Around 1996 at a restaurant in Anchorage, AK my phone rang – one guy was late meeting us for breakfast. He stopped to get gas/coffee and after only sitting a few minutes his old Chevy pickup refused to crank over. I was “voluntold” to go help him. I was a car nut and everybody knew it, but as I drove closer to my friend the butterflies in my gut activated as I thought to myself: What if I can’t help him?

Since I didn’t have jumper cables with me we removed the battery. We took it next door to the mom n pop auto shop and asked if they could verify the battery was bad. Testing with a voltmeter it read 12.5 volts. That reading (12.5v is good) seemed odd as it wouldn’t start the truck. THEN he took the probe off the negative terminal and set it on top of the battery/case and it read voltage!! There was so much crud/oil/yuck on this poorly maintained battery that voltage was escaping between the (also corroded) terminals. This is enough to prevent the truck from starting. We bought a can of Coke and cleaned not just the terminals, but the entire battery. Two minutes later we installed the battery in the truck and it cranked/started like a brand new unit!

Whenever I’m under the hood I will wipe off the top of the battery if there is any crud built up. Using a quality motor oil will enhance the life of your seals so small leaks won’t develop and contribute to things getting nasty under your hood. I’ve learned that in addition to dozens of other uses, AMSOIL MP Heavy Duty is a great protectant for your battery terminals and will likely prevent you getting stranded because the corrosion interferes with sending power to your car.