sliksix

Sorry to bring up a really old thread

My 2007 RX-8 got some corrosion a while back, at the same time my battery died. This was shortly after buying the car (2-3 months) there was no visible corrosion at the time of purchase, and I didn't notice any when checking my oil every few fills.

The old battery was toast, so it got replaced and the new one has been fine. The other day I had a CEL (wife filled up the gas tank, third time shes set off the CEL by not properly screwing the cap back on :P) and while poking under the hood I noticed some new corrosion.

I disconnected the cables and cleaned the battery terminals and the visible wiring, it looks much better now. When tightening the cables back on I noticed some of the clamps seem fairly weak. Not sure if corrosion has been an ongoing issue and the cables have taken a beating, so I plan to replace them. Are there any major things I need to look out for aside from avoiding blatantly copper connectors?

A lot of posters have recommended vaseline, one specifically saying to add more after the cables are reconnected to the head of the terminal. How is this done safely? I would assume once the cables are reconnected, the electrons from the battery are free to roam again? Is there a trick? (disconnecting both, vaselining the terminals, reconnecting positive (red), vaselining JUST the red, then reconnecting and lubing the negative?) -- I am properly frightened by the threat of electric shock but have worked on my battery for simple stuff a few times. Can anyone confirm if my approach is whats needed?

Thanks, sorry for the book, and sorry for the dinosaur aged thread ressurection