the effects of acid abuse?

[mrpleasant]

pleasant trees to ya,
symptom, white furry acid stuff spreading over bulkhead.battery and terminals unnaffected.any of u helpful peeps know cause and solution to this problem.before i lay out hard earned on a new battery?(battery seems ok, no cracks evident.)

any help greatly appreciated.
stay pleasant

[rayofleamington]

could be dust from the bulkhead sound proofing? - i've heard of it causing confusion before...

[Alec]

Hello Mr. P,

clean and neutralise with an alkaline solution (like baking soda in water), then clean back to good steel and paint. Possible cause, overcharging?, particularly if it's not a low maintenance battery.

Alec

[Chris Morley]

If this stuff came from the battery it should be all over the terminals and in the battery tray.

I must admit that I've previously used a damp floor cloth (with gloves) to remove the residue of the white powdery discharge from the terminals and battery tray. As long as the cloth is quickly rinsed in a bucket of water it does no harm.

[Willie]

It is either caused by over charging of the battery or the cells have
been topped up to far too high a level. The fluid should be 1/4"
above the plates maximum. You should always coat the cleaned
up terminals with Vaseline(petroleum jelly) NOT grease as I have
twice seen recommended by so called ' expert car correspondents'!

[Alec]

Hello Willie,

possibly the lack of verdigris (if that's the correct name?) on the terminals indictes that they have been.

"You should always coat the cleaned
up terminals with Vaseline"

Alec

[Willie]

ALEC, you're probably right but I didn't see where he said the terminals
were 'clean'. Only assuming that it is 'electrolyte splatter' since he
mentions 'acid'. Of course it could be Powdery Mildew due to all
that agricultural motoring he does! ( I think that's a joke, for all the
gardeners)!

[Kevin]

Quickest way to remove it is boiling water.