Battery problem, sulphating (?) terminal

[frichie68]

Not sure if "sulphating" is the correct term: Large amount of corrosion (white stuff/blue stuff) on the POSITIVE terminal only, negative is always clean. The corrosion even eats away the nut on that terminal leaving only the bolt (different metal).
Battery is an H-2 copy, 6V from V-twin, made in India, has never held a charge very well.
It's in a '42 WLA.
Caused by a bad battery? Or some other electrical problem?
Do NOT want to go with a sealed gel-cell, been there-done that, never again.

[ricmoran]

You could have a poor seal at the battery housing and the terminal lead which is allowing the acid to leak. There is no real way to solve the problem because if the seal in not good, this will continually occur. Have you been checking the level of acid in the cell next to the positive lead to see if there is loose of liquid?

Also, you could be boiling off liquid into vapor as well if the output of the generator is too high much. The high output could also blow the seal as well if the cap over the reservoir is plugged up. Battery acid in vapor state will rapidly accumulate at the closest point of reactivity. How is the battery cover and then the frame swaged points on the downside of the chassis where the reinforcing frame rail runs side to side just in front of the fender. Is the frame rail reacting as well?

I discovered on my knuck that one of the caps was cracked which happened to be next to the positive lead and with that a lot of the acid vibrated out when running & riding the bike. This in turn cause some frame rail and batter cover corrosion. Replacing the screw cover stopped the corrosion process.

[D.A.Bagin]

I have that same problem but only on my junk Indian replacement batteries. They seem to last a long time for me but the sulphating and having to hacksaw off the nuts is a pain. Could be to electrolisis, (sp) as disimilar metals are being used but I even tried the lead alloy ones that come with the HD batteries and got the same result. Spraying battery terminal solution on did not do anything other than make a jellied mess. And yes, it is more prevelent on the positive side. I set it up so I can unplug the battery after each ride and it helps.

[23JDCA 808]

Someone had suggested grinding a small trench (Dremel ball tool) around the terminal and filling it with adhesive silicon sealer.

[upsrod]

The felt pads on the terminals will help a lot.

[awander]

Ssmear the terminals and the lugs, bolts, nuts with vaseline. It will stop a lot of corrosion.

[frichie68]

Thanx for reading and good answers!
Ricmoran-It even occurs with low acid level and when not run for a week or 2. Only on the terminal itself, not the frame but the chunks dribble down the side of the batt case.
D.A.Bagin-Gotta try nuts/bolts of the same metal, hadn't thought of that.
Awander-Tried grease but not Vaseline, I'll try it.

[ricmoran]

Gee, did not realize this problem is prevalent as it is. Locate diaelectric grease, as this is much thicker than vasoline and is designed for electrical connections to prevent corrosion form occuring and can stand up to the acids.

FYI, the Army with their Osh Kosh Hemmits have a huge problem with acid attack and they end up using axle grease over all the terminals which also helps quite a bit.

I spray the terminals and the whole bike with Rust COP/CarWell CP-90 which keeps things clean and as well will eat up any of the bluish green acid flake build up.

Used this with EZ Go Golf Cart company on electric golf carts where batteries were not serviced for 6 months and the bluish green pile was 3 inches high on the connections and mounting bars that secure the batteries in place. Within a month it reduced the pile to a minor amount on the surface so it took care of 99% of the problem. Retreated and a month later no more bluish green build up and as well staved further build up.

Refreshed treatments are done from once every 4 to 6 months depending on how severe the condition is.

Check here: www.corrosioncops.com and look for CarWell CP90 and or Rust COP/Motorcycle corrosion control.

[duffeycycles]

don't run those cheapass batteries, i've tried sealing with many sealants and went with the other v-twin battery and no more problem==this is coming from a long time V-Twin dealer

[frichie68]

What kind of a plug-in set-up do you use?
I thought about some kind of in-line switch but couldn't find a suitable one or a place to hide it. It would
probably corrode as well.
The bike is just a rider but I try to keep it mostly original looking.

[ricmoran]

One thing you might try is to install an inline fuse (either at the + from the batt or the - )and remove it after riding. That might aid in slowing the green growth and as well, this aids in allowing the wiring harness to get more years without the issue of corrosion attack which alos leads to the wiring becoming brittle over the years.

[awander]

Note that if you install a switch or a fuse to disconnect the battery when the bike is not in use, H-D recommendation would be to repolarize the generator each time you reconnect the battery.

[duffeycycles]

Polarizing is only necessary when you have a weak generator...I have cycle electrics on my every day rides and have never polarized them,and they allways charge. these cheap batteries would leak fumes around the posts anyway

[awander]

Well, that may be your experience, but the fact remains that the Motor Company did recommend repolarization any time part of the charging system was disconnected, in all the literature.

The theory was that the residual magnetism in the field could somehow go away entirely, and allow the generator to start up in reverse polarity.

[frichie68]

Couldn't figure out how to delete my duplicate response...