Battery problems - terminal worn down

drunken fool · 7 Feb 2006 at 12:23

I have a slight issue with the battery on my fto. The negative terminal seems to have worn slightly but enough so that when you tighten up the clamp it doesn't grip it well enough to stay on. This has led to a rather unamusing incident when i was driving down the road and suddenly lost all power :eek:

I currently have the clamp duck taped to the terminal so that i can get about but need to know if there is any way i can solve this without buy a new battery?

Also, i have noticed that on the voltmeter it sits at around 14 but when the indicators are on it varies between 12 and 14 to the beat of the indicator! Is the battery on it's way out anyway?

Thanks in advance

pinkaardvark · 7 Feb 2006 at 12:24

Just use a bit of copper as a packer/shim

vanpeebles · 7 Feb 2006 at 12:26

u can also buy the shims and new clamps at your local motor shop

Rotty · 7 Feb 2006 at 12:38

where the cut is on the clamp , cut/file a bit of metal away to make the gap larger , this will allow it to tighten up more

energy · 7 Feb 2006 at 12:38

A small amount of tin foil between the clamp and terminal should do the trick

moss · 7 Feb 2006 at 12:40

As vanpeebles said, your local motor shop should keep replacement terminals.

Malachy · 7 Feb 2006 at 14:04

Rotty said:
where the cut is on the clamp , cut/file a bit of metal away to make the gap larger , this will allow it to tighten up more

this is not the best way since you will bend/snap the clamping bolt just get a shim/wrap some copper sheet around the terminal then tighten it up

Dogbreath · 7 Feb 2006 at 14:12

Terminals don't "wear" as there are no moving parts. It's either been corroded from a leaking battery post at some stage or overtightened and stretched. Either bodge the job with something metalic to pack it out (which will encourage further corrosion) or fit a new battery clamp.

Edit: Just a thought, do you mean the battery terminal itself is too small? It's possible you have the wrong battery, some batteries designed for Japanese cars have smaller terminals then european ones. You can get proper lead shims to pack them out to the right size from battery specialists.