battery terminals melting??

[GentleGiant]

Hello All,

We're talking about my 1984 M1008 CUCV here... I just put it under the barn for the winter and disconnected the batteries like I usually do.

Most years when I connect the cables to the batteries in the Spring, I just slip them on and then push down hard while turning them. They stick onto the battery terminals pretty well and I never have a problem.

Last Spring it seemed like the cables weren't sticking very tight on the battery closer to the firewall, so I tightened the bolts on the cable clamps a bit.

Now, this Fall, when I took the cables off, the terminals on that battery by the firewall seemed to be "melted" a bit. One terminal had a pit in the side and a bit of molten metal like a small chocolate chip sitting on the battery. On the other terminal it was more like someone had dripped solder down onto the terminal and sort of fused it to the cable clamp. I had to loosen both bolts a lot and then pry and wiggle pretty hard to get those clamps off.

The truck never had a problem starting or running this year - no electrical problems I could report. I mostly want to be sure I'm not heading for having a fire under the hood.

Any experience, thoughts, or suggestions?

Thanks much,
Gentle Giant

 

[m16ty]

You should clean both the terminals and the cable ends every time you remove/replace them. They aren't making a good connection and arcing. Also, they should never be looses enough where you can remove them without loosening the clamp.

 

[99nouns]

like a small chocolate chip sitting on the battery.

If my batteries gives me chocolate chips, I would make s'mores

 

[doghead]

Leaving them loose is asking for a fire, and/or explosion, and destruction of the batteries themselves.

 

[maa45069]

I personally have had this happen and destroy 2 sets of batteries. Gimpy actually identified my problem pretty quickly. He noticed my terminal lead clamps were generic Autozone crap instead of the nice beefy military ones. The Autozone stuff really is made for 12V not 24V. Check it out, it is worth a try.

 

[Guyfang]

Clean the terminals, new clamps, good ones. Problem should be fixed.

 

[GentleGiant]

Thank you all.

I will certainly do as you say. Its a simple and sensible solution to avoid a large problem.

Let me play dumb and ask a few simple questions:

Cleaning terminals: do you recommend the common baking soda and water with a toothbrush trick? Or some other method?
Military duty clamps: where are these available?
Cables: do these also fail, and should they be replaced while I am replacing the clamps?


Thanks again - I admire our forum greatly.
Gentle Giant

 

[ke6axc]

I got my military battery connectors on Amazon. I've seen them other places for about the same price.

Sent from my LG-LS777 using Tapatalk

 

[antennaclimber]

Clean the terminals with this;
https://www.autozone.com/test-scan-...workchoice-battery-terminal-cleaner/80497_0_0

High current connections need to be perfect, minor flaws will cause issues like the ones you are having. Clean connections are vital to all of the battery connections.

Check out this thread as well:
https://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?72880-Battery-Wiring-Maintenance

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Military duty clamps: where are these available?

I get mine on Amazon. If you need to replace the cables, give BestBoatWire.com a try. I have been very happy with custom made cables from them. I get them with the clear heat shrink on the terminal ends, so I can see what's going on inside. Good stuff. Marine grade tinned copper.

Your problem is a very good illustratoin of something I see a lot. Somebody adopts a practice that is very poor (like not tightening battery cables), and when someone points out the problem, he gets a face full of, "Ah, shut up! It's been working for me for years!"

There's always good reason that "the right way to do things" got to be known to be the right way to do things. Shortcuts often work for a while, but eventually, they bite you.

 

[GentleGiant]

Thank you all:

AntennaClimber, especially educational were your words: High current connections need to be perfect, minor flaws will cause issues like the ones you are having. Clean connections are vital to all of the battery connections. I also appreciate your other detailed post on cleaning the entire battery/bus bar system. Thank you.

Thanks also to those who have provided sources for clamps, terminal cleaners, and cables. What a fine forum.

I'm clear on what I was doing wrong and how to right it.

One thought came up: what about having a cut-out switch on the negative cable (of the front battery). In this way I could "disconnect" the batteries in the winter (I park the truck to keep it out of the salt), without having to take the clamps off the terminals. I put a heavy duty switch like that on my Massey Ferguson tractor, just to prevent it catching fire while its parked - several of my neighbors have had tractor fires.

Is such a cut-out switch a good idea for the CUCV? I guess it would need to be rated for 24 volts, wouldn't it?

Thanks again,
GentleGiant

 

[GentleGiant]

GentleGiant here...

As I started this thread, perhaps I can end it, too.

I've got my answer. And there are lots of other threads on cutout switches for the batteries, which was my final query.

Thanks all and my hat is off to all your expertise and helpfulness.

-GentleGiant

 

[Matt5]

Really people? you need "beefy" clamps for 24volt? You need larger clamps for *half* the amperage? What? pro tip here...

Higher voltage... LOWER amperage...

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

*sigh*

Nobody said he needs bigger clamps for higher voltage. He needs quality clamps rather than the junk they sell at Vatozone.

 

[nyoffroad]

*sigh*

Nobody said he needs bigger clamps for higher voltage. He needs quality clamps rather than the junk they sell at Vatozone.

I had a lead clamp break on my Kubota and ran down to Advance auto parts and grabbed a replacement, I thought it looked a little odd, kinda to shiny. When I got back and opened it I found it's made of zinc instead of lead. It works but it's also junk!

 

[Matt5]

*sigh*

Nobody said he needs bigger clamps for higher voltage. He needs quality clamps rather than the junk they sell at Vatozone.

He noticed my terminal lead clamps were generic Autozone crap instead of the nice beefy military ones. The Autozone stuff really is made for 12V not 24V.

Beefy is BIG not QUALITY... ya someone did say you need larger ones for 24v.

And the fact still remains... even the AZ junk would work on 24v BETTER than 12 as it is 1/2 the amperage draw.

You don't need "beefy" clamps you want lead ones. Had "vatozone" clamps on a 84 with a 454 with a electric sander... never had an issue... would still recommend getting the correct solder not clamp ones however.

Now idk what alloys they maybe using...

Copper is 100% conductivity...
Zinc is 27%
Lead (pure) is 7%

based purely off that... zinc better than lead...

Idk, I'll just use w/e my local rebuilder tells me is good.