Few things on modern cars are as important as its battery and that’s because everything works with electricity on todays cars. That means we have to have a really clean battery all the time. All this grease and dirt and everything laying on top of it. We clean it away using some type of grease cutting detergent and clear water to rinse it.

But the really important thing is where the cables connect to the post. That’s where the electrical energy gets from the battery to the car. They have to be clean and tight at all times so we have to remove them and clean them. No you do not use baking soda and just pour it with some water over the connection because all that does is clean the outside it doesn’t clean the electrical inside.

So you have to remove the cables, you have a battery terminal brush or some brush like we have here and you clean the inside of the cable, the outside of the post. Both should be shiny metal. Then you put it back together.

Time again you’ve heard “use petroleum jelly.” Don’t. Because petroleum jelly has a very low melting point. The under hood of a car hood these days is very hot. This stuff melts, it gets down between the cable and connection and you have a poor electrical circuit.

What do you do? Here on this battery, we use felt pads. You can buy sprays. Gels and so on to go on there specifically for that purpose. They don’t melt, the don’t create problems.

While the battery is disconnected you want to be sure you don’t lose the memories on the car? If you have a booster pack like this, you can buy this adapter. It plugs into the computer interface under the dash, saving all the memory.

Now another thing, if you have a car that sits for an extended period of time. On the car itself when the car is running, the alternator charges the battery. Keeps it fully charged. You want to do the same thing when the car is not being used. That means you need a battery maintainer. Not a charger. Chargers can damage batteries. Maintainers work just like the alternator to keep the battery fully charged for extended periods of time without damaging it.

If you have a question or a comment drop me a line right here at Motorweek.