Toyota '99 Camry (4 Gen) - Page 176

’99camry U
228
—Checking battery exterior
Terminals
Ground cable
Hold–down clamp
Check the battery for corroded or loose
terminal connections, cracks, or loose
hold–down clamp.
a. If the battery is corroded, wash it off
with a solution of warm water and bak-
ing soda. Coat the outside of the termi-
nals with grease to prevent further cor-
rosion.
b. If the terminal connections are loose,
tighten their clamp nuts—but do not
overtighten.
c. Tighten the hold–down clamp only
enough to keep the battery firmly in
place. Overtightening may damage the
battery case.
NOTICE
 Be sure the engine and all accesso-
ries are off before performing main-
tenance.
 When checking the battery, remove
the ground cable from the negative
terminal (”–” mark) first and rein-
stall it last.
 Be careful not to cause a short cir-
cuit with tools.
 Take care no solution gets into the
battery when washing it.
—Checking battery fluid
Type A
Type B
Green Dark
Clear or light
yellow
Blue White Red
CHECKING BY THE HYDROMETER
Check the battery condition by the
hydrometer color.
Hydrometer color
Condition
Type A Type B
C
on
di
t
i
on
GREEN BLUE Good
DARK WHITE
Charging necessary.
Have battery checked
by your Toyota dealer.
CLEAR or
LIGHT
YELLOW
RED
Have battery
checked by your
Toyota dealer.