Need Help With Engine Interference Problem (*Pic Added 6/26)

[00328]

I have an '03 M6 4cyl with about 60k on it.
The postive battery terminal gets an amazing amount of corrosion on it. I have to clean it about once a month. I have an iPod that plugs into the cigarette lighter and tune the stereo to a certain station and can listen to the iPod through the stereo. Pretty straight-forward.
I am getting a lot of interference through the stereo when using the iPod like this. None at all when listening to just the stereo.
After I clean the corrosion off the positive terminal there is no interference when listening to the iPod through the stereo. But after about a week it returns again.
Not sure whats going on.
I talked to an auto parts guy, and he said that there may be corrosion inside the battery and its causing the terminal to quickly corrode.
I'm wondering if I need to replace the battery, or trace out the negative cable to where its grounded and make sure its grounded good.
Like I said, I have no interference at all when listening to the stereo and the car cranks over just fine.
This is driving me crazy.
Anybody have any ideas whats going on or any advice how to correct it?
Thanks for any help.

 

[Mistersix]

that is crazy the battery terminal keeps corroding. have you tried cleaning the post with baking soda and water? i had a similar problem with an riding lawnmower and that seemed to clean the post really good. its messy though.

 

[batou079]

sealant my friend. No matter how clean you get a battery terminal, exposure to the elements will ALWAYS end up with some corrosion.

the way to almost COMPLETELY negate this problem is use terminal sealant.
You can use official "battery terminal grease" (often the most conductive), wheel bearing grease, general usage grease.

After a good cleaning, slather on a light amount, enough to cover all of the terminal, but not so thick that it gets squeezed all over the place when you connected the leads. This will help seal it from the elements... you will not deal with corrosion again, at least not for a long time.

 

[event]

I hear covering the connection with clear nail polish also works? havent tried it, however.

 

[batou079]

i dont recommend a hardening sealant.

 

[banzairx7]

A bad ground can cause the stereo noise you describe, not so sure it can cause terminal corrosion. Wouldn't hurt to check and clean the grounds in the engine bay.

 

[00328]

After a good cleaning, slather on a light amount, enough to cover all of the terminal, but not so thick that it gets squeezed all over the place when you connected the leads. This will help seal it from the elements... you will not deal with corrosion again, at least not for a long time.

Thanks for the replies guys. I have cleaned it very good and used battery grease to seal the terminal. Many times! It lasts no longer than a month and gets completely gunked up again. Never had a problem with corrosion like this before. I can almost use a spoon to remove the grease and corrosion, thats how thick the corrosion is. That's no B.S.
Maybe I'm dealing with more than one problem.
I haven't traced out the ground wire yet to check for a good ground. But I would think a bad ground would cause interference in the stereo when used by itself. It puzzles me that I am only getting interference when using the iPod.
Anyone ever hear of corrosion inside the battery? Maybe its leaching up onto the terminal. I dunno.

 

[event]

how old is the battery? they don't last forever, might be time to replace it. you don't want to get stranded when it finally dies.

 

[00328]

Not sure how old the battery is. Was in the car when it was purchased used about 2 years ago. It cranks the engine just fine though.
Thought about replacing it just to eliminate it from the equation.

 

[Drover]

If Dielectric grease covering the full terminal don't solve your problem then its 99% chance that your battery is leaking. Unless your driving through salt water everyday

 

[Guest20182]

My recommendation for the battery would be dielectric grease as well. As for the iPod, have you replaced your spark plugs lately? Most spark plugs have a built in resistor that eliminates interference, but not all do. It is possible that your plugs are "leaking" interference into the surrounds which is causing the interference.

 

[00328]

My recommendation for the battery would be dielectric grease as well. As for the iPod, have you replaced your spark plugs lately? Most spark plugs have a built in resistor that eliminates interference, but not all do. It is possible that your plugs are "leaking" interference into the surrounds which is causing the interference.

Been using the grease......about once a month. Only thing it does is make the corrosion easier to clean off.
If it were the spark plugs, I would get constant interference no? After I clean up the terminal the sound is great, no interference at all, for maybe a week. Then it comes back again.
One other thing, when I turn the wheel to lock, the interference increases.
It's pretty weird.

 

[00328]

Here's a pic of the terminal. This is what it looks like 3 weeks after completely cleaning it and applying dielectric grease. The corrosion has completely covered the grease.
Any other ideas??

 

[zinger002]

lead acid battery ftl.
Absorbed Glass Mat batteries seem to not corrode or fuzz up as fast in my experiences.

 

[00328]

Not real familiar with different types of batteries.
Whats an Absorbed Glass Mat battery?
Who makes them?
I am going to replace the battery as I think there must be some kind of small leak at the terminal, it just corrodes way way too fast.

 

[redspeed6]

Yes, buildup and corrosion is caused by a leak in the housing at the terminal. Nothing to do to stop or prevent, only prevent where the build up occurs. Build up is caused by dis-smiliar metals(lead post - metal cable)

Replace the battery and that should fix your issue. When you have your old battery out, and your battery cables disconnected, soak the battery ends in boiling water. The hotter the better. I use a coffee mug, throw it in the microwave for about 3-4mins and dunk my cable ends in the mug. This works great to remove the acid build up and not messy at all.

Try it and let me know how it goes.

 

[00328]

Yeah, the more I think about it the more I think there has to be a slight leak at the terminal.
How about baking soda? I've always heard that baking soda neutralizes corrosion pretty good.
Thanks for the input.

 

[KrGsMrNKusinagi]

Not sure how old the battery is. Was in the car when it was purchased used about 2 years ago. It cranks the engine just fine though.
Thought about replacing it just to eliminate it from the equation.

GET A NEW BATTERY.. If your getting bad corrosion on it after such a short time.. Its time for a new battery the only time i got bad corrosion on mine is when the battery was like several years old.

 

[redspeed6]

Here's a pic of the terminal. This is what it looks like 3 weeks after completely cleaning it and applying dielectric grease. The corrosion has completely covered the grease.
Any other ideas??

Duralast batteries are pretty good, but they only last a few years. They are cheap from autozone - picked mine up for $75 for my speed a few months ago when mine crapped out

 

[mnthny4]

Hey u need to replace battery u have a positive terminal post cracked at base causing acid to leak ,no matter what u do it will still corrod ,only option for u is to replace battery ,& when u r fitting your terminals onto battery do not beat on ,both should just fit with ease .