corroded battery lead

Guys,

Please help.
Last week I drove in the rain for 2 of the 4 days of my holiday in the Alps.
I got home, cleaned the bike and put it in the shed. No problems so far.

But yesterday, after filling up at the gas station about 1 km fom home, the beast would not start anymore.
Lights come on,...FI is off again, press start...all lights go out. And stay out....
After some feddling with the cabling (....)I found that the main fuse was ok, but my earth lead had some rust. Not a lot. So I cleaned it with some sandpaper and the problem was solved. I would like to avoid this in the future.

So,have any of you guys experienced this problem and what precausions can I take to prevent it?

Smother it with petroleum jelly

holy .... you're fast with a reply.
I guess the old petroljelly still does the trick then. (you made me remember I used it on my mopeds battery when I was a teenager, many many years ago.....)


I just did not expect it to rust so soon. (changed the batterie approx 8 weeks ago and cleaned the lead then.)

Thanks!