clean up leaky battery?

[1987HondaAccord]

key, the other day i tried to install a kill switch for my battery, but i guess i wired it up wrong. when i turned off the switch, the car kept going off the alternator. I think it may have overcharge the battery, because it soon started leaking. My question is: how do i clean up the battery leakage?

I am going to replace the battery too, and wire the alternator into the circuit, but i'm still needing to clean up battery acid.

Oh, and i blew a few fuses at the same time. Is there a main headlight fuse for all of the headlights under the dash? or is it split up into right and left low beam/hibeam? my low beams don't work, and only 1 highbeam works. All of the fuses look good though.

thanks for the help!

[POS carb]

wow.. I hope you didn't fry anything
you can pour baking soda and water on the acid, it will neutralize. If not use sprite.

As for the headlights not working... that is very strange... If it was a power surge you'd see signs of it like melting harness connectors, warped fuses. I'd say try using the fuse that you know works for sure and try it in the other slots.
if not I think maybe you messed up your switch

[TheWatcher]

key, the other day i tried to install a kill switch for my battery, but i guess i wired it up wrong. when i turned off the switch, the car kept going off the alternator. I think it may have overcharge the battery, because it soon started leaking. My question is: how do i clean up the battery leakage?

I am going to replace the battery too, and wire the alternator into the circuit, but i'm still needing to clean up battery acid.

Oh, and i blew a few fuses at the same time. Is there a main headlight fuse for all of the headlights under the dash? or is it split up into right and left low beam/hibeam? my low beams don't work, and only 1 highbeam works. All of the fuses look good though.

thanks for the help!

My advice to you is to replace the battery NOW.

On my 1987 Civic, I had to replace the air conditioning system, because battery acid had eaten through a hose/air conditioning part and had contaminated the system. A new battery would have been much cheaper.

Now I install the battery with the little felt pads they sell at Checkers, to prevent build up on the battery terminal. I also use a battery cleaner spray on everything, to clean everything up every time I install a new battery.

Lastly, check your paperwork on your battery, it may still be under warranty. I just replace my battery about a month or two ago with a new battery, because the battery was under warranty. Labor = myself, Battery under warranty = free. Total cost = $0.

You may have a problem on warranty return, depending on the physical damage to the battery (they may say you abused it somehow), but it's worth a try, if you are still under warranty and kept the paperwork.

Hope that helps.

Peace.

[Blkblurr]

Originally Posted by POS carb
wow.. I hope you didn't fry anything
you can pour baking soda and water on the acid, it will neutralize. If not use sprite.

Baking soda and water as you said is correct. Sprite is acidic containing phosphoric acid. You don't want to use that.

[1987HondaAccord]

well, i think i got everything cleaned up. the headlights still don't work. is it possible that the bulbs are somehow shot?

when i started it up after i installed the battery, the battery light came on. again. it was coming on when the leaky battery was in there, but i thought that was why it was coming on. Could it be the alternator causing THIS problem? when i had the switch wired up wrong, and i tried turning it off (switch between pos. battery and starter) all of the lights were much brighter. is this from the alternator working too hard? I'm just hoping the alternator isn't blown, cuz i think that would be harder to replace.

thanks for your help

[Blkblurr]

I'm not sure what much brigher means. Is it as bright as normal with a working alt.? Measure the voltage at your battery terms. when the engine is running. It should be around 13.6V DC. If it's around 12V, your alt is probably not working.

[1987HondaAccord]

I'm not sure what much brigher means. Is it as bright as normal with a working alt.? Measure the voltage at your battery terms. when the engine is running. It should be around 13.6V DC. If it's around 12V, your alt is probably not working.

I don't think i have a voltmeter around. what I meant by much brighter was this: i turned off the switch, which effectively took the positive side of the battery out of the circuit, and the light in the trunk got much brighter. I'm used to the normal light, and this was MUCH brighter. its like it had a power surge or something. maybe the voltage regulator went bad? any ideas?


on a side note, how long can i drive on just the battery?

[Blkblurr]

The battery acts as a voltage stabilizer for the alt. It draws current from the alt continuously as long as you have a load on the system. The alt generates a sine wave as it rotates. The battery fills in the space between the high and low points of the sine wave. This causes the DC voltage to average out to be lower. You can drive a car for a long way depending of course on how many things are turned on in your car. If you do this often you will ruin your battery though. I wouldn't try to drive it more than about 25 miles with a full charge.