Speaking of old tractors, I can't get a good contact to the battery
terminal on my old Ferguson. I cleaned the post and connector off with
a (3M) green scrubbie, but when I clamp it together and push the starter
button I get a puff of smoke from the terminal as I vaporize some small
section of lead where the terminal connector meet. Is there some goo
or other tricks I can use?
George H.
On Mon, 1 May 2017 05:21:51 -0700 (PDT), snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:
The puff is at the battery, between the terminal and post, right?
The smoke indicates vaporized lead from a whole bunch of current
trying to go through a small area of post/terminal. It indicates that
you either didn't clean it properly or the connection is loose. Are
you -sure- the terminal is tightening properly on the battery post?
Sometimes the post is worn down by cleaning and the terminal doesn't
tighten onto it. If that's the case, remove the terminal, remove the
clamping bolt, and run a hacksaw between the ends to remove material.
Reinstall the clamping bolt and try again. There should be a gap at
the terminal end where the clamping bolt goes through. If not, saw
some more.
I have used several methods over the years to reduce corrosion between
the two, but I have always used round brush (or blade-type) terminal
end cleaners to get bright lead for the contact surfaces. The oiled
felt pads under the terminals can reduce corrosion, but I used to use
wheel bearing grease to cover both the terminal and post. Now I use
the spray terminal protector. It's usually red, so I'm sure you've
seen it. I clean and tighten the two, then spray with protectant.
--
Average # of people killed in mass shooting when stopped by police: 18.25
Average # of people killed when stopped by civilians: 2
On Monday, May 1, 2017 at 9:18:20 AM UTC-4, Larry Jaques wrote:
Right, The dang thing is as tight as I can make it. The terminal is
pretty old... weak/"distressed" on the edges maybe. I was think of
just buying a new terminal/
Yeah I've done that... not the problem in this case.
Right, (thanks) I'll stop at Napa or some place and let them sell me
some gunk.
George H.
On Monday, May 1, 2017 at 9:30:22 AM UTC-4, snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:
Have not had this probem for some time. Larry had a lot of good advice, but he forgot one thing. put some downward force on the clamp and rotate it back and forth. And then tighten the clamp.
Dan
On Mon, 1 May 2017 06:30:20 -0700 (PDT), snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:
That was one of my points. You can tighten the bolt 'til the cows
come home but if it isn't squeezing the post, it won't work. But if
you have frayed wire at the terminal to cable connection, you're
losing current there and the terminal should be replaced.
--
Average # of people killed in mass shooting when stopped by police: 18.25
Average # of people killed when stopped by civilians: 2
If you can apply a load away from the battery, such as from the frame
to the starter or its relay, a voltmeter will reveal any voltage drops
across poor terminal connections. Several amps of charging current may
be enough, too.
A headlight bulb draws around 5 Amps.
-jsw
Yeah, headlights were an easy test for a charging system, too. Start
it up, remove a battery cable, then turn on the brights. The engine
will die if the charging system isn't working properly.
--
Average # of people killed in mass shooting when stopped by police: 18.25
Average # of people killed when stopped by civilians: 2
I built a fault simulator for GM that created the types of voltage
transients that a car's electrical system can suffer. The energy
levels exceeded what they could do with their lab test equipment.
http://www.electronicdesign.com/power/eliminate-those-automotive-load-dump-circuit-protection-headaches
A "load dump" occurs when the battery disconnects while the alternator
field is energized, their example was a rough road jostling the
cables. The stored field energy can raise the normal 12-14V to 100V or
more (I can't quote specifics), and the surge suppressors they install
to protect the electronics have limited dissipation capacity.
The engineers tried out my new tester on a fuel injection computer and
blew it up when the protection Zener overheated and failed after a few
load dump cycles. I think that's why they went to side terminal
batteries.
-jsw
The Chevy Vega had side terminals in 1976. There was DARN little
electronics in that car. There was a module to shut off the air cond when
the alternator was not producing, a timer on the rear window defroster,
probably a VERY simple electronic ignition (I don't remember points on that
one) and the radio. I don't think it even had intermittent wipers. That
was it, and it was all analog stuff.
Jon
On Tuesday, May 2, 2017 at 2:54:16 PM UTC-4, Jon Elson wrote:
Well, having the battery in the trunk seemed to solve a lot of problems in my 1958 Alfa Romeo. <g> It was nice and clean back there, and cool. However, the cable that ran forward used a lot of copper.
As for electronics, I did have to replace a couple of vacuum tubes in the Blaupunkt radio...
There is a lot of virtue in simplicity.
I've closely examined a disassembled 1910-ish Maxwell in a private
collection. Mechanically it's like a 4-wheel bicycle. That stuff is
fun to play with as long as you don't have to depend on it.
On Tue, 2 May 2017 12:07:51 -0700 (PDT), snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:
The battery in the trunk of my '61 Mini almost resulted in the
destruction of the car - and the crappy "cap" type battery connector
was a royal pain.
For thise who have never seen an early Mini up close, the battery was
in the trunk opposite the fuel tank and was originally covered with a
heany cardboard cover. The battery connection was a tapered cap that
fit down over the battery post and was held down with basically a #8
sheet metal screw threaded into the top of the battery post. The
connection tended to get "flakey" to the point that when one pressed
on the rubber covered button on the gigh current switch between the
seats, sometimes it would spark and the engine would not crank.
Simplyb having someone swat the rear quarter panel, kick the rear
tire, or slam the door with the button pressed usually caused the
connection to re-establish itself, and the critter would crank and
start.
By the time I aquired this particular car it was10 years old and had
196000 miles of rural mail delivery under it's belt - and that battery
cover was long gone. It had also developed a prodigious appetete for
engine oil, so there was generally a few quarts of Nugold SAE50 riding
along in the trunk.One day with eigh of us young folks crammed in
heading to the local stock car races 2 of those cans managed to short
out across the battery, burning a hole in the cans and lighting the
ensuing small stream of oil on fire. When we noticed the smoke curling
up from around the back seat, I shut off the car and we were all out
before it came to a full stop, and one of my friends had the trunk
open and tossed the burning oil can onto the ground beside the car.
when the fire was out and the smoke dissipated, we all jumped back in
and went on our way.
On Tue, 02 May 2017 17:35:03 -0400, snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca wrote:
I had a VW bug, several actually, but one of the first had the back
seat short against the battery terminals. I had no idea that this
could be a problem until someone was sitting in the back seat and
complained of a burning smell and then said the seat was getting hot.
I pulled over and pulled the seat out. There was some sort of cover
missing and the seat coils were making contact with the battery posts
as the car bounced. Didn't affect the running of the car though. I
think it was a magazine or some newspaper I put over the battery as a
temporary fix. Then we piled back in, cracked another beer, and sped
down the dirt road. That was an interesting day.
Eric
The only thing (OK, 2 things) I ever thought were a good idea about
the old VW bugs were 1) the ankle-straps in the back seat, which most
silly people used as sissy handles. and 2) the front seats pivoted
from the front.
That was so thoughtful of them, and gave us couples much more room.
Because the girl I dated (and I) were much lighter than yours, we
never caught her seats on fire. Back then, though, I smoked after
sex. (Yes, I checked.)
-
The list of Obama administration disappointments
would take three rolls of toilet paper to record.
--BMF
Hmm ... my first MGA 1500 used two 6V batteries, behind the two
seats on either side of the driveshaft. It was accessed under a
removable panel behind the seats. Anyway -- it had four of those
connector/screw combinations. One for the cable to the engine
compartment, one for the ground cable to the chassis, and two on the
vary short cable which looped over the driveshaft. I never had problems
with the connectors there.
My later MGA 1600 MK-II was similar, except that it had the
normal clamp type connectors instead of the cap and screw types, though
they might have been changed during the life of the vehicle before it
passed into my hands.
Enjoy,
DoN.
My sister's 1973 BLMC MBG-GT (say that 3 times really fast) had the
same twin 6v underseat config and had nothing but trouble with them
for 35 years. I could never understand the draw of Prince of
Darkness-equipped vehicles, myself. Nuttin' but trubble.
--
Average # of people killed in mass shooting when stopped by police: 18.25
Average # of people killed when stopped by civilians: 2
On Tuesday, May 2, 2017 at 5:35:05 PM UTC-4, Clare wrote:
nd
ew
when
,
that
hat
in my 1958 Alfa Romeo. <g> It was nice and clean back there, and cool. Howe
ver, the cable that ran forward used a lot of copper.
e Blaupunkt radio...
A product of Britain's Prince of Darkness, eh?
[Bumper sticker seen on Mini in the early '60s: "Why to the Brits drink war
m beer? Because they have Lucas refrigerators."]
BMC owners always have fun tales to tell. I'll bet Don has some from his MG
A experience.
Mine, with my MG Midget Mk III (1275 cc), came one night in December when I
was driving from Michigan to NJ in freezing rain, and the left-side parkin
g light cover filled with salt water because the gasket leaked; the wiring
shorted out with no fuses at all in the system, burning the insulation off
of the wiring harness under the dash and filling the cockpit with smoke; an
d then I had to drive 20 miles down the Ohio Turnkike with a flashlight ins
tead of headlights. d8-)
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