How to protect battery terminals?

[toyotafan113]

A forum post recommended to spray grease, either a general purpose lithium grease or white grease, on the terminals of the battery to coat them and protect them from rusting / corroding / white-powdering. I thought the plastic red and black caps would serve better than coating them with something. What is your thought?


Thx.

[toyotaman11]

Since I work at autozone I get to see a lot of batteries come in and a lot of battery terminals that are corroded to hell.

What we recommend to anyone who buys a battery is to get battery terminal grease to apply all around the terminals, also get some felt washers to put on the terminals as well. That should certainly help to keep your terminals clean.

[toyotafan113]

Is the battery terminal grease different from

white grease or

general purpose lithium grease?

Can I not apply either one of them for battery terminal? Will those grease react with the terminals and explode?

[toyotaman11]

I am not sure exactly what the battery terminal grease is. It may be just some lithium or white grease. All I know is that it is sold specifically as battery terminal grease.

All I know is that, that grease works and does not cause any problems. For $1.19, i think its worth giving it a try.

[PhatRoyale]

Use dielectric grease.

It's made specifically to seal out moisture and prevent corrosion on electrical connections.

[Crowbar911]

Ive used the felt pads that are maybe a buck and the terminals are perfect.

[Dick Tuck]

Felt pads work great. Dielectric grease will keep acid vapor from eating up the terminals but it is BY NATURE an insulator and not the best thing to employ in a high current application, BUT it is better than leaving the terminals to corrode. What I use is NoOX which is an grease used by electricians. It protects but has conductive particles in it, carbon or copper depending on what you buy. It is also used to protect communications antenna connections while still providing a conductive path (otherwise the antenna wouldn't work). DENSO provises a little packet of copper color grease with their O2 sensors for the threads (more than you need) and I have used THAT on terminals to protect them without causing the curcuit to quit. I think Felpro makes the stuff.

[ilovecorollale]

Yeah..i believe felt pads do work great...because right now my positive side has one but then it's all greasy or so and the felt pad is all wet and greasy too but there's no corroding and about my negative side...i didi had a felt pad too but got wet and all slimy and so i threw away and never got one for that side and now it's like heck a corroding.

[Crowbar911]

I believe the felt pads are more than just felt, and they seem to be a little greasy/wet to them.

[ilovecorollale]

True but on my bros civic...those pad are so dried up and he had no corroding still.