Flat battery?

[GT88]

Went to turn the car on and turned the key till the petrol pump got going then turned it to start and nothing. You hear this sort of ticking noise coming from the battery area when turning the key. Im thinking the battery is gone. Can someone please confirm what they think it is before I go out and spend the hard earned?

Cheers

[The Monty]

Id say its your battery.

[XR2DOOR]

clean your terminals b4 outlaying any cash

[GT88]

Originally Posted by XR2DOOR

clean your terminals b4 outlaying any cash

What's the best way to do this? Baking soda and water and scrubbing the terminals?

[XR2DOOR]

you could just pour a jug of boiling water over the terminals ,or take the terminals off and clean with a wire brush ,or a rat tail file or sandpaper whichever you have

[GT88]

Sweet as! Cleaned the terminals and the car started. There was quite a bit of blue deposits on terminals. Hopefully she keeps on going for a few more months. Its easily been five years since the last battery change. Should I replace it? Or keep going until its completely dead?

Cheers guys

[bodes-sh]

keep going. if it started with a terminal clean, repco and supercheap, etc sell something along the lines of a corrosion stopper. it's a gel type stuff, not those pad things, grab some of that, i think i have seen it in auto one too, called korode kure or something similar. it's in an orange tub. take the terminals off and put some of that on the battery posts and the inside of the terminals and it should stop any corrosion.

if you are worried about the battery, take it to an auto eleccy or even battery world, supercheap, wherever, they should have a battery tester they can put on it to show what condition it is in. that will give you an idea of how much life is left in it

[THR347]

Originally Posted by bodes-sh

keep going. if it started with a terminal clean, repco and supercheap, etc sell something along the lines of a corrosion stopper. it's a gel type stuff, not those pad things, grab some of that, i think i have seen it in auto one too, called korode kure or something similar. it's in an orange tub. take the terminals off and put some of that on the battery posts and the inside of the terminals and it should stop any corrosion.

if you are worried about the battery, take it to an auto eleccy or even battery world, supercheap, wherever, they should have a battery tester they can put on it to show what condition it is in. that will give you an idea of how much life is left in it

Great advice, but even better still, while ur at supercheap get some new terminals and whack them on. They're inexpensive and easy to replace. It wouldn't hurt to add the corrosion stopper and i'm sure your battery will get a bit of extra life.

[DOC]

When i was knee high we just used petroleum jelly ( Vaseline ) from the bathroom cupboard on the terminals nothing with a flash name and works well.

[ronwest]

Originally Posted by DOC

When i was knee high we just used petroleum jelly ( Vaseline ) from the bathroom cupboard on the terminals nothing with a flash name and works well.

Yep, boiling water to remove verdigris from terminals, clean with edge of sharp blade and vaseline to finish.

[IH8HSV]

And dont forget Coca cola... The best terminal cleaner of them all.

Even wipes out those pesky teeth to leave nice smooth gums. :

[whiskers]

nothing wrong about using Vaseline, I use it on my boat battery all the time.

[eb ghia]

yer totally agree bit of vasso works well,

[XR2DOOR]

Originally Posted by eb ghia

yer totally agree bit of vasso works well,

mmm im not touching that one