battery dead, couple questions

[theblurr87]

So the battery finally died at 107k miles, I'll itemize.

Car was dead so I jumped it, and drove it to work fine, except for an annoying whine coming from the instrument panel (vac leak? alternator?). Tried to start the car up again when i got to work and it wouldn't, car was the same as before i jumped it.

1. Going to replace the battery first (i think it's still original ) Any recommendations/advice?

2. The cable for the neg. battery term is really corroded, what should i use to clean it?

3. Should I just get an alternator while I'm at it, in case that's where the whine in coming from? The whine is quiet at idle and increases with increasing throttle. I used to think it was my head unit, since when i turned the head unit off, the whine went away, but now it's there reguardless.

Thanks for any and all advice!

[rubberman]

in my GP and my Montana the AC Delco battery cables fell off. corroded that bad and after reading some i found that AC Delco are prone to that. Then went to sears and bought a diehard. That whining could be the power steering pump or your tranny. just buy a battery and then go from there. Clean the cables with Coke or a wire brush.

[BNaylor]

Whats up Dude? Haven't seen you around for a while. I guess it is that time of year again with the cold weather setting in. I agree the battery sounds like a good starting point to me. Good luck.

[jbizel]

Originally Posted by theblurr87

2. The cable for the neg. battery term is really corroded, what should i use to clean it?

I heard that using a toothbrush and baking soda is a good way to clean the corroded areas. then if you put vaseline on it then it will prevent corroding.

[theblurr87]

Originally Posted by jbizel

I heard that using a toothbrush and baking soda is a good way to clean the corroded areas. then if you put vaseline on it then it will prevent corroding.

Thanks guys, it was just the battery. Everything is fine now and the whine is gone ::shrugs:: I have a nice pic i'll post a link to of the corrosion on this terminal. Thing wouldn't budge! just a good reminder to all to make this this doesnt happen to them

Yea haven't posted on here in a while, I usually go to clubgp, there's a lot of good info there but when i want to get good advice on maintenance or quality issues i come here lol

[rubberman]

as i said on both of the AC Delcos batteries i had, the metal terminal basically fell off the plastic housing of the battery