I have an '04 Ram with a Hemi. It has 97,000 miles on it. The battery is 6 years old. It starts and runs great. I am having a problem with a lot of corrosion on both battery cables where the attach to the battery posts. I stick them in Coke for 5-10 minutes and they look new again. I use to do this about once a year. Now I have to do it every 2-3 months. Is there a problem with the battery? Does anyone have a better fix for this problem?

Thanks,
Raul

corrosion is outgassing of the battery. Something is making it do that, could be age, could be heat, could be overcharging.

6 years is a long life for a battery here in the desert heat. I'd seriously consider replacing it.
I've had a quality battery last less than 3 years.

Have you tried coating with Vaseline after cleaning? Those little red and green felt washers might help. Clean and rinse with baking soda wash may be more effective than coke,,but maybe not. And of course new battery when old is 6 years old will be more predictable. I find Wally World and Costco are best pricing,,and possibly best warranty.

Advance sells a coating thats red.We used it and the cleaner at the shop.Always seemed to work good.I agree its time for a battery.The newer style cables seem to corrode more than the others.Rocky

Great life out of your battery !!! My 2002 Ram 2500 Diesel still has BOTH original batteries in it - always check your electrolyte level (if you can pop the cap off the cells, do it !!), and top up with distilled water !!! It is the heat, vibration and discharge state that kills batteries . . . I always have left a battery tender on my rigs, when they are sitting. That way the battery is always charged 100%. I am sure there is finite life to any battery, but the better you "maintain" it, the longer it will last for you. As for the corrosion, clean it up, then use what SXRXRNR said, vaseline on the posts/connections, it is conductive and will keep the corrision away.

Check your charging system to see if it is overcharging - causing the gases to vent out, along with some acid (hence the corrosion) . . .

good luck . . .

Cheers

Mark

Thanks for the helpful replies. I'll try the vaseline today and plan on a new battery when I get back from the race in Salt Lake City. A check showed it charges at 14.2 volts.

Thanks,
Raul

Charging voltage sounds fine . . . get the battery load tested before you change it. If it checks out ok, then no worries !! As I mentioned, if you can pop the cell caps off, then do that to check the electrolyte level - if low, add distilled water . . .

Cheers

My good friend who owned a parts store ( before they sold out to a box store) told me years ago, when a battery starts to get old the charging system has to work extra hard to keep it going.. Electrical parts , especially newer alternators are VERY expensive...

I always replace my vehicle batteries when they get old or START to give me problems now.....

My '02 2500 diesel has two batteries. Nearly from new they cr@pped up the terminals with corrosion. It got to the point where I would pull them and clean them up with every oil change or when the trans started acting out of sorts. I ran those batteries for ELEVEN years and they were still working when I replaced them (didn't want to push my luck).

I replaced them with Odyssey dry cells. Expensive, yes, but the corrosion issue has all but vanished.

http://www.odysseybattery.com/extreme_batteries.aspx

I have a 96 ram 2500 5.7 never really had a issue with terminal corrosion. That`s about the only thing that doesn`t rust or corrode on my truck.

Amen brother.

I have a 04 dodge diesel with 2 batteries. Mine lasted about 8-9 years. Never had a corrosion problem. My battery cables on my boat are corroded , I think I'll try the coke cleaning method. Thanks for the tip.

14.2 At idle ??? IE: if you have bad regulator the voltage could increase as the engine speed does,

charging voltage is dependent on temperature, 14.2 is not necessarily bad.

My 1998 1/2 24 CTD Ram 2500 batterys went 7 or 8 yrs, CRS , went on the first battery of the OEM pair, the second one lasted another 10 or 12 months longer :shruggy :That was 6 1/2 years in Hesperia, CA and the rest up here in Central OR where it gets pretty dang cold in the winter My 2006 ram 3500 has the origanl batterys in it still, they'll probally drop dead tomorrow as pay back, yea think As far as the corrosion on the posts it is cause by the sulphide gasses coming up around the battery case and the posts, the case probaly has shrunk some since new, grease them rascal up tight so they don't laek gas around the battery posts and keep on trucking