Chrysler Repair: battery terminals, color assignments, auto parts store

Question
Roland, Hello! I wanted an expert on how to clean my battery terminals. They get acid build up and I had some problems last winter. It's a 96 T&C minivan. the battery is only about 1 1/2 years old but the acid tends to build up often. any advice on what to use to clean them and keep them from a bad connection.  thanks,  Jim

Answer
Hi Jim,
You can use a solution of baking soda in water to clean away the deposits around the terminals, but don't flood the top of the case, because you don't want any solution to get into the cells. Maybe a tablespoon in half a cup or so applied sparingly around the post. Then to shine them up the auto parts store will have a terminal brush which has 2 parts, one for the post and one for the clamp, made with wire bristles. Then buy a pair of anti-corrosion felt discs, one goes over each post, observe the color assignments; and finally a tube of battery post compound which you apply to the post and the inner surface of the clamp. That should solve all your problems.
However, if you find that you still get a build up it may be due to overcharging of the battery, boiling off acid fumes. So that would suggest a look at the regulator function that is provided by the engine controller. The field coils are supposed to be modulated by the controller to restrain the alternator from putting out too high a voltage. If the dark green wire to the alternator from the controller were grounded, then the alternator would run unrestrained.
Roland