catunderthestars Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 So my battery terminals on my 1995 Legacy L Wagon corroded to a point where the wire coming from the main fuse relay box popped off the positive terminal. Ive tried to electrical tape it back on but it pops off if the battery moves around to much and my whole car shuts down. Whats the best way re secure it to the terminal. Looks like it was welded in some way before. I can take pictures if needed. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 The battery should not be moving around. There should be a metal bracket that fits over the battery, with two rods. Each rod extends down the sides of the battery, and hooks onto a slot on the side of the battery tray. When in place, your battery is tightly secured. If yours is missing, I have seen replacements at Wal-Mart auto section. Don't cost much. If your battery cable wire terminal is bad, you can buy replacement cable terminal that slides down over the battery post, then cut off the old cable connector, then take the bare, and wire inserted and tightened down to the new terminal. All the above is easy to do and inexpensive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Get a universal terminal from an auto parts store. Cut the insulation back about 1/2" and clamp the new terminal on the end of the wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Yeah, just go a local auto parts store and in the battery section, you'll see replacement terminals with 2 extra bolts that clamp a metal plate. You'll cut the old wire as close to the factory terminal as possible (go too short and the cable will be too tight on the battery which is bad) which might be hard considering how thick the copper is, then insert into the clamp area and tighten. I suggest getting a packet of terminal corrosion inhibitor (should conduct electricity/allow current) and coat the exposed wire so it lasts awhile. You'll need a RED and BLACK terminal and be SURE to observe polarities (red is + and black is -). Can get a universal battery hold down kit. It'll have 2 long "J" bolts and a bar. The J bolt hooks will insert into opposing sides of the battery tray (front and rear) and the bar will sit over the top of the battery. You'll need to look closely on the tray area for a hole that resembles a "slit". The J hook goes there. The kits have wing nuts to tighten. Don't need to go crazy tight with them. Just tight enough the battery doesn't move around. IF the battery cable(s) are too short or really rough, you can replace the entire cable which typically already has a terminal attached. Just make sure it's a tad longer. If they don't have anything within a couple inches, going longer won't hurt. I suggest zip tying about 8" away from battery terminal in a few places so it's secure. Leave a little slack at both ends i.e. enough slack so it can be lifted off battery and enough slack engine movement won't be pulling on it near the starter. Securing the cable will help avoid chaffing issues or it melting the rubber coating from direct contact, etc. Also, probably a good idea to add a few drops of anti-seize to the bolt threads the wing nuts attach to as the bolt material isn't the greatest and it'll be easier to remove in the future w/o snapping the ends off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 When all repairs are made, I suggest spraying the terminals with white lithium grease from a spray can. The grease helps to reduce corrosion build up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obwobbles Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 I have a wobbly battery as well, but my slits have corroded out of the frame from previous battery corrosion. Is there an easy fix? My battery moves a lot. Is there any creative alternate tie downs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robm Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 BIgger hooks and bungie cord? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 I've uses old sighns to make a new battery box. I pop riveted it in where the metal was strong enough then used bunjie cords to hold it down. A good solid mount is very important to get the most life out of your battery since they don't like vibration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obwobbles Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Thanks. I like the pop rivet idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catunderthestars Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 So i hit up auto zone and totally fixed my issue and now my lights are brighter and all the electronics are more responsive! Thanks guys.... My terminals were totally fucked lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Be sure that the negative terminal is on tight. Just today, I found the neg terminal on wife's 98 OBW to be loose. The nut was as tight as possible, but I could easily rotate the cable by hand. I fixed by using a small hose clamp. I broke off the circular part, then inserted as a shim, then tightened the nut back down. Now no cable movement. It was either fix this way, or cut off terminal, and hook up a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robm Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Maybe use beer can metal as a shim instead of SS hose clamp? The aluminum is a better conductor than stainless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Looks good! Ideally I'd get some kind of plastic covering over the + terminal. Else later on whilst not paying careful attention a wrench or screwdriver could cause an unexpected energy release or a bit of welding going on under the hood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Haha! I guess the cuss-filter doesn't have that one on the list! Aluminum corrodes. Using it as a shim sounds like a good idea, until you have to scrape all the corrosion out of the terminal and off of the battery post. Stainless doesn't corrode, at least not easily. Quick tip about battery terminals: when installing a terminal onto the battey post, the top of the post should stick out at least 1/16" above the top of the terminal. If the top of the post isn't sticking out above the terminal, it isn't making full contact, and it leaves a small area at the top where corrosion can start inside the terminal. If it doesn't fit down all the way on the battery post, use a screwdriver or something to get the ends pried apart so the terminal fits all the way down to the bottom of the post. In the picture above, the positive terminal is fine, the negative terminal isn't pushed down far enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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