Battery post wear & tear

[OneCarefulOwner]

One of my Allegro's battery posts are suffering from where I unscrew & disconnect the battery terminals when she's parked up. I'd rather not convert her to the later (modern) style clamps, but I do wish to avoid having to change batteries just because the screws can't gain grip any more.

I'm thinking that perhaps a screw-disconnect terminal like I have in my late-model Allegro that has clamps, only drilling it to permit the battery cap screw to fit; would I be making a bigger problem for myself?

How do you avoid wear on your battery posts if you have the same style of battery caps?

[TerryG]

'ello,
I assume you have those type of terminal covers that cover the post then a screw goes through the middle? As lead is really soft why not heat up some spare lead and drip it in to the screw hole then re-drill it?

[OneCarefulOwner]

Correct; that is a top idea!

[JPB]

Molten lead? Please don't! (no offence Terry) just give the posts a good squeeze in two adjacent planes to shrink the hole a little. Safer and easy to do with a perfectly ordinary set of self grips.

[TerryG]

I won't claim to have tried fixing a battery terminal with lead before but what’s wrong with molten lead? Licking it isn't the best idea for your health long term but i'm pretty sure the car won't object.
I've had a (reasonably successful) go fixing a wing with the stuff, it's damn easy to work. Everybody on the forum must have picked up a soldering iron at some point, modern stuff is lead free but it's the same idea.

[OneCarefulOwner]

just give the posts a good squeeze in two adjacent planes to shrink the hole a little.

But wouldn't this also set the post's circumference out of true, making it harder to fit the cap unless I then reshape it which would either undo the squeezing or leave me with a load of lead shavings that I might as well melt down & stick in the hole?

[JPB]

It works, the cap becomes tighter and that's enough to give you a more consistent contact. Certainly preferable to risking a flame only inches from a source of highly flammable gas. OK, so ideally the catalyst will keep that flame in check but even the best soldering irons can leak a little around the join between the cat and the tip if you work vertically. I still have scars caused by my being too close to a battery that went off in a workshop some years ago, don't take the risk.

[Willy Eckerslyke]

I'd rather not convert her to the later (modern) style clamps,

Any particular reason? I would if it was mine.

[Luxobarge]

Here's my two-pennor'th:

1) I woudn't rekcon much on the chances of filling the hole in the lead terminal with more lead and/or solder - the amount of heat required will be huge and risk, I reckon the molten lead will solidify as soon as it hits the terminal, rather than go down the hole. I might be wrong, but I reckon this is fraught with "opportunity".

2) I'd deal with the reason that you keep connecting and disconnecting the battery so often. How about a battery "switch"? One of these any good?:

http://www.fasteronline.co.uk/Richbrook ... -1069.html

That's the route I'd be going down if it were me.

Or is it that you need to remove the battery for charging/security?

If it's just a matter of keeping the battery topped up, I have most of my cars on a cheap Halfords battery conditioner, the wires are permanently wired into the car and terminate in a 2-prong plug, so I just plug and un-plug the car from the conditioner when I want to drive it.

Hope this helps!

Cheers

[hobby]

Exactly the reason we like and use forums, there's always someone who takes a step back and sees the obvious... Good ideas LB!

There are those other battery isolation switches as well...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Car-Battery-Iso ... B003DYQYXC