Can't get batter Terminals off

[michail71]

I'm nearly 50 years old and have taken off my share of battery terminals but I'm at a loss on this one.

First off, I have more battery corrosion than I have ever seen before. I feel like I'm looking at a 20 year old car vs. a 2 year old car with the mess I'm seeing here. I've busted up quite a bit so far and can now move the terminals around from side to side.

The first YouTube video I've found, the guy actually broke off his negative terminal from the battery.

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[michail71]

I managed to get the negative terminal off but it may have damaged the battery in the process, just like the guy in the video. I can't even get the positive terminal to budge anymore.

The amount of corrosion was unreal for a car this age.

 

[Elp_jc]

Get an AGM battery man; I replaced mine (at my dime) as soon as I saw that it was a freaking wet cell. That's what happens with those. And it was pretty weak already, since car sat at dealer for 6 months. Dealer (100 miles away) offered to replace it for free, but no way I wanted another one like it, so bit the 'bullitt' and bought a replacement AGM 96R at Advanced Auto for $150 (on sale).

 

[michail71]

Exactly what I'm going to do. I just have to get that positive terminal off still. I'm going to pick up some penetrating oil.

 

[michail71]

Finally got everything most freed up and cleaned. Now I'm a little confounded by this terminal clamp that looks like it was designed in the early 1900s for efficient manufacturing. It also looks like it's a hundred years old after all that battery off gassing.

My positive terminal slider bolt thing is either completely frozen on or it was welded in place at the factory. The bolts on the negative side came apart. I don't know that I could tighten or loosen the positive end. Is this something that should come apart of be reset?

I picked up some replacement clamps but the positive wire doesn't look serviceable.

My confusion may seem silly. I'm just used to working on German and Japanese cars.

 

[michail71]

I case this helps anyone in the future. I had to use a combo of battery cleaner, penetrating oil, picks, wire brushes and brute force to get these wedge blocks exposed that are under that nut. The metal pin was frozen too. I'm still working on freeing up the positive terminal. The positive terminal connector does not detach from the line like the negative side.

Hardest battery change I've ever done so far and the car is two years old.

 

[SheepDog]

I'm nearly 50 years old and have taken off my share of battery terminals but I'm at a loss on this one.

First off, I have more battery corrosion than I have ever seen before. I feel like I'm looking at a 20 year old car vs. a 2 year old car with the mess I'm seeing here. I've busted up quite a bit so far and can now move the terminals around from side to side.

The first YouTube video I've found, the guy actually broke off his negative terminal from the battery.

That sucks.

All of that corrosion either indicates that you have overheated the battery multiple times, or that you have an alternator that is over charging.

AGM battery will definitely tolerate the heat in FL better than the OEM.

Use this to remove stuck terminal ends
https://www.autozone.com/test-scan-...l/oemtools-battery-terminal-puller/466489_0_0

The positive cable is one giant assembly that goes all over the engine bay, fuse block, starter, alternator, etc. the only fix aside from replacing the whole thing is to chop off the terminal as close as possible to the crimped section, and then use something like this that is reusable.
https://www.jegs.com/i/Taylor/895/21405/10002/-1

 

[michail71]

That sucks.

All of that corrosion either indicates that you have overheated the battery multiple times, or that you have an alternator that is over charging.

AGM battery will definitely tolerate the heat in FL better than the OEM.

Use this to remove stuck terminal ends
https://www.autozone.com/test-scan-...l/oemtools-battery-terminal-puller/466489_0_0

The positive cable is one giant assembly that goes all over the engine bay, fuse block, starter, alternator, etc. the only fix aside from replacing the whole thing is to chop off the terminal as close as possible to the crimped section, and then use something like this that is reusable.
https://www.jegs.com/i/Taylor/895/21405/10002/-1

Florida does suck for batteries! But I've still never seen anything this bad on a car so new.

I managed to get the bolt on the positive connector freed up. Although a chunk of copper came with it. Part of me wants to go after Ford to replace the whole positive line for such bad design combined with a low quality OEM battery. But they'll just say it was my fault.

Electrically, what they did with that positive line does make sense from an efficiency perspective. But that non-sealed battery and Rube Goldberg terminal connector is a disaster combination. I found a few YouTube videos that let me know I wasn't alone. One guy just cursed at it and the engineer that made it for 3 or 4 minutes straight.

Anyway, I'm glad I tackled it myself because I can't see most shops having bothered going through what I just did. And I wouldn't blame them unless charging for several hours of shop time.

 

[IrishStallion]

Over two years and 11k miles and zero corrosion on terminals. Live in midwest.

 

[michail71]

Over two years and 11k miles and zero corrosion on terminals. Live in midwest.

That's usually my case too. I wondering if was something wrong with the battery? The car was at the dealer last week and I have a report they did a full inspection and gave the battery a green check. They obviously didn't look!

I discovered the bolts holding the battery box and also started corroding. So I got that all apart and cleaned and treated the bolts.

Anyway, main take is if you get any corrosion those terminal clamps can get completely bound up. It took a considerable amount of battery cleaner, penetrating oil, picking, scrubbing and hammering.

 

[ice445]

That's usually my case too. I wondering if was something wrong with the battery? The car was at the dealer last week and I have a report they did a full inspection and gave the battery a green check. They obviously didn't look!

I discovered the bolts holding the battery box and also started corroding. So I got that all apart and cleaned and treated the bolts.

Anyway, main take is if you get any corrosion those terminal clamps can get completely bound up. It took a considerable amount of battery cleaner, penetrating oil, picking, scrubbing and hammering.

Most likely a defective battery. Also possible it was over-tightened before you ever touched the car and cracked the casing around the posts which allows the battery to off gas and create the corrosion.

 

[michail71]

I take some responsibility too, I'm usually good with checking these things. I just had it in my mind that the car is still too new.

Anyway, I'm happy to have an AGM battery in there.

 

[Bridgie]

Another battery corrosion victim, negative terminal completely stuck.
The negative side was so corroded as others have highlighted and just like the guy on YOUTube video.

The new battery post has detached from the battery housing. It took a while, WD40, wiggle and prying.

For those that have a 2015, I would strongly recommend taking a look under the battery cover to check the terminal condition.
New Duracell fitted.

 

[michail71]

Another battery corrosion victim, negative terminal completely stuck.
The negative side was so corroded as others have highlighted and just like the guy on YOUTube video.

The new battery post has detached from the battery housing. It took a while, WD40, wiggle and prying.

For those that have a 2015, I would strongly recommend taking a look under the battery cover to check the terminal condition.
New Duracell fitted.

At the Auto Parts store they said "Oh, all Fords do that, we don't know why" I'm not sure if that is true but they are on the front lines.

Just be patient and use plenty of battery cleaner and penetrating oil. Check the bolts in the bottom of the box too.

 

[michail71]

Baking Soda ..............

The clamp is pretty nice, can easily be replace if need be.

Not so easy on the positive terminal since it's fixed to a very long cable. But at least the negative is, which I think is usually where most issues happen. For me they were equally caked up.

If still prefer a traditional bolt. But I can see advantages of this system.

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