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TR2/3/3A tr3 battery corrosion

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sp53

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I have corrosion build up on the battery of my tr3 that concerns me. The battery is a kinda new Sears gold diehard and holds a charge ok, but lately there has been a corrosion build up on the postive post. Awhile back Don talk about adjusting the regulator, but I am a little concerned with doing that because that is one area of a tr3 that I have not played with. Anyways what has been your experience with the causes of corrosion on the posts.
Sp53
 
I recently had the same problem on several of my vehicles after battery replacement. One solution is, go to your local auto parts supplier and get the anti corrosion pads for batteries {one is red and one is green felt pads} instal them as per instructions. This seemes to SO FAR have cured my corrosion problem.
 
They also make a liquid that you can put on the post itself and that seems to help. If it will make you feel better it is not confined to TR's I've been fighting that problem for nie on 55 years with varing degrees of success on a multiplicity of different vehicles. Not tried the green and red felt though might put those on mine when I put a battery in.

Good luck what ever you try.

Tinkerman
 
You might also try a battery post disconnect switch. I have my TR3A in storage quite a bit and have not had any problems with post corrosion. I have the inexpensive unscrew the knob type. Isolating the battery seems to help.

Bob Burt
 
take some baking powder, pour some in a container of water, pour it on the corrosion, watch it bubble the corrosion away. When it's all done rinse with clean water. Remove the cables and scrape the contacting surfaces(posts and inner ring of terminals) clean. Expand the battery terminal so that it will fit fully down on the battery post. Tighten securely then take any good grease(petroleum jelly works well) and cover all exposed metal on both battery posts, terminals.

Then check your charging voltage and make sure it doesn't go above 14.6 volts. If it does you can take the veh to just about any good auto electric shop that rebuilds generators and they can adjust it for you. Takes a little split end crossbar to adjust the arm..(course a lot of other tools will work also.
 
Bugeye58 said:
Baking <span style="color: #FF0000"><u>soda</u></span>, Ron.
Jeff
Click to expand...
Right because it is the battery acid which causes the white stuff. Baking soda is a base, and will neutralize the acid, which will stop the reaction for the time being. Greasing or petroleum jelly will keep the acid off the connectors in the future.
 
A less-than-perfect fit of the battery cable to the battery post may add to the corrosion problem. I found that when I installed my Optima battery, the posts on the battery had a slight taper to them which caused the ultimate clamp-down ability of the cable to be less than ideal. I bought a little routing tool with 4 sides (like a tire tool) that allowed me to ream out my cable clamps for the ultimate contact and tight fit. Also, make sure that when you do clamp that you use enough torque to really secure the cable to the post. Too, I always disconnect my battery when not in use for more than a day.
 
I use the baking soda technique myself - removes all the built-up crud on the posts. Be sure to put a cloth around that area so you don't accidentally get the mixture down the sides of the battery.

After the posts (and cable heads) are cleaned off, I smear Vaseline all over the posts and cable heads. In the past (on other cars) I've used that red spray-on anti-corrosion stuff - also worked fine.

I also have a "twist the knob" battery disconnect, so the battery's not "in the loop" when I'm not driving.

Tom
 
I'd take the battery out and clean it with the baking soda solution, then do the same with the cable terminals (and inside the battery box area as needed). Then, as mentioned, I'd make sure your battery isn't being overcharged; with modern batteries, that seems to be the more likely cause of the corrosion buildup.

Around these here parts, the local Sears store always used to put those pads on the terminals when they installed a battery, but maybe they don't do that any more?
 
BE SURE to not get any baking soda in or near any of the vents, as this will end the life of the battery acid.
I was helping a neighbor replace the upper ball joints in his "Gotta Mechanic Commin'?" pick-me-up truck last night and noticed pennies stuck into the vertical folds of the battery top. When asked why they were there after seeing the corrosion that was on the pennies only, he said these are sacrificial anodes. GM and a lot of newer vehicles have multiple lines into the positive battery cable heads which makes it almost impossible to seal with jelly, so the coppers take care of this . I'd say that this is a good as well as unique solution!
 
Make sure the drain tube is in place at the bottom of the battery box when you clean. Otherwise, the water and acid will end up on your carpet.
 
Andrew Mace said:
Then, as mentioned, I'd make sure your battery isn't being overcharged;
Click to expand...
Problem is, with the 2-bobbin control box used on the TRs, overcharging is normal !
Since only a single bobbin is used to regulate both voltage and current, the regulated voltage goes down at high current (like headlights on) and up with little current (no headlights and battery fully charged). The 'proper' setting shows a very slight charge all the time with the headlights (and other loads) off, and a very slight discharge with everything on. This was apparently considered an acceptable compromise, even though some other Triumphs used a 3-bobbin control box.

The other bobbin is for the cutout, to disconnect the generator from the battery when the engine isn't running.

Randall
 
Yeah, you're right. Shoulda said the littel arm and hammer box you keep open in the frig(if you're a bachelor like me).

That's what I get for drinking a tequila/club soda while I'm typing here.....

mea culpa.
 
Bugeye58 said:
Baking <span style="color: #FF0000"><u>soda</u></span>, Ron.
Click to expand...
This may seem odd, but I'm actually going to agree with Ron : baking powder will also work. It's not as strong as baking soda, but in fact contains baking soda and will act to neutralize acids.
 
Make sure the drain tube is in place at the bottom of the battery box when you clean. Otherwise, the water and acid will end up <u>on</u> your carpet.
Change to read
"will end up <u>thru</u> your carpet <u>and floorboards</u>"

Teq. + Soda..... Brrrugh
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif
 
BTW, the factory-specified "open circuit" voltage (ie no current) for the TR2-4 control box is 15.6-16.2 volts @ 20C. If you turn it down to 14.6v with no current flowing, you're going to have problems with it not keeping up with the headlights.
 
Yes! Regulators of this vintage are rather crude. Guess that's why I have supplied so many brass ID plates. They really suffer from the acid fumes produced by over-charging, especially the lower plate, which is just over the battery.

I remember. When I was a kid, my father would turn on the headlights of our '53 Nash , during the day, to help "regulate" the charging of the battery.
 
So? Is there a recommended replacement for the crapadelic Lucas regulator that corrodes valuable cars?
 
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