battery question

[Sandman223]

My battery is old and was developing a sulfate residue on both terminals until it finally corroded through the positive terminal and disconnected the battery.

Here's my question: what would happen if I joined the broken off piece attached to one of the cable clamp and the terminal on the battery itself with electrical tape?

Is there any danger in holding the connection together with electrical tape for a short period of time?

[guyaverage]

For a SHORT time you would probably be ok, if the tape was tight and there was good cable to termial contact. DONT be lazy and keep it this way long. Autozone, K-mart, Meijer etc all have replacement battery cable terminals that will attach the cable to the battery with just very basic tools, and anyone can do this themselves. If you dont feel comfortable go to a tire place, oil change place, etc. they wont have any problem with it.

If you do this yourself, disconnect the (-) cable from the battery first, BEFORE working on the red (+) cable. If any part of your wrench is touching the + terminal and accidently touches the (-) terminal or ANY part of the car chassis at the same time, the sparks with impress you, the heat will impress you, and the now glowing wrench will burn you in a heartbeat and weld itself to the battery terminal and the car, and you may ruin the battery in the process. Not to sound alarmist or anything, but I have seen this twice by people who should have known what the hell they were doing but didnt disconnect the (-) first anyway.

[Sandman223]

I've already purchased the terminal replacement, the only thing is that the cable clamp is still bolted onto the piece of the old terminal that came apart. The only problem is that the bolt on this piece is basically welded shut from the sulfate residue and wont come off. Can't get a steady grip of this thing either because it's on the end of a cable and is not stable.

[Sandman223]

Can someone tell me if it would be possible to just drill the stuck nut out?

[atlantamx3]

I believe if you pour some Coca-Cola on the battery terminal, it will eat away the corrosion...

Not instantly, but rather quickly from what I understand.

[guyaverage]

Coke? Coke is mildly acidic, so is the corrosion so you need a mild base. Use baking soda and water. Put about a spoonfull or two in a small glass of water, mix it up and pour it on the corrosion. It will get all foamy and bubbly and remove all the crud. A small wire brush or an old toothbrush will speed things along.

Be carefull not to get any of the water/baking soda solution into the battery cells, if it does you'll nuetralize the electrolyte and your battery will poop.

After the baking soda/water and brush work their magic you'll be able to see if you can drill it out or if its too fubar'd to work with.

[atlantamx3]

Big trucking companies use Coke to eat away corrosion.


Here are some more facts:

COKE
1. In many states in the USA the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.

2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.

3. To clean a toilet; Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the bowl and let the 'real thing' sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.

4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers; Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Aluminium foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

5. To clean corrosion fro car battery terminals; Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.

6. To loosen a rusted bolt; Applying a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

7. To bake a moist ham; Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in Aluminium foil and bake. 30 minutes before the ham is done, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous gravy.

8. To remove grease from clothes; Empty a can of Coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent and run through a regular cycle. The Coke will loosen grease stains.

9. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

-----------------------------------------------------------

FOR YOU INFO:
1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. Its pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase in osteoporosis.

2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use the Hazardous material placards reserved for Highly corrosive materials.

3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years!!


So dont be so quick to deny my knowledge of Coke! I am From Atlanta-- The home of Coke!

[guyaverage]

Good grief..........

This is easier than taking candy from a baby:

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/acid.asp


http://hoaxinfo.com/cokeacid.htm

[Sandman223]

When I say I want to drill the nut out I mean I want to drill through the nut and bolt and destroy them, not simply drill it out like normal; like I said before, the nut is basically welded on and I've tried coke and all that already.

[atlantamx3]

Well F*ck!

LOL

(No really-- I have heard all that stuff lots of times-- thanks for pointing that out...)

[guyaverage]

I went thru a very slow time at work....spending a half my time on email reading amazing 'facts' from friends and the other half on Snopes reading that these 'facts' end up being total bs...

Any time I read stuff like that now I instantly go there and other urban legend sites and see what they have to say.

[Will_Santana]

I know this topic is old

But just to say. There's a TV show, called "Myth Busters". Here in Brasil Discovery Channel shows it. The two guys who hosts the show tested out all you said about coke. And I've tested some of them myself (I'm graduate in Chemistry). More than 80% people say about coke is B**sh**. Coke's acid, but the acid in your battery is muuuuuuuuch more powerfull. If you can see the show you see it yourselves. Coke WON'T destroy meat in 2 days (but softens a chicken bone) and it's nice, but not the best thing to clean up chrome. For the tight screws, go with WD40...

It's enough for a dead topic. Just not to let another myth to go around.

PS: The bad english is obviously 'cause we don't speak it down here. Forgive me 'bout that.