsu grease and I bought a new battery also, but the problem still exists. My black cable doesn't clamp on that tight, could that be the problem? If it's my cables, then I feel kinda stupid for buying an $80 battery...and how would I go about changing the battery cables, is it a DIY???

 

I recommend using baking soda with a little water. Use an old toothbrush to clean the post and terminals. Your connections will be like new.

John