Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Battery Acid on Terminals

I have the stock motorcraft battery in my 99 mystique....it has been a good battery for me, even with my system and alarm it really has no problems other than the lights dimming. However since the last time I checked underneath the hood (3 weeks or so) both terminals have become coated with red battery acid (I assume that is battery acid). Now yesterday in the morning (very cold) it took almost 3 seconds before the car started. However this morning it started right up. Can anyone tell me why it would start corroding now, and what I should do about it? Do you guys think my battery is leaking?

Battery acid looks like water, clear. Corrosion is usually lead sulfate, a white powdery looking stuff, or copper sulfate, a greenish powder. Not sure what red is.

However, clean the battery and terminals with a brush, plenty of water and a little baking soda (Dont get the soda in the battery vent). (remove and clean the terminals. Battery terminal brushes are cheap at your favorite auto parts supplier)

Rinse well, dry, and reinstall terminals.

Coat terminals with a barrier (Opinion vary on this):
Petroleum Jelly
White Grease (Lubriplate)(I use this mostly)
High Tack (A red goo used to make gaskets sticky, made by permatex)(I've used this too)
A coating made for battery terminals (whatever).

You will have increased the life of your battery and alternator by having clean, tight, coated connections.

Originally posted by Contouraholic:

---

Coat terminals with a barrier (Opinion vary on this):
Petroleum Jelly
White Grease (Lubriplate)(I use this mostly)
High Tack (A red goo used to make gaskets sticky, made by permatex)(I've used this too)
A coating made for battery terminals (whatever).

---

The red and green chemically treated felt washers work great and don't make a mess!

Typical battery life is about five years. If the mess comes back I would just replace it.

In reply to:

---

Typical battery life is about five years.

---

I have never had a Ford stock battery last more that three years.
'90 Escort GT = Battery lasted 2 years.
'91 Probe GT = Battery lasted three years.
'94 Ranger Splash = Battery lasted three years.
'96 Mercury Mystique = Battery lasted 2 years.
'00 Windstar SEL = Battery still alive.

I replaced all of them with a SEARS Diehard.
Great batteries... Diehards never fail.
The Mystique was a bit $$$.$$!

Eurythmian

you can spray a bit of spray paint onto your battery terminal (with battery cable hooked up) to reduce corrosion. maybe not a preferred way, but it works.

My last car was a ford escort, which I sold to a co-worker. It is a '95, and was put into service April of '95. Don't remember the build date, but it was (obviously) earlier than April. He still has the original battery in it, and he drives it every day, and has well over 100,000 miles on it, so that's more than seven years in Chicago climate (cold winters, hot summers). My '99 contour was put into service Dec of '98 and has original battery, with no signs of weakness, so that's more than 4 years. The OEM batteries are pretty good!

Originally posted by Eurythmian02:

---

In reply to:

---

Typical battery life is about five years.

---

I have never had a Ford stock battery last more that three years.
'90 Escort GT = Battery lasted 2 years.
'91 Probe GT = Battery lasted three years.
'94 Ranger Splash = Battery lasted three years.
'96 Mercury Mystique = Battery lasted 2 years.
'00 Windstar SEL = Battery still alive.

I replaced all of them with a SEARS Diehard.
Great batteries... Diehards never fail.
The Mystique was a bit $$$.$$!

Eurythmian

---

DieHard batteries are made by the same vendor that supplies Motorcraft batteries. This is a fact. They are essentually the same battery. Your personal sample is not typical. There is no statistical difference in battery life between Motorcraft and Diehard batteries. Motorcraft has a better warranty. I use both on my own cars.

One of the big battery killers on new cars is the length of time the car sits in inventory before it is sold. The lack of maintenance (charging if needed), frequent starts without enough run time to recover, very slight but measurable draw from keep alive electronic memory, etc. all take their tole.

My results differed from yours.

1998 Ford Contour SVT 3 1/2 years

1991 Mercury Tracer 5 years

1984 Ford Club Wagon 5 years

1965 Ford Mustang 7 years

I seem to have pretty good luck with batteries:

I think I've only changed four or five in all of the cars I've driven.

My 1975 Buick Century got one as a PM replacement in it's first winter.

My 1979 Fairmont, and I did that the first cold winter day after I purchased the car for $100 in late summer. (Spent $80 on the battery, even thought I didn't know if the car needed it or not.)

I purchased two batteries for my 81 Rabbit Diesel. I replaced the one in the car, and wired a second in parallel for additional capacity for starting in the winter.

I put one in my wife's 1991 Sunbird. We had that car for seven years, so that wasn't too bad.

And I've installed one in my 1987 Buick. This is the third battery for the Buick.

I typically purchase Die-Hards.

Now my 2000 Mazda, (Built in the Fall of 99) still has the factory battery, and my 98 SVT, Built 4/97 still has the factory battery. I do have a spare battery for the SVT as when I had to replace the Buick battery, I just bought a Diehard Silver and took the bad battery back to Wal-Mart for a warranty replacement. They let me get the 41-4 (IIRC) that allegedly fits the Contour. So it has been sitting on the shelf for the past year, just in case. I periodically charge it to keep it good. But, if it goes bad in the next year, free replacement during the first 24 months.

However, with how little I drive the SVT, the battery may last forever, LOL.

TB