Do you guys use Vaseline or dialectic grease on the battery terminals for corrosion prevention? Or something else? My wife's piece of junk Ford Focus began exhibiting the strangest symptoms I've ever heard of or seen. She called me up while she was driving to work to tell me that the windshield wipers began operating by themselves, and they wouldn't shut off even after she turned the car off.
I told her to head back home so I can take a look. While I waited for her, I took a look on youtube which lead me right to this contraption shown in the photos below. This thing attaches to the negative battery post, and has a small gauge wire which plugs into it. As it turns out, (according to what I read and saw) when the negative terminal on these cars builds up corrosion, the crazy wiper problem is often the result, and unless the wire is in bad shape, the only thing that needs to be done is to clean off the corrosion.
So when I opened the hood, I absolutely found mucho corrosion, and mostly on the negative post and terminal, as well as all over this contraption you see in the photos. I cleaned it off, sprayed some WD-40 on it, ( sparingly) and blew everything off with compressed air, and sure enough it solved the strange windshield wiper problem. The video I watched says that the reason that battery terminal corrosion can cause the crazy wiper problem on these cars, has something to do with this part shown. When it gets corrosion build up, it doesn't like it, and like a bratty child looking for attention, it acts up through the windshield wipers going on and off all by themselves.
Don't ask me to explain this, because I can't. Leave it up to Ford.
I told her to head back home so I can take a look. While I waited for her, I took a look on youtube which lead me right to this contraption shown in the photos below. This thing attaches to the negative battery post, and has a small gauge wire which plugs into it. As it turns out, (according to what I read and saw) when the negative terminal on these cars builds up corrosion, the crazy wiper problem is often the result, and unless the wire is in bad shape, the only thing that needs to be done is to clean off the corrosion.
So when I opened the hood, I absolutely found mucho corrosion, and mostly on the negative post and terminal, as well as all over this contraption you see in the photos. I cleaned it off, sprayed some WD-40 on it, ( sparingly) and blew everything off with compressed air, and sure enough it solved the strange windshield wiper problem. The video I watched says that the reason that battery terminal corrosion can cause the crazy wiper problem on these cars, has something to do with this part shown. When it gets corrosion build up, it doesn't like it, and like a bratty child looking for attention, it acts up through the windshield wipers going on and off all by themselves.
Don't ask me to explain this, because I can't. Leave it up to Ford.
