1Quik7 Posted September 30, 2018 Report Share Posted September 30, 2018 So I was doing an upgrade to my truck and I noticed the positive terminal on passenger side battery was loose (dual battery HD truck setup) so I tightened it and the lead snapped. Its not your typical post terminal, they have a line coming in the front and one going out the back. The cable coiming across from the driver side battery in the front snapped. I have limited solder experience, mostly small r/c and electronics. The cable snapped at the termial, is there a solder that is strong enough to hold...at least temporarily? I would just replace the cable, but like I said, its a weird doulbe terminal that has a cable exiting out the backside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted September 30, 2018 Report Share Posted September 30, 2018 If it snapped off then probably not. When battery terminals are soldered the terminals have a big recess to accept the wire. Something that big will likely be too brittle to stay together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstmg8 Posted September 30, 2018 Report Share Posted September 30, 2018 Let's see a pic Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spankis Posted September 30, 2018 Report Share Posted September 30, 2018 Mine are getting weak on my truck, and I've got a replacement set from these guys in the garage... https://www.custombatterycables.com/2007-2009-dodge-ram-2500-3500-6-7l/ Not sure what truck you've got but they sell individual upgrade cables or complete sets. Look to be great quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfunnyryan Posted September 30, 2018 Report Share Posted September 30, 2018 Not worth it except as an emergency repair. It won't hold. Too brittle. Solder is really better for small jobs in which flex is absolutely minimal. If you do, make sure you get the good lead stuff or the heat cycling will cause it to fail incredibly quick. Replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdk 4219 Posted September 30, 2018 Report Share Posted September 30, 2018 You can get the solder terminals at Napa and many other places. Getting the old copper wire clean to get ththe solder to stick is going to be the tricky part. I use a torch and invert the terminal. If the wire is cleaned with rosin flux, you can heat the terminal with a torch and fill with solder. While the solder is still molten insert the fluxed wire into the terminal and hold in place you can also crimp with a round punch to hold it mechanically as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Quik7 Posted September 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2018 Let's see a pic Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk Not mine, my phone bricked itself playing music while I was under the hood, not a good weekend for me. But this picture shows it must be a common issue and is very similar to how mine broke, though mine snapped pretty much back at the rubber cable and not so close to the post. What you can't see in this picture is another positive cable that comes up the back side of the battery...so its not simple round terminal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdk 4219 Posted October 1, 2018 Report Share Posted October 1, 2018 Look up heavy duty top post battery terminals on eBay, they have ones with 2 posts that you can possibly solder a heavy duty terminal to the existing cables and attach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted October 1, 2018 Report Share Posted October 1, 2018 Sounds like you should be concerned with corrosion having already spread down the cable. There isn’t any saving that type of stamped steel shitty battery terminal. I know you don’t want to hear it, but you should probably be replacing all the parts involved if you want a reliable lasting repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mensan Posted October 1, 2018 Report Share Posted October 1, 2018 Also grease your terminals to prevent oxygen from getting to them, and the acid from getting to the metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted October 1, 2018 Report Share Posted October 1, 2018 do a search for car audio sites for connectors. A lot of those guys use multiple batteries in series and if I remember correctly they use something called flag connectors that have two outputs, one on each side. There are crimp style and compression fitting style - you want compression fitting so you can just strip your cable ends and shove them in the connector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mensan Posted October 1, 2018 Report Share Posted October 1, 2018 you want compression fitting so you can just strip your cable ends and shove them in the connector. Only if you aren't concerned with corrosion having already spread down the cable. But you should probably be replacing all the parts involved if you want a reliable lasting repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdk 4219 Posted October 2, 2018 Report Share Posted October 2, 2018 Sounds like you should be concerned with corrosion having already spread down the cable. There isn’t any saving that type of stamped steel shitty battery terminal. I know you don’t want to hear it, but you should probably be replacing all the parts involved if you want a reliable lasting repair. That is the best way to do it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted October 2, 2018 Report Share Posted October 2, 2018 corrosion in the cable is pretty easy to check - get the multimeter out measure the voltage from the positive terminal to the starter terminal - if it reads more than 0.3 volts during cranking then it's done. Same with the negative cable, measure from terminal to starter housing and while cranking if it is more than 0.3 volts it has too much resistance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted October 2, 2018 Report Share Posted October 2, 2018 corrosion in the cable is pretty easy to check - get the multimeter out measure the voltage from the positive terminal to the starter terminal - if it reads more than 0.3 volts during cranking then it's done. Same with the negative cable, measure from terminal to starter housing and while cranking if it is more than 0.3 volts it has too much resistance. Voltage drop is one thing, if there is any corrosion already starting down the cable it may still work, but for how long? I don’t get paid to make half ass repairs, and this is why any competent technician is going to suggest replacing everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Quik7 Posted October 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2018 I managed to get it soldered. Its not a forever fix, just a temporary band-aid. Much more important issues need to be addressed before I redo the cables, which is in the near future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mensan Posted October 7, 2018 Report Share Posted October 7, 2018 if it is more than 0.3 volts it has too much resistance. Where did you come up with this number? The only way to check resistance by measuring voltage is to know how much current there is during cranking. Why wouldn't you suggest simply measuring resistance? How much resistance should he measure before replacing the cable? Or are you just throwing random numbers out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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