e battery terminals,
especially the positive. It is due to several causes:

(a) Too much water added to cells. The electrolyte expands on charge
and flows out on the top of the battery.

(b) Battery not fastened firmly. The jolting caused by the motion of
the car on the road will cause electrolyte to be thrown out of the
vent caps.

(c) Battery poorly sealed. The electrolyte will be thrown out on the
cover by the motion of the car through the leaks which result from
poor sealing.

(d) Vent caps loose. This also allows electrolyte to be thrown out on
the battery top.

(e) Electrolyte spilled on top of battery in measuring specific
gravity.

(f) Battery cables damaged, or loose. The cables attached to the
battery terminals are connected to lugs which are heavily coated with
lead. The cables are insulated with rubber, upon which sulphuric acid
has no effect. Care should be taken that the lead coating is not worn
off, and that the rubber insulation is not broken or cut so as to
allow electrolyte, which is spilled on the battery top as explained in
(a), (b), (c), (d) and (e), to reach the bare copper conductors of the
cable. The terminal parts are always so made that when the connections
are kept tight no acid can come into contact with anything but lead
and rubber, neither of which is attacked by sulphuric acid.

(g) Attaching wires directly to battery terminals. There should be no
exposed metal except lead at the battery terminals. No wires of any
other metal should be attached to the battery terminals. Such wires
should be connected to the rubber covered cables which are attached to
battery, and the connections should be made far enough away from the
battery to prevent electrolyte from coming in contact with the wire.
Car manufacturers generally observe this rule, but the car owner may,
through ignorance, attach copper wires directly to the battery
terminals. The positive terminal is especially subject to corrosion,
and should be watched carefully. To avoid corrosion it is necessary
simply to keep the top of the battery dry, keep the terminal
connections tight, and coat the terminals with vaseline. The rule
about connecting wires directly to the battery terminals must of
course be observed also.

2. Loose. Loose terminal connections cause a loss of energy due to
their resistance, and all such connections must be well made. If the
inter-cell connectors are loose, it is due to a poor job of lead
burning. This is