1996 Toyota RAV4 Bad corrosion on battery terminals, wires

NATHANJSS

MEMBER
1996 TOYOTA RAV4

Electrical problem
1996 Toyota Rav4 4 cyl Four Wheel Drive Automatic

The car wouldn't start. I noticed excessive corrosion on the battery terminals. I cleaned the terminals and connectors as well as I could. The car ran for two more days then quit again. There is major corrosion on the connectors, and the corrosion goes all the way up the wire into the insulated portion of the wire. There is also a small fuse box on the positive side of the wire that is also corroded. What is this fuse box for, and how much wiring am I going to have to replace?

1 Reply

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
108,170 POSTS

What I want you to do is purchase a can of acid detector and cleaner. Disconnect the battery terminals and properly clean both the terminals and the posts. Once everything is properly cleaned (including everywhere you see acid corrosion) replace the terminals and they also make a paint that can be sprayed on the terminals / wiring that will help prevent them from corrosion in the future. See if that helps before you start replacing wiring. Also, make sure the ground to the engine block is clean and tight too. This should take care of the problem.

FYI: If you want to make your life easier, there is a very inexpensive tool made to clean both the battery terminals and posts. WIth the tool, it will take about 30 seconds to clean them properly and get a good connection.

Let me know if you have other questions.

Joe