Don't neglect corrosion on battery cables or this might happpen . . .

btulloh · June 22, 2020, 08:20:01 PM

Burned off the stud, making enough contact after that to run, but generated a lot of heat. That puddle is melted battery case material. Melted a perfect round hole (on the right side) completely through the top of the battery. There a six of these heavy expensive batteries in the golf cart. Replaced 'em all two years ago, now it looks like I'm going to have buy one new one. Not the best way to do things - best to have all the same age, etc. May look to see if there's a JB Weld product that might work, but it's a tough environment.

Worse part is it's my fault for not keeping up with it like I should. Should have replaced all the cables a couple years ago, but just made a few battlefield repairs and then forgot to order new cables. Good chance I stuck a terminal on one of the cables that had the wrong kind of metal and I got some heavy electrolysis.

As always, it broke down when I was a long way from the house. Big storm came up and pured on me when I was halfway through my walk home. I'll just have to accept my punishment - mainly 'cause I can't figure out who else to blame. :D New cables will be here Wednesday. I'll see about patching the hole or picking up a new battery tomorrow.

So the moral of the story is: Corroded battery cables cause more trouble than just bad connections and unsightly accumulations. I really got off lucky because it could have set the golf cart on fire. I guess I'll be checking those things closer from now on. Lot of equipment here and batteries to keep me busy.

Don P · June 22, 2020, 09:05:05 PM

I did something similar on the knuckleboom this spring. Kind of spooky to think of the heat that was going on to melt the lug down.

Tom King · June 22, 2020, 09:12:53 PM

I bought a tool, that you hit with a 2 pound hammer, to crimp battery cables, and started making my own. After having some made at NAPA, I decided I could do better. Just like having hydraulic hoses made, they always seem to think longer is better.

I ordered the ends online, and the cable too. I sharpened some large limb loppers that cut the cable as nicely as some specialty tool.

I forget where that crimper came from, but they're sold under a bunch of different names, and it was found by Google. Also, I don't remember what it cost, but I do remember that I came out ahead making the first set of cables for a tractor, and got the lengths just like I wanted them.

I can take a picture, if you like.

btulloh · June 22, 2020, 09:29:20 PM

I've seen those. Almost bought one. Probably should now. Ordered a set of made to fit cables for the gc but there's always a battery cable that needs a new terminal. Takes a tool like that to do it right. And good prep and a stock of appropriate terminals. Really not easy to have everything on hand.

You're right though, going to napa never gets you the right length cable.

Tom King · June 23, 2020, 10:56:54 AM

I believe the terminal ends came from Zoro. I forget where I bought the cable, but probably off ebay.

farmfromkansas · June 24, 2020, 09:18:29 AM

I buy the little washers sold at battery outlets to keep your cables from corroding. Work pretty well, as long as they are tight on the posts. I have 4 tractors, a skidsteer, a combine, a sawmill, 5 trucks and not energy enough to hardly keep all the posts cleaned.

btulloh · June 24, 2020, 10:33:25 AM

Quote from: farmfromkansas on June 24, 2020, 09:18:29 AMI buy the little washers sold at battery outlets to keep your cables from corroding.

I'll have to look into those. Not sure I'm familiar with them but sounds like a good thing. Anything to eliminate problems.

My standard treatment is the red spray that CRC makes for this purpose. Good stuff and convenient. Doesn't solve every issue though. Some of my issues are cause by replacing a terminal on a failed end. Sometimes the oxidation has crept up the cable (inside the insulation) and there's not enough cable to cut it back to bright copper. I haven't found a good way to remove the oxidation. Probably crimping a new terminal over oxidized cable is a bad idea.

I also get what appears to be electrolysis degrade sometimes, even when using seemingly correct metals. Maybe it's because of the existing oxidation - not sure. Causes problems though. That's what cause this particular problem.

New cables arriving today. Picked up a new battery yesterday. I'll clean everything and put the new cables on. Should eliminate future problems for a while.

Wudman · June 24, 2020, 10:50:17 AM

The Battery Barn in Petersburg is about the best place I have found to get those golf cart batteries. If you ever need a complete set, give them a call. I had one do the same thing a few years back with the kids behind the wheel. I had the welding shop make me up a set of cables. I think I went to 2 guage on them. Didn't care much for the blue smoke under the butts of a bunch of kids.

Wudman

btulloh · June 24, 2020, 01:36:24 PM

Quote from: Wudman on June 24, 2020, 10:50:17 AMThe Battery Barn in Petersburg is about the best place I have found to get those golf cart batteries.

Interesting. I'll have to check them out the next time I replace the six batteries. Last time I found the best deal at Batteries Plus, with Sams Club a close 2nd. It's an expensive thing to replace six batteries so shopping around pays off.

I did have some NiCads rebuilt by Battery Barn a few years ago. Didn't work out quite that well, although it wasn't their fault. It's just hard to make the rebuilding thing work out, considering cost of materials and labor and perhaps shipping. LiIon is a better battery solution now, but no such thing as rebuilding those.

btulloh · June 24, 2020, 01:42:24 PM

Well, new cables expected today. Got a delivery this morning, but not the cables. Still slated for later. Not life and death - they get here when they get here. All good.

Did get this little gadget I ordered while looking at the cable choices:

Ten bucks, worth a try. Hopefully helps me overcome my lack of depth perception that makes it hard to get the levels right without overfilling. We'll see how it does. I considered it worth the gamble.

farmfromkansas · June 24, 2020, 02:33:55 PM

The service station I worked at 50 years ago had one of the battery fillers like that. It keeps you from over filling your batteries.

btulloh · June 24, 2020, 05:28:11 PM

Quote from: farmfromkansas on June 24, 2020, 02:33:55 PMIt keeps you from over filling your batteries.

That is my hope. It can be a problem for me. Overfilling not useful.

Cables arrived and they look really good. Perfect lengths, heavier than OEM, well made. If I had just changed them out the first time I had a failure I would have saved money and aggravation.

btulloh · June 27, 2020, 05:20:00 PM

Just to close the chapter on the battery debacle, here's a pic of the new cables installed.

The red color is from the CRC Battery Terminal spray. These are pretty nice cables, heavier than the originals that lasted almost 20 years. They are a couple inches too long, but manageable. Even though they're "made to fit", they require a little tweaking to take up the extra length. They are supposed to fit both the 36V version and the 48V version, so basically they aren't quite right for either one. They are copper cable with copper terminals and are well constructed, so I'll give them a pass on the length thing. Not a bad result, and now I should be able to avoid any more meltdowns - at least on the golf cart.

Tom King · June 27, 2020, 06:57:23 PM

Looks like a good setup.

When I put the new cables on the JD, I used some conducting grease on every mating surface. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it had carbon in it, and it was impossible not to get black smudges everywhere. It'll take some years to tell whether it was a good idea or not.

btulloh · June 27, 2020, 07:06:19 PM

That's exactly why i like the spray. Seems to work fine and doesn't make a mess. It won't solve problems like electrolysis from using the wrong type of terminal, or crimping a terminal on an oxidized cable, but nothing can overcome those mistakes. I had both of those problems with my old cables, and that was all my fault.

farmfromkansas · June 30, 2020, 09:41:24 PM

You forgot the washers.

btulloh · June 30, 2020, 10:37:43 PM

:D Yep. I don't think they work with studs. I plan to start putting them on regular posts though.

Never had a corrosion problem on this rig til I started replacing terminals. Mainly comes from crimping a terminal on oxidized cable.

Good eye. Looks like I better not try to get away with something shaky. :D

Southside · June 30, 2020, 11:18:21 PM

Quote from: Wudman on June 24, 2020, 10:50:17 AM
The Battery Barn in Petersburg is about the best place I have found to get those golf cart batteries. If you ever need a complete set, give them a call. I had one do the same thing a few years back with the kids behind the wheel. I had the welding shop make me up a set of cables. I think I went to 2 guage on them. Didn't care much for the blue smoke under the butts of a bunch of kids.

Wudman

X2 on Battery Barn - you can not beat them on price or quality for batteries, starters, alternators, or re-builds. I would have to count how many batteries I have, and can't tell you how many times I have tried shopping around, now I just go there, don't even bother shopping around. Rick on the starter / alternator side is one of those "old time" type guys, absolutely amazing. Walk in with a 1972 starter and he blindly reaches up onto a dusty shelf in some back corner and comes up with a $10 part that fixes the issue you have and charges you $9.00 after he installs it. You should check them out next time you are down that way, they have a new retail store there now and have all kinds of good stuff.