Trouble With Connectors and Terminals
1. Corroded. This is a very common trouble, and one which should be guarded against very carefully. Corrosion is indicated by the presence of a grayish or greenish substance on the battery terminals, especially the positive. It is due to several causes:
(a) Too much water added to cells. The electrolyte expands on charge and flows out on the top of the battery.
(b) Battery not fastened firmly. The jolting caused by the motion of the car on the road will cause electrolyte to be thrown out of the vent caps.
(c) Battery poorly sealed. The electrolyte will be thrown out on the cover by the motion of the car through the leaks which result from poor sealing.
(d) Vent caps loose. This also allows electrolyte to be thrown out on the battery top.
(e) Electrolyte spilled on top of battery in measuring specific gravity.
(f) Battery cables damaged, or loose. The cables attached to the battery terminals are connected to lugs which are heavily coated with lead. The cables are insulated with rubber, upon which sulphuric acid has no effect. Care should be taken that the lead coating is not worn off, and that the rubber insulation is not broken or cut so as to allow electrolyte, which is spilled on the battery top as explained in (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e), to reach the bare copper conductors of the cable. The terminal parts are always so made that when the connections are kept tight no acid can come into contact with anything but lead and rubber, neither of which is attacked by sulphuric acid.
(g) Attaching wires directly to battery terminals. There should be no exposed metal except lead at the battery terminals. No wires of any other metal should be attached to the battery terminals. Such wires should be connected to the rubber covered cables which are attached to battery, and the connections should be made far enough away from the battery to prevent electrolyte from coming in contact with the wire. Car manufacturers generally observe this rule, but the car owner may, through ignorance, attach copper wires directly to the battery terminals. The positive terminal is especially subject to corrosion, and should be watched carefully. To avoid corrosion it is necessary simply to keep the top of the battery dry, keep the terminal connections tight, and coat the terminals with vaseline. The rule about connecting wires directly to the battery terminals must of course be observed also.
2. Loose. Loose terminal connections cause a loss of energy due to their resistance, and all such connections must be well made. If the inter-cell connectors are loose, it is due to a poor job of lead burning. This is also true of burned on terminals, and in either case, the connections should be drilled off, cleaned and re-burned.
Terminals sometimes become so badly corroded that it is impossible to disconnect the cables front the battery. Stitch terminals should be drilled off and soaked in boiling soda water.