Well I haven't driven my A4 for a few months for a number of reasons (unemployed, gas is too expensive, need new timing belt, etc. ). I recently tried starting up my car and it wouldn't go. Dead battery. Checked under the hood and the negative terminal is corroded pretty bad and caked with powdery blue corrosion. The positive terminal has a little bit of white powder going on. Just looked around online and the word is the corrosion can go up the battery cables too. My question is in a worst case scenario, how much would such a repair cost? I'm guessing I'm screwed up the wazoo with this one.

 

DUDE:

Get a bottle of seltzer and pour it on the terminal. IF you still have gunk, remove the terminal and clean it. Seltzer is the best.

Recharge the battery. If you are really broke, a generic bottle of seltzer and jump start the battery.

 

I poured a mix of baking soda and water over the contacts (2 tsp mixed with 16 oz water) and the corrosion came off! I rinsed it with plenty of water. I'll wait until it dries off completely before I start the car.

 

Your battery probably died since the car has been just sitting there

 

Yes it's definitely dead. I bought it 8~9 years ago, so it's definitely time to get a new one.

 

to prevent it from happening go to any auto store near counter $1.99 batery terminal grease cheap easy but if you have to take them off its a little messy. i do this will all my cars since i live in a state were there is high condensation almost all year round... fcking rain!