Battery terminal vs clamp. RANT included.

[N80]

This is actually about a car battery.....but just pretend it is on my tractor. We have been having constant trouble with my wife's car battery. Almost every time it can be traced to the negative terminal clamp coming loose. The OEM terminal clamp will not fully and tightly clamp down on the battery terminal. I've tried the aftermarket shim/caps. They don't stay on well and tend to fall apart. They are made of lead.

Brief rant, and just assume every third word is a deleted expletive: Why, why, WHY! would battery makers and automakers not make terminal and clamps that will fit properly? Why, why WHY is there a need for shims? Why wouldn't a clamp fit different sized terminals....at least to adapt to minor variations? It just seems amazing to me that in this century that this is an issue at all. It makes me turn purple, throw tools and say things my wife should never have to hear.

I made a shim out of copper pipe. Sanded both sides and after quite a bit of bodging, cussing and mechanical gymnastics got the terminal clamp back on and tight.

I would like to cut the OEM terminal off. It is the negative lead so it is just a simple cable. My question is this: On line I see lots of different terminal clamps. Some very fancy and sophisticated looking but reviews are almost universally so-so on all of them......can anyone here recommend a good aftermarket terminal clamp that actually fits a battery terminal and is easy to work on and with?

 

[RalphVa]

I don't have a recommendation, as I haven't worked on them in quite a while. You can replace the end or the whole cable, since the negative one is usually fairly short.

Wouldn't happen to be a Toyota would it? Battery cable ends were the achilles heal of an otherwise generally troublefree vehicle on Toyotas.

Ralph

 

[N80]

It's an Infiniti (Nissan). No such issues on any of my previous Nissans or Ifinitis (lots of them).

 

[bcp]

I've had best luck with these replacement terminals. usually called military terminals, for some reason.



Bruce

 

[tjkubota93]

Replace the entire cable

 

[pmsmechanic]

I would clean everything up good with baking soda. Next install the present clamp where you want it. Snug it up and drill a small hole exactly between the battery post and the clamp. Hold it! Is this a metal clamp? If so them drill a hole so the a sheet metal screw can be tightly turned in holding the clamp on. Once that is done then tighten up the battery clamp completely. Lastly spray the battery clamp and post with a generous coating of Fluid Film. It leaves behind a waxy coating that prevents corrosion.

 

[Wagtail]

(to state the obvious) Something is causing excessive vibration on that negative cable in order to loosen the connection. Perhaps the cable itself is too short or is against something.

The positive connection is performing well, right?

Is the battery itself secure (clamped down) so that it cannot shift/vibrate in any direction?

 

[Alan W.]

I replaced the battery on my Ford Ranger with one from Walmart and the ground clamp will barely grip it. Was tight on the old battery. For some reason the ground post is undersize. Gotta take it back. Have you checked to see if its the post.

 

[ruffdog]

Non-standard post sizes.....WTF?

 

[N80]

This is the third battery (over the years) that this is an issue with. All clean, no corrosion. This has lead to dead batteries though. The clamp when tightened all the way is still loose. I do not think there is any excessive vibration and the batteries have never been loose. No issues with positive clamp. (Now, another rant, getting to this battery is ridiculous. Being a 'sports' car it is mounted up against the firewall underneath all this plastic trim. It all has to be removed to get the battery out and even just getting to it to remove the cables is silly.)

I think non-standard post sizes must be a somewhat common issue as some clamps even come with shims! Again, this is the third battery this has been an issue with so in this case it might be poor QC with the batteries but it seems to mostly be an issue with the clamp.

bcp, I'll look at those clamps.