Most Commonly Overlooked Automotive Electrical Problems

Automotive electronics have become more and more complicated. A single automobile can now have over 50 different computers!  You might think that having this many different computers could be a source of problems -- Well, in a way, you would be right.  Often when analyzing a problem, trained automotive technicians jump right away to hooking up to a scan tool or a diagnostic computer.  Before long they are bogged down trying to evaluate and understand strange or possibly contradictory data.  All too often the basics are forgotten.  Among these forgotten basics are the battery and most importantly, the battery connections. A low battery or poor battery connections can wreck havoc in computer controlled systems.  It can cause the alternator to fail or even cause the computers to loose their memory. Lost memory can cause all sorts of running problems until the system relearns.  It can also activate the security system in your radio so you will have to enter a code number for the radio to come back on. [Check your vehicles handbook to see if it has a radio code. It is a good idea to let the shop that services your vehicle know the code and keep it on file.] 

The types of repairs mentioned above can run into hundreds of dollars!  So… how do you avoid these problems?? The answer is “simple battery maintenance and testing”.  A car battery should be tested every year or every 15,000 miles, and servicing the battery connections should be part of a 30,000 mile service. Removing the battery cables and cleaning the mating surfaces between the battery and the cables should take about 15 minutes. If the battery and connections have been neglected until they have built up mounds of corrosion then it could take up to an hour to neutralize the acid and clean up the mess that can migrate to the battery support and the underside of the battery. 

So yet again a small service can prevent major problems.  This is what preventive maintenance is all about.  

Below are three photos showing an example of preventive battery servicing.

1.  This photo shows an example of a battery where the RH negative terminal is in poor conditions and needs cleaning.

2.  In this next photo, the auto service technician has

applied cleaner to neutralize the acid and begin to clean the terminal.

3.  And finally, after removing the terminals and cleaning,

this is the finished job.

 

source:  http://www.britishamericanauto.com/car-repair-education-and-info-blog/bid/46479/The-Most-Commonly-Overlooked-Automotive-Electrical-Problem