Printable Version | Subscribe | Add to Favourites
New Topic New Poll New Reply
Author: Subject: Best battery connectors?
David Jenkins

posted on 16/8/17 at 03:06 PM Reply With Quote
Best battery connectors?

I went out for a drive today, and when I was out I stopped off to get some petrol. When I tried to restart the car - nothing. It didn't sound like the common x-flow inertia starter jam, so I had a good look at the battery connectors. After fiddling and waggling them for a while the car started again, so I drove home and investigated. The battery terminals were clean and the clamps were on tight, but the 2 screws on each clamp were slack - it took almost 1 turn on each to tighten them up again. I put a test meter on the battery and did the usual tests (on and off load, engine off & on) and everything seemed fit for purpose, so the loose screws were almost certainly the cause of my problem. My guess is that a combination of a coarse screw thread combined with vibration, hot-and-cold cycles and compression of the battery cable strands all contributed.

This is the type of clamp I have currently:



All the other connectors on my battery leads are either crimped or soldered - I don't like screw cable clamps!

So now I'm looking for recommendations for a better quality terminal clamp for round posts - I don't care whether it's bolted onto the post or a quick-release type, although I probably prefer the semi-permanent type, as I don't remove the battery from the car very often.

[Edited on 16/8/17 by David Jenkins]






View User's Profile Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member
AntonUK

posted on 16/8/17 at 04:20 PM Reply With Quote
My only comment would be not to buy this type...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Car-Battery-Terminals-Clamps-Pair-Quick-Release-Lift-off-Positive-Negative/2037322763?iid=322454979736


Great idea, while look nice and work quite well, it blocks the ablity to just jump leads direct to the battery.





Build Photos Here

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
Charlie_Zetec

posted on 16/8/17 at 04:31 PM Reply With Quote
I always use the ones with studs built in - crimp a ring terminal/lug on the cable end (think my Defender uses M10 versions, but M8 should suffice for smaller applications).

Half way down here (Polevolt)





Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity!

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
David Jenkins

posted on 16/8/17 at 05:15 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by AntonUK
My only comment would be not to buy this type...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Car-Battery-Terminals-Clamps-Pair-Quick-Release-Lift-off-Positive-Negative/2037322763?iid=322454979736


Great idea, while look nice and work quite well, it blocks the ablity to just jump leads direct to the battery.


The way my car's wired, I can put the +Ve lead onto the starter solenoid so that's not a problem. The big problem I encountered with those is with the Chinese rip-off versions that everyone sells these days - I used to have a really good pair of these* until I changed to a Ford-style battery with flat terminals, but when that battery died I struggled to replace it and had to go back to post connectors.


* Note to 907 - I don't expect you to give them back, Paul!






View User's Profile Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member
David Jenkins

posted on 16/8/17 at 05:17 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Charlie_Zetec
I always use the ones with studs built in - crimp a ring terminal/lug on the cable end (think my Defender uses M10 versions, but M8 should suffice for smaller applications).

Half way down here (Polevolt)


I was considering that type - the only concern is that I like an insulated cover on the +Ve terminal, and I haven't seen anything suitable on ebay. Otherwise it looks good, and I can crimp or solder terminal rings on the leads.






View User's Profile Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member
907

posted on 16/8/17 at 10:21 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
quote:
Originally posted by AntonUK
My only comment would be not to buy this type...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Car-Battery-Terminals-Clamps-Pair-Quick-Release-Lift-off-Positive-Negative/2037322763?iid=322454979736


Great idea, while look nice and work quite well, it blocks the ablity to just jump leads direct to the battery.


The way my car's wired, I can put the +Ve lead onto the starter solenoid so that's not a problem. The big problem I encountered with those is with the Chinese rip-off versions that everyone sells these days - I used to have a really good pair of these* until I changed to a Ford-style battery with flat terminals, but when that battery died I struggled to replace it and had to go back to post connectors.

__________________________________________________

* Note to 907 - I don't expect you to give them back, Paul!

__________________________________________________


Note to David - Your not getting them back. They're the best bit of the car






View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
big-vee-twin

posted on 17/8/17 at 08:43 AM Reply With Quote
Can you solder them, tin the wire, tighten the screws onto cable and then heat the whole clamp and solder.





Duratec Engine is fitted, MS2 Extra V3 is assembled and tested, engine running, car now built. IVA passed 26/02/2016

http://www.triangleltd.com

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
David Jenkins

posted on 17/8/17 at 09:40 AM Reply With Quote
In the end I've ordered a pair of these:

The video shows that you can jump-start with them, if you lift the cover halfway.

They are the originals - anything else sold on ebay is a rip-off, probably made of chinesium.






View User's Profile Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member

New Topic New Poll New Reply


go to top






Website design and SEO by Studio Montage

All content © 2001-16 LocostBuilders. Reproduction prohibited
Opinions expressed in public posts are those of the author and do not necessarily represent
the views of other users or any member of the LocostBuilders team.
Running XMB 1.8 Partagium [© 2002 XMB Group] on Apache under CentOS Linux
Founded, built and operated by ChrisW.