Now that cold weather and hard starting season is here for myself and many of us, I’d like to hear others opinions about good battery cables and ends. So as not to waste time and money what’s the best way to improve or repair battery cable ends ? The McMaster-carr catalog lists the following battery cables and end types: —factory made cables new cables—- ..or repair existing cables with —-Lugs for a threaded post— crimp on lugs, needs crimper Solder filled lugs lugs with compression nut ..or ——-clamps——- crimp on clamps Solder&flux loaded clamps Two bolt squeeze down clamp (probably the worst choice) Compression clamps https://www.mcmaster.com/battery-terminal-lugs/ Any opinions about what works and what doesn’t? Thanks !
They all work for awhile. I use solder when I'm in the field just because I don't have a crimper and have no wish to purchase one. I have used the punch type like in the last photo and not had any problems in the short term, but it can break off some of the individual wires at times. The fancy crimpers that look sort of like a big bolt cutter seem to work the best but I've had people who don't dial the proper combination on the dies and end up wasting a terminal end. The real key to long lasting battery cables in sealing up the area between the terminal and the insulation. Keep the air out and the corrosion doesn't get started so fast. I haven't been able to find any good shrink wrap in years that gets good adhesion and proper tightness, so I generally use good electrical tape.
I know others here have opinions, but if it were mine, I would purchase welding wire (wire used for leads). It is flexible, which helps in routing. As far as size, I usually go #1 or 1/0 (stated ought) depending on the application. I usually crimp the connector, then solder it. A soldered joint will have very low resistance, however, if for some reason the wire gets hot, the solder could melt and fail. This is why I first crimp, then solder. After it cools I like to add heat shrink (which must be installed prior to the connection), the kind that has adhesive sealer in it. I personally prefer to use the terminal lugs like you linked, not the traditional battery terminal end. In fact, I like the series 31 battery with the 3/8" studs instead of the lead posts. Most of the trucks that I serviced had this battery setup without issue.
For equipment with twenty four volt systems, I've always seen and used 2/0 cable. How do you get solder into a lug that is attached to the cable? I've always filled the lug with solder and then pushed the cable into it. The solder packs into the cable and freezes to the inside of the lug and around all the individual wires that way. When I've tried to drop solder into the back of a married lug and cable, it just burns the insulation and the solder doesn't flow. When kind of heat source are you using and is there some kind of flux that works better than what is in the solder?
John C makes a good point about heat shrink...they are not all created equal. I must confess, I purchased a heat shrink master kit from Snap-On at least 15 years ago, and have been running on that kit till today. I actually went on their site with their part number one time, but It didn't match any products...I guess they discontinued it. Anyhow, I did try some off Amazon and it was total China junk. The good stuff will be dual-wall, and have a 3:1 shrink ratio or higher. The adhesive on the inside is the key to really sealing it up. If you get this type, you keep heating after the shrink till a white gooey sealer comes out the end of the shrink. I have never used this place, but I have linked a site that looks like they sell the good stuff. Again, I have not tried this stuff, but looks like it may be higher quality than the Amazon crap I purchased. https://www.cabletiesandmore.com/3-...rink?msclkid=05b6cb2d9f57155888ef94ffae28507a
John C, I use a plumbers torch. Yes, It does burn some insulation, but it has always worked for me. I am able to fill the entire connector just as you say you do prior to inserting the wire.
Birdseye ; You have some nasty looking corrosion starting on the cable in you last photo. Myself , I prefer to replace the entire cable with a new one. I can buy them at a really decent price in local farm supply stores. I have never needed one over 4 feet long tho.
I get a 2/0 tinned connector at the farm store. The secret with that cable is to pickle the end in sulfuric acid until it's clean copper. Apply a tinning flux to the wire strands, crimp the connector if you can, and heat the connector with the propane torch and feed the solder against the connector to melt it. The downside of the solder is that the cable will be stiff where the solder is so break sooner than a factory designed crimp. I don't see the solder heating up and running out to be much of a problem for me, if it's that hot, the cable is corroded too far already and will never perform again. The solder will keep the joint corrosion free, still need grease for the cable, and soak it for a day to remove the acid flux from the cable.
ok, my 2 cents. on diesel engines, i prefer to use 2/0 cable( bigger is better) but more expensive. in some applications two 1/0 cables have been used( one set of cables from each battery) in dual battery installations but there are twice as many connections to check and maintain. i have the fancy crimping pliers and have used them enough to have justified their purchase. they are hard to beat but i also have a hammer-style crimper that also works but not nearly as well- it is harder to get the heat shrink to seal on these type of crimps. i use brand name good quality heat-shrink( its worth the extra cost). i have used welding cable but the rubber insulation is usually not oil resistant and may not be desirable in some applications. also the rubber has to be of good quality otherwise it deteriorates and cracks off, leaving bare patches of wire
The terminal end shown in the picture is a temporary repair terminal. The best method is a proper crimp. The equipment to do a proper crimp is expensive and only works with specific terminals. Using a hand operated crimper will not give a repeatable crimp. Too much crimp and you damage or break strands. Not enough and you have a poor connection. Solder is good for electrical connection, if done correctly. Solder is not made to provide a mechanical connection. Ideally combine a crimp with solder. Don’t overheat the wire and don’t use too much solder.
NAPA sells a good adhesive shrink wrap made just for battery cables, available in red or black. There's also some good quality electrical tape out there but there's always that loose end that eventually starts to come loose. Lately, anytime I wrap larger wires with tape I finish by putting a zip tie around it and that keeps the tape end from coming loose. I would say that for 90% of all equipment a good crimp works just fine but like John C said, the crimper has to be used right. I have several different types of cable end crimpers and have never had any issues using them but if there is any doubt then solder it. NAPA also sells solder pellets, drop a pellet into the cable end, heat it up and push the cable into the melted solder.
NAPA sells crimpable/solderable terminal ends that are a lot heavier than the one pictured above. They have colored stripes on them to designate crimper size. They are made of copper or brass under a tinned coating and much stronger than lead. Somewhere in my dusty computer I have poached the catalog pages but I can't find them at the moment.
Tinkerer, I included those pictures for the “Dint do this!” category! ;-) Any favorite good/bad/ugly photos of cable connector schemes that work or don’t ?
Crimp and solder, or just crimp or just solder, depending upon the mission. Wire of choice is Polar Wire Products Arctic Ultraflex Blue and Polar Ultraflex Tray Cable. Great product line and easy availability. I’ve switched from the hand crimped to the 10ton handheld hydraulic crimper. If you are not familiar, check them out. In many situations, there isn’t enough room to swing the handle on typical crimper. The hydraulic crimper is small and works when you just need to replace a terminal in a tight spot. Replacing a entire Kenworth battery cable on a T800 when the batteries are located under the passenger seat can be an all day project. That’s a 18’ cable, so I’ll fix them, instead.
I prefer to do what this guy does in the video.
I cleaned my cables and installed new solder on ends when I got my tractor. It NEVER started right. Come to find out the solder didn't tin as it entered even though I used flux and fed a bunch into each end. I heated one up and pulled it off to find it all corroded inside. The outside of the terminals looked clean and solder sealed. I went to a local welding supply and bought 2/0 cable and took that to the Interstate Battery store to have ends crimped on. Tractor starts as it should. Your battery or electrical shop may have the cable AND clamps but I had to use two different sources to get it done. Don't bother trying to put new ends on old cable. Replace all with new and be happy.
You didn't clean the cables good enough if the solder didn't sweat in. Use a wire brush and then acid till they're clean. The youtube guy makes it look easy, but he forgot to wash off the flux, those cables will rot off in a few years while the soldered connection will be clean as ever.
I always use 2/0 cable on everything. I also crimp the ends with a impact crimper then tape the ends.
I'm sort of obsessed with the problem. Inside a crimp connector is a finely stranded copper cable. Assembled dry, these strands begin to oxidize immediately. As they oxidize, your starter loses voltage. Your starter desperately NEEDS the voltage it was designed to have. In every starting system there are a dozen points where cable connects with terminal, just as many points where terminal connects with whatever it connects to. We are talking of the journey of electrons; in most machines these days they leave the negative terminal of the battery, pass through four of these connections, then flow through "frame". "Frame" is an assembly of many pieces of cast & or Fabricated steel. Each of these joints offer little resistance new, but resistance grows with age. No where else in the electrical world is there this level of confusion about OHMS LAW. A series circuit shares available voltage. Each of these resistors steals a bit of the voltage. If your battery supplies 13 volts, your starter is designed for 12 volts, only a bit of loss is tolerable. The answer is to renew everything. Then, a few years later, It won't start. Battery charging is limited, voltage is lost on the way. Each connection wastes some voltage. At some point, it won't start. All I got to offer is either all new cables & jumpers across each bolted iron conductor every ten years, Or......... use NOALOX on the crimp & other connections. I don't say there aren't other brands. I do say protect copper from oxidation, replace everything less often.
Birdseye its very hard to stop the air from getting into the cable termination that is one of the reason original factory cables last better than shop made ones so if at all possible try using new OEM cables . The sad part in all of that is it can be costly and not practical at the time as other members have stated just try and seal up the connections and get them as air tight as possible . I've used heat shrink to splice underground of much high voltages which need a very good seal but the ones i use some from a electrical supply house and have the cream colored paste that comes out of the ends as it gets good and hot and shrinks and have been doing this for many years and today have never had one fail as of yet the only problem i see with doing this this way is it makes a very stiff joint where the heat shrink is, there is a lot of very good post with the other peoples replies I'm sure they all work just some better than others
We use crimps with an oxide inhibitor and dual wall heat shrink. Usually use welding cable, we can get it in bulk or just as drops at a good deal from our welding supplier.
I have been doing it the way you discribe for quite a few years now. When ever I need to replace batteries in a machine I switch to the 3/8" bolt type. They call them T-posts here at the battery store and area jargon. Welding cable, a good heavy end crimped on, and heat shrink tubing right up to where the nut on the t-post goes. My battery corrosion issues have been next to none since. I go to the electrical supply house and get my ends. They carry ones that are a fair bit heavier than the Napa ones which are twice as heavy as the O'Reillys ones. On my F-350 where I needed enough space to connect snowplow leads, winch leads, and rear connection leads for the winch, I installed 3/8" thick by 1-1/4" wide by 4" long aluminum bar on the battery bolt. Each of my cables bolt to that individually and it works much better now. I have a cheap commercial punch type crimper that you hit with a two pound beater to crimp the ends on.
I always use the crimp on ones with heat shrink I have a hand crimper with rotating jaws for different gauges
I received a hydraulic handheld crimping tool as gift. I have yet to try it, but I believe that crimping, soldiering, and then installing heat shrink tubing with adhesive is the best solution. I have one or two 'temporary' battery cables I need to replace. Previously I have soldiered the lugs on with great success. I usually melt the insulation a little, but the whole lug is filled with soldier when complete. I will give the crimper a good test soon. It looks promising.
I do both but prefer to solder because its a solid connection for a long time especially if its in the rain or snow a lot. If Im lazy or don't have the time or just don't care I will crimp it. Crimp tools aren't too much of a cost
Here is a pic of the new cables and battery I got. They used the heat shrink with hot glue inside to seal the crimped ends. I switched to the eyelet type ends. I also added a tygon hose to the vent outlet on the battery and ran that under the tractor to protect my oil cooler, AC condenser, and radiator from acid fumes. I did away with the negative disconnect and ran both cables directly from the battery to the starter.
Here’s what I like
A couple guys have mentioned these hammer crimpers. I fab a lot of 1/0 cable and they actually work fairly well. Compact and easy to travel with.
You forgot to include the four pound hammer
I used to use Thomas & Betts cable ends, would sweat solder into new cable, then crimp on new terminals then add sealant infused heat shrink, never had any issues that way for years. Still have my electric Heat Gun, prefer it for controlled closure of Heat shrink.
I always had good luck with a good crimp covered with heat shrink with the glue inside. For many years around the company the go-to was the bolt on cable ends at the batteries and they work in a pinch to get something moving but once we convinced a boss to buy the crimper tool our battery problems just about disappeared. We did also had the 4LB hammer tool, think that got stuck in one of the drawers of my tool box on last day of work! Only problem with that in some tight places there is nothing solid to set it on to smack it. Top of battery I don't think would work!
That's what I don't like about the solder method. Flux (acid) will cause corrosion and increase resistance over time.
Don't use flux. Use absolutely polished metal & rosin core solder.
You can rinse the flux off, but not if you cover it with heat shrink right away.
Looks nice! Sometimes I use dual post batteries. I like the stud mount with standard holes too. They make battery installations much easier than with traditional lugs. It is especially convenient if you frequently disconnect the battery. Electrical guru question; I have two batteries in my truck. To fully charge each battery I remove a ground wire from one battery and install my dual station battery tender. The thought is this is the only true way each battery with charge independently. I believe if I just connect the tender to one side it will charge both batteries, but limit or stop charging when one hits the target voltage (12 + volts). Thoughts?
Flat Thunder Channel, A single battery tender will maintain both batteries just fine. Especially so, if both batteries are the same chemistry, age & time in service. No problem. Good question. There is a difference between charging and maintaining. Constant current vs constant voltage, blah blah. We'll save that discussion for a different thread.
I second coaldust's response...I have one tender on my 2-battery backhoe. 2 of the same batteries installed the same day. As far as solder, I always use rosin core solder, never the acid flux. I also like to use grease on the terminal and ends. To me, it seems to cut down on corrosion. Finally, as D Miller said, T&B ends are very well made and come tinned
A bit "off topic" but how many have come across battery terminal connections with sheet metal screws down through the area between the cable ends and the terminal on the battery? Just one more thing I kind-of wish I had a digital camera to carry with me back in the day to document.
Like resistors, batteries in series ex: two sixes in a 12 volt system, will not equally share the available voltage. Might see one get 8 volts, the other get 4. Very soon this leads to a dead battery. It is critically essential that they be identical batteries & in exactly the same condition. Phone company switchgear is powered by batteries. These used to be 24 four foot tall 2 volt glass lead/acid batteries. The man in charge of battery maintenance was absolutely suffering from OCD. Monthly, he would dismantle all the jumper straps, clean, and torque. He checked specific gravity & voltage & adjusted for precise consistency. He could easily get 20 years out of a set of batteries. Batteries in parallel risk a similar fate because mismatched batteries charge at different rates. The charger senses only voltage & reduces voltage from the charger before one is fully charged. These problems plague off grid storage system owners. You might have $3000. worth of batteries. Replacing them all at once is a bitter pill to swallow, but it's the only strategy that works. In your daily driven pickup you might get years out of dual batteries. A tractor that sits for months, separate the batteries, & charge them separately.
I like to weld up a 3/8" nut to a length of pipe with a bar across the top for the negative battery terminal, even easier to remove the ground cable with no tools and very little increased risk of big sparky. I'm of the opposite opinion Willie, two batteries in series are no different than one battery, the cells are all in series so any resistance will affect the voltage and amperage of all of them equally. The biggest ways to get in trouble are to power accessories off of one battery only, or mix used batteries/different types. Two 12v batteries in a pickup or tractor in parallel for 12V are a little more forgiving, they'll see the same voltage from the alternator, or charger and contribute the same voltage to the starter (assuming the cables are all in good shape) they'll take and give according to their abilities. Once one loses a cell it will drain the other battery, but when functioning you could put a lawn mower battery next to an 8D and they'd probably run for a couple years with no problem, assuming it was used regularly or charged regularly. Flat Thunder, I'm of the opposite opinion on charging also. The charger will charge at a higher voltage while the amperage is higher, then drop to a moderate voltage when the battery is approaching full charge (accepts lower amperage) and finally a float charge of 13.2v or so when it has reached the lowest amp charge. You can see a healthy battery will charge fast, and a weak one will never charge, because the "smart charger" won't push it, to wake up a weak battery you'll need a dumb timer charger. Anyhow, if you apply that smart charger design to two batteries in parallel, the charger will charge LONGER at each HIGHER voltage, and continue until each battery is accepting half the amps it would charging alone. So you could say the light charge is better for the batteries if use the maintainer often. Or you could say the longer equalizing charge is better if you only use the maintainer a few times a year. Since we're talking about maintainer chargers, I don't think the charge is too fast, just a deeper charge than the charger intends when hooked to two batteries.
some of these are different opinions but OHM's law is the determining factor of all electrical theory and discussion ( V=I x R). this discussion reminds me of the old JD split load 24v system-- fully insulated starter, generator with two 12v outputs charging two 12v batteries separately and the lights & other accessories split between each battery. what a PITA and a lot of connections to check and maintain. the best solution was to change to a 12v starter and 12v alternator and basically rewire part of the tractor. also ditch the skinny 12v batteries, make a new battery box , and use two 6v in series or two 12v in parallel
Ahh.. I see now. I thought that rosin core was flux core.
And then there were those serious problem switches(actually series parallel) they could do all kinds of strange things with loose wires or dirty contacts inside. Converted a few Macks to straight 12 volts to make life much easier.
Delmar, I like what you wrote but can’t quite picture it , can you upload a picture or a drawing/sketch ? “...weld up a 3/8" nut to a length of pipe with a bar across the top for the negative battery terminal, even easier to remove the ground cable with no tools”
Just imagine a 3/8" nut with a handle on top. The pipe is a short vertical piece.
All good theories, I can't argue with any off the thoughts/ suggestions. I do think it definitely will take longer to charge leaving them connected and only hooking up a single side of the battery tender. The tenders have a low charge rate ~1.25 or 1.5 amps max. So only connecting one leg to both provides half the power. I'm curious enough I might try a test just to see the difference. So far I always disconnected one ground since it's a quick operation. They are batteries are connected in parallel. I love the battery tender products. I have mutiple chargers and seems like I'm always charging one or two old batteries just for emergency backups. I also pull the batteries for my equipment in storage to charge incrementally over winter.
Provides a recess for the stud.
JL and Doublewide beat me to it. Can also make the top bar into a U to use any pry tool to tighten and loosen. Or a washer welded to the nut and then a half washer vertically to give the stud clearance, for a place you have even less room on top of the battery. These are for the ground only, I not too worried about the risk for the ground terminal as long as you disconnect it first and reconnect it last. Another trick with old cables like the ground in the pic above, clean that one up with acid, solder it. Then add another ground cable from the battery terminal to the engine block if the original goes to the frame, and a third ground between the frame and engine block. Don't do that on the positive though, unless you have two batteries maybe each one gets a cable to the starter. More risky with the positive. The two cables in the first post are ones I'm talking about, I'd never get those old wire strands to absorb the solder without dipping in acid until they're bright, and then using an acid flux also, then hose it off and soak in a bucket water overnight.
Yup, directly to one of the starter mounting bolts.
This is the type nuts I used on my new battery's stud connections.
i only use resin-core solder for any electrical work and acid core for radiators etc. as to the old 24v starters i always found they cranked the engine faster than 12v. the old series-parallel switches worked well but could be tricky to diagnose and the wiring had to be good with clean connections. i'm still running my old '79 with the original system and it spins way better than my newer 12v systems, but then again, they are different engines
I use the same nut that 575E showed. I have never used a standard 3/8" nut, nor did all the trucks I serviced that had this battery. https://www.zoro.com/grote-hardware...nsactional_None_All_None_1&smtrctid=109014146
I only suggested the nut contraption as an alternative to a disconnect switch, to keep the wiring simple just remove the ground cable for disconnect. Those tall nuts are available where ever you buy battery cables, and are easier to use than a simple nut, plus they protect the threads from damage and not getting the battery cables off years down the road.
Delmer, thanks for the clarification...now it makes total sense why you use that setup!
I found these. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ten-Group-...029584&hash=item2cc1c62b96:g:ZOsAAOSwmgJY7CUG
The ones I linked are stainless and capped as well. These should be available locally if internet is not your preference.
It is. Bob
Always be sure to check these battery capnuts for a plastic coating...that happens once! Out in the yard 15 degrees and can't figure out why 16 volt start truck won't charge truck batteries enuogh to turn over....pay attention dumba$s..it was dark...dumba$s
I prefer crimping good quality lugs or battery terminals installed with a hydraulic crisper and covered by a thick adhesive heat shrink. I also squirt a good dollop of nolox into the barrel of the crimp. The thinner non adhesive shrinks do not stand up in my experience but do last quite a while. They need to be replaced sooner than the adhesive type. The hydraulic crimped guarantees the correct pressure is applied to the crimp. Second best are the adjustable jaw crimpers . I do not like to solder as I feel that there are too many factors that are not controllable. There is also a non flexible spot where the solder ends that is more susceptible to breakage. Ohms law does apply to all the connection path from battery posts to the starter and back from the block. The shorter the path the better. I have found checking bolted ground buss connections in high voltage switchgear that every bolt in the path has some resistance and they can add up to a significant amount. In a 12v or 24v this can be significant. I preferred to run the ground wire to the starter mounting bold or somewhere close by. If using parallel batteries, both battery negatives to that point and both positives to the starter post. This helps insure that the paths to both batteries are as close to the same as possible. Cam
That reminded me of a problem dad had many years back. Put a new battery in his AMC Matador, yea I said it was a few years back! Hooked up the cables and nothing worked. I know some have figured the problem out already! Dad was not a mechanic but also not a dummy either he could run an old Northwest crane dropballing boulders with the best of them! But eyesight was not the best in later years due in part to making the mistake of being nearby when someone smacked a bearing with a hammer. He had remover the red plastic cap off the positive terminal but did not notice the black cap on the negative terminal.
I got called to change out a set of batteries in a Fiat Allis wheel loader on Friday. In a bit of a hurry and not paying close attention I replaced both and went to fire it up. Nothing, not a peep. So after spending far to much time looking the system over I found that one negative battery cable end had been replaced with a positive cable end, they even put red shrink tubing on it. When I hooked it up I just looked at the N stamped on the cable end. Morals of the story, when you replace cable ends please install the correct ones, don't get in a hurry and no matter how many times you replace batteries, pay attention to your work. Never to old to still make mistakes.
My New Holland skid steer came with that style on the battery.I like them.
The thin heat shrink tubing with out the hot melt glue inside seems to actually let moisture wick inside and not let it back out.
IMHO ... the cause is capillary action. The surface tension of the water drives it into the small spaces... but unless heated, there is nothing to drive the water out.
I've been guilty of replacing cables with the incorrect color coding. Sometimes you have to work with what you have available. I have to trace my cables back to the source to be sure. Sometimes I still trick myself if I am not careful. I didn't think about it until it was mentioned in this thread. I was going to replace one of my truck batteries and follow suit next year replacing the older of the two. I opted to replace both at the same time. It makes sense that an older battery could create a parasitic drain on the newer unit. Good idea / point to whoever mentioned it! The batteries I replaced were not bad by any means. I decided to keep those for backups and equipment. I traded in some other older units that were spent. $79.99 each battery so $160 plus tax for both batteries. They are Rural King branded batteries made by Exide. At these prices I will swap them out every three years just for piece of mind and solid starting power. Don't forget to check your batteries before cold weather really sits in. I also replaced the battery in my wife's car. It was 5 years old. I like Rural King batteries, but don't necessarily agree that a tiny car battery, half the size of my truck battery, should be $125. This is the first time in awhile all the batteries in the rack have a full charge!
When I had my cables made they came out with red heat shrink on all 4 ends. I asked if they were out of black and they said no so I got them to cut the red shrink off the negative cable and replace it with black.
I have seen a couple of electronic disasters from negative cables with a little red or positive cables with too much black on them.
This supplier looks pretty good , has anyone bought from them “GenuineDealz”. They have all the heavy duty so-called ‘marine’ battery cable components or they can make up your custom cable according to your specs: color, end, awg etc. Because as stated, proper crimping is necessary to ensure long lasting, low-resistance connections, getting the cable built by an outfit with the right crimper is a good way to go. https://www.genuinedealz.com/products/custom-battery-cable-marine-grade-by-the-foot
NO!!!!! ANY FLUX WILL NOT WORK!!! Only use rosin core flux / solder on electronics and wire. Acid core flux will cause problems. I'm probably going to make the new battery cable I'm making to a truck repair shop to have them crimp the ends. I'll then add solder to finish it. Any links to good shrink wrap tubing please?
Where can you buy these?
I took the old batteries out of my 310, and replaced them as they were 5 years old. Come to find out, the hoe has been running on one battery. The chimpanzee mechanic who last put the batteries in, left the plastic battery post cap on one of the batteries when he cranked on the connector, so the battery was never hooked up or charged. I was going to try to get more time out of them, but figured one fail to start on a freezing Jan day when 3 feet of snow sat in the driveway would make me rue my cheapskate attitude. Replaced them both.
Emmett518, That’s funny, but not funny. The plastic cap was still on the post. Wow. Hey, NAPA sells the hammer style lug crimper. Part # 726604. or, Amazon has a large selection.
I only have rosin core solder at the present, but you never use acid core on electronics. A 2/0 heavy strand cable will probably only last 20 or so years with acid core.
Thanks!
If the cable is already forty years old, then it's not going to flow real well without acid flux, and if it only lasts another twenty years, then so what? I agree, rinse the acid off, and don't put a heat shrink on top of the flux. If everything was clean and new, crimped and heat shrunk, you wouldn't need to solder anything. When you get greenish black strands that you want to reuse, soak them in a jar of sulfuric acid from a charged but junk battery, they'll be shiny clean by the next day. Might even work with rosin flux?
I would Cut it back to clean copper or use emery cloth to clean it up.
OM Gosh !!! Thanks for sharing that.
emmett, Here is a kit. They sell in small quantity too. Dual wall 3:1 shrink with adhesive inside = $$$ But in my opinion worth it! https://www.delcity.net/store/Dual-Wall-Shrink-Tube-Kits/p_722373.h_725175
I watched a young guy once that tried to install terminal ends over the protective caps on a battery. I thought he was screwing with me at first then I realized he was serious. I asked him why he was doing that.......he said if you remove those caps then you don’t know which cable hooks up to which end. I gave him that “dumbass” stare and walked off.
Hearing about leaving the caps on gets my brain going for some practical jokes in the future.
Just wanted to bump this post and see if anyone has bought from this site?
Had I not ordered the lugs and 2/0 wire, I would have tried them.
Those kinds of site are hit or miss. Usually some guy in his garage assembling cables when you order, it seems. Sometimes he is having a good day and sometimes a bad day or a new guy on the crimping machine. Or maybe he goes on vacation for a week and you wait. Of course, we have a large hydraulic crimper. If we did not have that, I would be having them made to order by somebody who did.
Anyone have a recommended brand for a hydraulic crimp tool?
If you have a two battery installation, do they sell post battery clamps that can handle a 2/0 going in, and a 2/0 going out?
Crimp on ones. Titan sells a hyd. portable crimper about 100 dollars. Bob
Since I didn't have large enough heat shrink tubing, or the batter connectors, I had a local shop do them. They charged $15 a cable, plus the cost of the parts, to cut, crimp, and heat shrink the cables. And I was able to get them immediately.
The answer is yes.