Five Hundred ticking dead...

neuron · **Posted:** Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:12 pm

Walked out to the car and put in key and it's not turning over.
Now, there's this constant ticking near fuse box underneath steering column that has some of the dash lights blinking with it and the parking lights.

When I last had it in a shop, they told me the positive terminal of the battery is really corroded.
Checked it out and it is, blue gunk all over it.

Disconnected negative terminal for now to stop the blinking and ticking.

Is this a case of replacing the battery?

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andysinnh · **Posted:** Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:39 pm

neuron wrote:

Walked out to the car and put in key and it's not turning over.
Now, there's this constant ticking near fuse box underneath steering column that has some of the dash lights blinking with it and the parking lights.

When I last had it in a shop, they told me the positive terminal of the battery is really corroded.
Checked it out and it is, blue gunk all over it.

Disconnected negative terminal for now to stop the blinking and ticking.

Is this a case of replacing the battery?

Try cleaning the terminals first and reattach tje cables - might just be loss of contact. If not, try a new battery. Gotta be one or the other.

andy

wchain · **Joined:** Wed Mar 11, 2009 9:32 pm **Posts:** 658

Andys right. Terminals are dirty. Pour some coke on the positive terminal, let it sit for a few minutes and rinse with water.

You may want to have your battery tested too. Take it out and carry it down to your local auto parts store. While you're there, pick up some of the felt washers for the battery terminals. That will help prevent the terminals from getting all messed up again. They're only a buck. Or if you're cheap like me, cover the terminals in axle grease.

andysinnh · **Posted:** Sun Nov 22, 2009 7:40 am

The NAPA batter in my son's accord was like 2 years old and was working great - but both terminals had the acid powder built up on them. I removed the battery cables and used some baking soda to clean the terminals off - rinsed well - put a couple of the acid-resistent felt pads and then the cables back on. Then sprayed dielectric spray over each terminal. Been 4 months and it's clean as a whistle. Still not sure why the acid powder came up (the area between the posts and the battery case) but it's solving the problem.

Clicking of the system like you describe is classic sign for a too-low power output into the system - either bad connection or bad battery.

andy

JJ · **Joined:** Mon May 16, 2005 11:29 am **Posts:** 3418

Disconnect both battery terminals and clean them and the battery top with a water and baking soda solution and reinstall.

neuron · **Posted:** Tue Nov 24, 2009 3:21 am

Thanks for the tips.

Took the batt to AutoZone. Had it checked and it was deader than a Thanksgiving Day turkey.

Bought a new one and the felt pads.

Cleaned terminals with solution.

We've got power now.

Five Hundred ticking dead...

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