replacing battery terminals/wire nest

[Arnoldtheskier]

Older batteries didn't have a specific place to vent..they just vented through the caps. Newer batteries have specificlly placed vents.Newer batteries.."maintenance free" came out in the early 70's. They are constructed differently..and act differently. They have more intial cranking power..but do not have anywhere the ability to sustain a high load for longer periods. Older batteries could have the life sucked out of them..or be overcharged almost dry..refilled/recharged..good to go again. Newer batteries..suck the life right out of these..they are toast. Any serious HD batteries..at a truck repair stop etc, are the older style. And are HEAVY! These can be drained..overcharged..abused..refilled. They also have next to no warranty. Older batteries always got weak..gave some warning when they were weakening. Newer ones just plain quit. Not uncommon for them to develop internal shorts..the car takes a boost..the alternator struggles to charge through it..bye bye alternator.Newer batteries will hold a charge almost forever..years and years sitting around. Older ones..a few months.The very first "maintenance free" batteries..were for all intents sealed. Then some of them..you could add water to them. The very early ones where you could see the level..you could cut the square part off(the cap that was sortta sealed) the top..easy..refill them..and put the cap back on..easy. Newer ones it LOOKS like you could do this. Older batteries you never heard/there were never any real warnings per se about the dangers of batteries exploding..especially during boosting..or frozen batteries. That is not uncommon now and the warnings are very common! I dunno..we are well into the era of "gel" batteries. I dunno..$200..at Wally..I buy Eveready's at Wally. for about $60 .always have a new spare ready/with me. I figure on new batteries lasting about 3 years. Then they are no longer trustworthy.

I dunno about solderiing newer battery cables..older cables..sure..newer ones..there is something different in a lot of the wire. I have tried solderring newer ones and the heat seems to either make them brittle..and they break..or they just don't solder well. I don't even try and solder them anymore. If you are concerned about stength. The cable crimp method is plenty strong. Want prettier? Mesh them and put a piece of copper tubing over it and crimp. Prettier still? Hit an electrical supply house and they have all kinds of fittings.

I don't like hosing down/adding water to that stuff. I like to get as much of it off as possible..in a paper towel..disposed of. Scrape it some more. If anything add something to it before it ends up anywhere. That stuff/acid mixes very happily and only too well with water. I don't like the idea of anything spraying it/deflecting it anywhere.

The spray on "white grease" is just that..the other type of grease I was referring to is regular high temperature grease that has some gelling agent in it to spray it..goes on like an aerosol then gels up. I use this stuff for hinges etc because it can really penetrate..and you can shoot the stuff pretty accurately anywhere you want. This grease is a bluish/greenish color and judging from the nunber of places I have seen films..or evidence of a grease this color..is probablly the same stuff. It is only about $5 for a can. I had used synthetic grease on battery terminals for 25 years and never had any problems. I think any grease will work. I really think that the gelling agent has some cleaning effect on corrosion on batteries..don't know for sure. Just seems to work great for batteries..and takes 2 seconds..no muss.

You really have to be careful with newer battery cables as in some applications they have pretty severe pre-bent moulded sections. These can be critical..stuffing any old cable in there with the cable unable to easily bend..can cause problems.

[oanesm]

I want to know what that black box thing is, too. Isn't that the original question??? Nobody was asking for battery maintenance advice, or multimeter theory...just what is those wires coming off the negative clamp for???

[MT-2500]

Originally Posted by oanesm

I want to know what that black box thing is, too. Isn't that the original question??? Nobody was asking for battery maintenance advice, or multimeter theory...just what is those wires coming off the negative clamp for???

This post is old and dead.
Always check the date on a post before posting and let the dead rest.

If you have a problem start a new thread an some one will help you.
MT

[sixleggedinsect]

Originally Posted by oanesm

I want to know what that black box thing is, too. Isn't that the original question??? Nobody was asking for battery maintenance advice, or multimeter theory...just what is those wires coming off the negative clamp for???

im about to post up regarding that in another thread- also started by me. sorry- dont want to type it twice.

anthony

[sixleggedinsect]

followup on this thread from a long time ago:

i removed the box, cleaned the living heck out of everything, extremely retentively, glued pennies to things, and greased everything.

its been a year, and my car doesnt seem to miss the mysterious black box. good riddance!