Battery acid crud on top of battery

ACZL wrote:
Upon opening the hood last w/e while changing oil and fuel filters, I noticed said topic heading on top of the left battery. Said "This isn't good". Spoke w/ dealer and asked if battery was covered under warranty and he said yes but (always is isn't there?) only if battery is kaput. I can bring it by and they can do a load test and I could also opt for them to do a battery service to the tune of 30 bucks to clean the posts/terminals. Anyways, am not sure what would cause the crud to be there and what do you all think?

That is from gases escaping, typically from a very small crack.

The quick way to get rid of that stuff is a garden hose and nozzle.

The better way is a mixture of baking soda and water, applied liberally with an old paint brush (or auto parts cleaning brush) until it stops foaming and rinse well.

The best preventive solution is, when dry, to remove each terminal from the post, and place a generous "glob" of Vaseline on the post and around each edge. This is typically where the gases leak from and the Vaseline will prevent them from escaping.