here is ashot of the volt guage when i start the car
this morning I cleaned the cables and side posts, put them back on and it fired right up, I will post a picture of the volt guage when i started the car, its like this every morning, is this normal? I will take it in to have a diagnostic on the electrical system

That seems a little high, but not too bad. Keep in mind a couple of things:

- The corroded terminals also kept the alternator from charging the battery normally, so the battery might be low as of your picture.
- The volt-meter'* needle is mostly accurate, but not super-super accurate. Often they are off by a little due to the position of the needle on the shaft that comes from the stepper motor. It is intended as a general reference as opposed to a diagnostic reference.

It appears you have fixed the problem by cleaning the terminals. Before paying probably $50+ for a full diagnostic I'd suggest you get a volt meter and test voltage at the battery terminals. 13.2v-13.9v is acceptable when the engine is running. A little higher like 14.0v isn't bad. If you're good here then you should be theoretically done fixing your car for now.

Side terminals can easily be converted to top post. Much more reliable & no more loose connections. (I had the same connections problem with side terminals)
Very easy to do..& I added thick ground wire to fender and a larger battery cable to Alternator.
This is the way to go.

took a reading on the battery while the car was running and it was 14.15, but now the switch for the sentinal lights are acting strange, the headlights and dash lights blink off and on

You have a sensitive pot. I wouldn't worry about it unless you use sentinel all the time.

14.5 is normal at the battery while its running.

I suppose it would not hurt to replace the switch

Probably not, just be careful taking all of that old plastic off.

Top terminals, side terminals, makes no difference, they both leak.......

Cousin'* 2015 MKZ Lincoln has a top post and it was his neg term that was corroded...while trying to remove the cable the whole post came out of the battery........

See this on GM'* a lot.......I separate the covering from the connector, and let that connector take a bath in some coca cola(yes, the same stuff we drink)......then rinse, wipe dry, wire brush it, thin film of dielectric grease, reinstall covering, and you are good to go....normally the cables do not have to be replaced....I do replace the bolts that hold the cable terminals to the battery....

As for starters, you go to a parts store, and they give you the A, B, C prices....A is a rebuilt, B is a rebuilt with a better warranty, and C is completely new, but way more expensive.....most people go cheap and buy the A, and will be crawling under their car to replace it, eventually again, if indeed they get one that even works right out of the box....

I agree that typical lead acid batteries will offer corrosion to terminals caused by venting in both side or top posts.
That is until you step up to absorb glass mat sealed batteries or AGM series.
The Odyssey batteries are fully sealed and expensive, but tend to last 10 years without any corrosion to terminals ever.
I am currently testing a lesser expensive sealed Exide Edge AGM. So far so good, terminals are spotless.

Are the starters physically damaged? The one time I had a battery melt down the bell housing cracked and shorted the battery.
I have seen a pure ground connection generate a lot of heat also. That would also wear the starter faster due to the amps increase. Check your black wires from the battery an be sure they're well secured and clean. Let us know what you find, electrical is always tough to pin point.