Battery terminals

The Blue stuff will be battery terminal spray to stop it going powdery. You can buy it in and auto shop in a spray can. I use it all the time.
Cheers
GRIFF

The white powder is a form of corrosion.
Mix up a little Bicarb of soda in water and pour over the affected terminal.
Dry with a paper towel and the powder should be gone.
Loosen terminal connection and clean both post and cable connection with suitable wire brush. You can get a battery post/lug wire brush cleaner from most Auto stores.

With clean connections, clamp together firmly and you should have eliminated your problem.

Pouring a little freshly boiled water over that corrosion clears it very nicely too.

.
Hi Odog,

The "white powdery stuff" is Lead Sulpate. It is caused by the battery electrolyte (sulphuric acid) making its way out of the battery and on to the terminals.

In the earlier batteries with vented cell caps this problem was often caused by acid vapour being emitted during charging. This should not happen with modern 'sealed' batteries unless overcharging occurs.

It can also happen if there is a poor seal around the battery post and the battery top. This is not all that unusual and not easy to fix, although rubbing silicon sealant into the joint when clean and dry may work.

The treatment is to wash the battery top and terminal posts with a solution of baking soda and warm water then clean the posts with a wire brush. Exercise safety care whilst doing this. Especially wear safety glasses. Thoroughly wash down the battery and underneath it with plenty of fresh water.

Spraying the assembled terminal/battery post with a proprietary sealant or liberally coating them with grease or vaseline can be worthwhile. One aerosol product is CRC Battery Terminal Protector, and there are other brands also. Available from Auto Accessory shops.

Thanks all, I'll call into the auto shop and grab some of that terminal spray, and give it all a good clean... I've cleaned it off a few times, but will do it properly this time.. thanks guys.. cheers O

Generally means batteries are on the way out and need replacing.

Gday "O"
I spray my terminals with anything that is at hand, mortein , CRC, wd40.mr sheen or anything else that is flamable , and have been since pressure packs came into vogue. I do the terminals with boiling water first then spray .

The blue battery terminal protector is very good and I can vouch for it from personal use. It is called: WURTH BATTERY TERMINAL SPRAY. Once the terminals are tight on the battery posts, spray them a couple of times allowing 10-15 minutes drying time between coats. When applying the spray and use a bit of cardboard to prevent over spray on adjacent parts. Don't refit any plastic terminal covers until the spray has dried.
The white lead sulphate deposit has nothing to do with the battery condition. It is due to vapour from the electrolyte escaping during charging and getting on the terminal as already stated and the electrolytic action between the dissimilar metals. i.e. Lead battery posts and (usually) brass or copper terminals and copper battery leads.

Yeh .... seems there are a few people pissing in your pocket here.
.
1/ ... if the battery is a sealed type battery you should not be getting much in the way of corrosion on the terminals,
.
As has been mentioned ..... If it is a sealed battery and you are getting corrosion is is quite likley that you have leakage around the battery terminal. ....... there realy is no way of sealing this up.
.
This may not be a problem in the short term, but in the long term the battery will no longer be sealed and will be loosing gas an vapor ..... so fluid levels my drop .... bla bla bla battery failure.
.
Another issue is that this leakage may be due to internal corrosion on the battery post..... this is not uncommon and there is a remote possibility that the battery post may fail ..... pull out/fall off or the connection to the internals may fail.

If it is not a sealed battery ..... terminal corrosion is pretty much normal.

2/ on the matter of battery terminal treatments ....... yeh its pretty hard to go past ordinary grease or Vasoline.
.
There is a yellow battery terminal spray ...... I baught a tin of this goop a while back ....... I realy doubt that it does any good .... appart from that it is a PITA to clean off
.
I recon the role of battery terminal sprays is to produce " customer satisfaction" gives mechanics something visible to spray on battery terminals.
.
3/ yeh people have been cleaning their battery terminals with bicarb for a very long time ........ bicarb stired in cold water is just fine .... if it fizzes its working.
.
Heating the water will hep bicarb disolve ..... but it realy does not need to disolve all that well

with non sealed batteries it's worth taking the battery out ...... cleaning where it sits and sloshing a bit of bicarb and water around there .... to neutralise any spilled acid.

Remember if it is a normal automotive battery sealed or unsealed and it is over 2 or 3 years old it's due for replacement ...... if it is an exotic battery like AGM it might last a bit longer.

cheers