Battery Terminals Cleaning

[SeniorCitizen]

There are battery cable / posts brushes available to clean the round connections . Is there a brush available to clean the flat terminals ?

 

[Auto Doc's]

Yep, hardware store 3-piece small brush set. They come with 1 each: nylon, brass, and stainless-steel bristles. I buy a couple of set every time I go to a Harbor Freight. They are also available on Ebay and Amazon.

 

[SeniorCitizen]

Do those nylon , brass, stainless remove the lead oxide ? A regular steel brush like we have had available for all my life won't touch it . The hard surface must be removed so i use my pocket knife because i can't find my brush that has ben available for about a hundred years . When clean the lead and or copper must shine . Bet you know that .

 

[Scrubcadet10]

This is what i use for those, get's them looking brand new https://www.harborfreight.com/steel-detail-brush-69525.html

 

[Auto Doc's]

Do those nylon , brass, stainless remove the lead oxide ? A regular steel brush like we have had available for all my life won't touch it . The hard surface must be removed so i use my pocket knife because i can't find my brush that has ben available for about a hundred years . When clean the lead and or copper must shine . Bet you know that .

Hello SC,

I even use 1" wide mechanics sanding cloth if needed on the posts and ring terminal ends. Yep, clean and shiny means proper contact.

Also don't dismiss the crimped portion of the ring terminals that are usually on the end of most cables, I have had to use flux, solder and a butane torch many times to correct them due to copper oxide inside the crimped portion.

Warning to anyone reading this reply: Remove the battery before attempting any soldering operations batteries will blow up due to hydrogen gas lingering inside them

Some cables are not always easy to replace like some people think, so the terminal ends need to be fixed or replaced on occasion.