Re: (ET) battery terminal question

[tb <tbamc gbta net>]

I had this problem months ago--and have had another battery in the truck 
since--so went out to refresh my memory of the old battery's post.  It's 
not as pock-marked as I remembered it, more cut/scarred up.  Someone 
treated it very poorly in its earlier days.

I don't think the problem is corrosion or oxide, for 2 reasons:  I had 
tried cleaning it well, then liberally applying Copper Ease before the 
cable clamp. I thought it might have helped for a while, but it wasn't too 
long before the problem came back, IIRC.  Second, there were times I 
cleaned post and clamp well, put it together, and immediately had no--or 
inadequate--conduction.

It all seemed so weird I even hypothesized some sort of post connection 
problem inside the battery, though the post feels very solid.  

Appreciate the ideas.

Thon




On Mar 4, 2014, at 1:36 PM, John Jeno wrote:

> Sounds like a classic case of corrosion occurring between the post and 
> the clamp. I had an old vehicle/battery with this problem.  The goal is 
> to prevent any moisture getting into the pockmarks as this will 
> propagate oxide to creep in between the post and clamp, no matter how 
> tight the clamp is.  I filled mine using a scrap battery post and a big 
> ... Soldering iron.  Not a real good idea for lots of reasons. If I was 
> faced with same problem again I would fill it all up with copper grease 
> and after tightening clamp seal top and bottom with LPS HD, WD, or 
> grease.  In order of preference. 
> 
> You want to eliminate as many dielectric corrosion potential issues as 
> possible. So try to avoid adding steel or aluminum into the mix;)
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
> On Mar 4, 2014, at 9:28 AM, "tb" <tbamc gbta net> wrote:
> 
>> Not exactly E-T related but does pertain to 12v lead acid batteries:  
>> I've been having trouble with the + battery connection at the battery 
>> in my pick-up.  The battery is old, and the post isn't smooth but is 
>> what I'd call 'pock-marked'.  Generally it all works fine, but 
>> especially if it sits unused a while, it will act dead when I try to 
>> start it.  Loosening and moving the clamp on the post, just slightly, 
>> will then allow cranking.  Sometimes it takes multiple attempts at 
>> moving it slightly.  
>> 
>> I've cleaned (with a battery post, wire, cleaner tool) the clamp and 
>> the post many times, without solving the problem.  Swapping a different 
>> battery into the truck completely resolves the problem which makes me 
>> fairly certain the old battery--and not the cable, is the problem.  I'm 
>> suspicious, but am far from certain, the weird surface texture of the 
>> post is contributing to this, but am unsure how to fix it.
>> 
>> Any ideas or suggestions?
>> 
>> Thanks.
>> 
>> Thon
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