Do battery cables go bad?

[bcp]

This has to be the poorest solution for rapair of battery cables....

I don't mind those. But throw away the sheet metal part of the clamp, then use the clamp for one or more of these.





Bruce

 

[jaxs]

Of course the new starter turns engine faster than the old one that had wear on it. If shimming doesn't cure the problem,you are money ahead to have a pro fix it. Fuel savings alone add up but the worst of it is engine damage caused by wet stacking. Labor to fix this is cheap compared to a bottom end rebuild. Just make sure the mechanic know's your type engine. Older diesels are hard to kill but there's some jake leg mechanics that do more damage than they fix.

 

[dragoneggs]

My point was that the wire itself is highly unlikely to be an issue. The connections at the wire to its end connectors or connectors to the terminal is where 99.99% of the time the issue is when talking about the cables. If the insulation is good mid span the wire is good.

 

[John_Mc]

Cables absolutely go bad, they can corrode from the ends along the individual strands and look perfectly fine from the outside. Two examples of cables prone to failure are New Holland TC Class 2 tractor positive cables and early Ford Powerstroke positive cables.

As the owner of a 2001 NH TC33D, I can verify that statement. Due to heavy corrosion, I had my dealer cut the end off my positive cable and put a new one on when it was in for other service. A year later, I had the same problem. (I was wondering if the charging system was over-charging the battery, causing out-gassing of corrosive fumes or something. Dealer said charging system was within spec.) The corrosion on this one went back so far that I no longer had enough cable length.

I replaced the whole cable, and replaced my battery with an Optima Yellow Top. It's been over 2 1/2 years now, and no problems since then. (As a bonus, the Optima battery does not self-discharge as fast as a standard flooded lead-acid battery, so if the tractor sits for an extended period and I forgot to put my BatteryMinder on it, it's not a problem.)

NOTE: I've had very good luck with my Optima battery. However, I've heard they had some quality problems associated with their move of production to Mexico. I don't know if they have worked that out by now or not. I do know the price has jumped by 50% since I bought mine.

 

[RickB]

q

As the owner of a 2001 NH TC33D, I can verify that statement. Due to heavy corrosion, I had my dealer cut the end off my positive cable and put a new one on when it was in for other service. A year later, I had the same problem. (I was wondering if the charging system was over-charging the battery, causing out-gassing of corrosive fumes or something. Dealer said charging system was within spec.) The corrosion on this one went back so far that I no longer had enough cable length.

I replaced the whole cable, and replaced my battery with an Optima Yellow Top. It's been over 2 1/2 years now, and no problems since then. (As a bonus, the Optima battery does not self-discharge as fast as a standard flooded lead-acid battery, so if the tractor sits for an extended period and I forgot to put my BatteryMinder on it, it's not a problem.)

NOTE: I've had very good luck with my Optima battery. However, I've heard they had some quality problems associated with their move of production to Mexico. I don't know if they have worked that out by now or not. I do know the price has jumped by 50% since I bought mine.

Doubters are simply less experienced. I’ve seen enough cable failures to not bother debating.

 

[dragoneggs]

q

Doubters are simply less experienced. I’ve seen enough cable failures to not bother debating.

Okay I give...

 

[ray66v]

that's odd,, any cable can cause the problems you described it's what this thread is about LOL!
Clamp terminals have been around a long time decades even! It's a fix that can be done easily, are they perfect?,, nothing is!!
incase you haven't noticed.

No, a cable that has a terminal cast to the end is not susceptible to corrosion, like the cheap clamp on replacement.

I have considerable experience repairing vehicles, and I have actually noticed nothing is perfect.

Not trying to help those who don't want it.

Think you know better, feel free to find your for yourself.

 

[Fuddy1952]

I can tell you as a retired electronic technician 43 years wires, cables can and do fail in bizarre ways. A wire can look perfect, looking at the insulated outside and there can be a problem inside, maybe manufacturing defect, movement, etc.
Most wires we use are stranded. One thing that can and does happen is one strand breaks. Now at that point you have resistance (which equals heat). It's like having a length of 10 gauge wire with a section of 14 gauge then back to 10 gauge.
You don't notice at first but over time just like a weak spot in a water pipe it cascades. Another strand breaks, etc. Finally it breaks altogether, snowball effect and no power.
I've found breaks by securely grabbing both wire ends, pull, it stretches and breaks at the weak point.

 

[mred2]

I have had about the same problem on an older tractor of mine. I would first check the cables and connections. As noted use jumper cables to by pass the cables and connections. If that does not work, with it in neutral and being very careful, jump across the solenoid. This should tell you if it is a bad switch or a bad solenoid. I had one old tractor with a bad connection between the switch and the solenoid. I had another one that had a bad solenoid. And I have had more than one with bad connections on the cables. With a weak solenoid, It may not engage the starter all the way, or it may not supply enough voltage to the starter.

 

[mred2]

A family boat some years ago, would not start when hot. The moisture in the boat had caused the contacts on the key switch to corrode. The switch had been replaced by another family member with a switch for a car. NOT MARINE GRADE!