Melted Battery Terminal, any Options?...And new Seat Covers

[renovate7]

This is what happens when you forget to tighten the cable to the terminal. The post is about half gone. Any good ways to fix this?...Also installed my new Jakonta seat covers, fit well, look great.

 

[porkysplace]

This is what happens when you forget to tighten the cable to the terminal. The post is about half gone. Any good ways to fix this?...Also installed my new Jakonta seat covers, fit well, look great.

A new battery .

 

[emmado22]

back in the day, people would melt the lead and reform the post. But thats a lost art.

 

[porkysplace]

back in the day, people would melt the lead and reform the post. But thats a lost art.

Trying it is a good way for a novice to make the battery explode .

 

[Cleveland Iron]

Lets hear it for fusible links. Best answer is a replacement battery.

 

[Warthog]

If you can find an old-school battery shop, they can repair it. The cost may be close to what a new battery cost....YMMV

 

[197thhhc]

That battery has a spot for side terminal cables. You can buy a top post type terminal that screws into them for about 5 bucks at autozone or wherever. Oh, and remember to tighten it down.

 

[rickf]

Side terminal adapter, beat me to it. Make sure to clean up all of the lead on top. That is all electrically hot and will cause more fireworks if you are not careful.

 

[JasonS]

I have had batteries repaired/ posts replaced. Find a good battery shop.

 

[Seth_O]

X3 on replacement post. Cheap and available from your local box auto parts store. If you are not able to direct-replace the top post be sure to completely remove it so no additional danger of a future short.

 

[daveks63]

Might want to have your starter checked. Had that happen to me and come to find out my starter had a short in it.

 

[MidnightDuramax]

Just a note the side terminals on those batteries are not rated for full current draw. You probably will melt that terminal as well.

 

[KaiserM109]

I had something similar happen, but I was lucky that it was the connector that melted down. It happened somewhere between the GL yard and Manhattan, KS. I stopped for lunch-dinner and it wouldn’t start when I got ready to go.

Speaking as one who has detonated a battery in a van, you only have to worry about that if you have been charging or discharging the battery recently. That's when it produces hydrogen gas. If you are going to attempt to recast the post, do it only several hours after charging or discharging it and do it in an open area. Keep any actual flame at least 5 ft. away and you should be okay. I cast bullets for muzzle loaders and you should be able to do something that will work; if not the battery is scrap anyway.

Good luck.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Speaking as one who has detonated a battery in a van, you only have to worry about that if you have been charging or discharging the battery recently. That's when it produces hydrogen gas. If you are going to attempt to recast the post, do it only several hours after charging or discharging it and do it in an open area. Keep any actual flame at least 5 ft. away and you should be okay.

Yeah, and it wouldn't hurt to have a fan blowing across the work area. It will keep any hydrogen from building up and take care of any lead fumes, too.

I've had a battery blow up on me. I was about 10 feet away, and that's too close for comfort! Something about flying sulfuric acid just doesn't make me happy.

 

[rattlecan6104]

I had that happen to me and the cable terminal was toast as well. One battery was pretty much shot, and all the cable terminal ends were just... bad. I found out that to replace everything the cheapest capable rout was a set of commercial truck batteries with the 3/8 studs on top NAPA #7236, you just put the wire in and tighten it down with a ratchet, no shoving terminal ends in place, no cracked, crumbling lead, and no obnoxious corrosion, works like a champ, cost me $200 for the pair of batteries, and I just had to take the cable terminal ends off, and use the already existing crimped on ring connector to go on the studs. The batteries each have 1190 CCA. I'm not concerned about starting problems anymore.

 

[m16ty]

Our local battery shop used to replace ends until their insurance company made them quit. It wasn't the risk of explosion that was the problem, it was breathing all those lead fumes during the casting process.

I do prefer the screw post batteries also. They seem to have less corrosion and connection problems. Lead is one of the worst metals for conducting electricity that there is.

 

[renovate7]

Thanks for the info. I got a screw in terminal and connected the cable to it. The new terminal is much smaller than the cable end and I really had to tighen it down to get good contact. I either need to find a larger diameter terminal or get a new battery. This one came in a 925 and tested good, the first battery out of MANY that have come in MV's thsat was "good". I was then able to go for my first drive in this 87 A2C. Ran great, tighest truck I've had yet.

 

[cbvet]

In our shop in Vietnam, we had a set of molds for restoring battery posts that had melted.
It would be easy enough to make your own.
Get some scrap 1" steel and drill it slightly larger than the diameter of the posts. Cut it in half with a bandsaw, across the center of the hole.
Clamp the two halves together and center the hole over the remains of the post.
Melt bar solder, lead, or wheel weights in a cast iron ladle or pot, away from the battery. Wear good safety glasses & welding gloves.
Fill mold & let it cool for a minute. Remove mold & have a cold one.

 

[m16ty]

The new terminal is much smaller than the cable end and I really had to tighen it down to get good contact.

Positive battery post are larger than negative post. You more than likely bought a negative post when you need a positive.

 

[Speedwoble]

As stated, terminals can be recast. I got a battery from work which was a few days old, but being discarded because of a bad terminal. I machined a tapered mold out of aluminum and melted old wheel weights to fill it.

Also, lead is subject to cold creep, so under tension, bolted joints will eventually loosen. Keep an eye on your thread-in side adapter as it will likely loosen.