Help! Battery Corrosion problem...

[elstunk]

2003 Nissan Altima 3.5l – yesterday at lunch my car won’t start, no warning signs (no previous trouble starting). We managed to get it started by jumping it, I figured I just needed a new battery and headed over to AutoZone and picked one up. I started installing the new battery and notice heavy heavy corrosion on much of the positive battery leads. I started to clean up the corrosion areas, I found that much of the positive battery harness had been damaged by the corrosion. I purchased a new positive battery terminal and installed it, but the there is a some damage to the positive lead wiring harness.

Let me see if I can describe the part…the positive battery terminal connects directly to one wire and also to a small plastic harness. This harness has two copper sheets one runs to a small bolt and then to a small fuse box (then to a wire), and one runs to a small fuse box than to a third wire.

The copper sheet on the harness that runs from the positive terminal to the bolt then to a fuse (then to a wire) has been corroded away. I know that I could bypass the sheet but hooking an insulated copper wire from the positive terminal to that bolt (I’ve tried it, it works) but I’m worried that is just going to cause more problem in the long run.

So my question is, does anyone know if I can get a replacement battery harness thing? All the fuses are fine, I just need the plastic part that includes the copper sheets that spreads all the power around…I can’t find anything similar on the internet. Maybe a part number?

any ideas would be much appreciated…thanks!

[SHIFT_COUPE]

Hey Welcome!

You can definitely pick up this replacement part through NissanParts.org

http://www.nissanparts.org/oem_parts.html

Call them if you can't find it. Hopefully it wont be too pricey of an item to replace.

[SHIFT_COUPE]

Also, once you replace the part. Make sure you grease the terminals, this prevents premature corrosion. You may have had a leak in the old battery which caused excessive corrosion. All batteries discharge a little and cause SOME corrosion. Its due to heat and temperature. Good to keep an eye on this just like you should your oil.

[elstunk]

Thanks for the welcome! I’ve been looking around, looks like you guys have a great little community around here, I think I’ll be staying!

I’m going to play the idiot card here…would this battery terminal harness thingy be considered part of the battery system? Or electrical system? Ignition system? And if I call them will they be able to figure out what the hell I’m talking about? Any key words I should use?

Thanks again for your help!

[elstunk]

This won't be it would it...http://www.nissanparts.org/oem_parts.html

Little pricey...

[dwoodlan]

I have a 2003 altima 3.5 SE and have a problem with corrosion around and on the battery posts,tray and hold down. I have used a corrosion preventor i got at a batteries plus store and it has worked well. Several months ago i found about a quarter of an inch of corrosion in the tray under the battery. Cleaned it up and repainted it and it is starting to corroe again.!! Yhere should be a electrical way to inhibit the corrosion but i don't know what it is