Battery cable ends - what’s best crimped, soldered, compressed etc

[Birdseye]

Now that cold weather and hard starting season is here for myself and many of us, I’d like to hear others opinions about good battery cables and ends.

So as not to waste time and money what’s the best way to improve or repair battery cable ends ?

The McMaster-carr catalog lists the following battery cables and end types:

—factory made cables new cables—-

..or repair existing cables with
—-Lugs for a threaded post—
crimp on lugs, needs crimper
Solder filled lugs
lugs with compression nut

..or
——-clamps——-
crimp on clamps
Solder&flux loaded clamps
Two bolt squeeze down clamp (probably the worst choice)
Compression clamps

https://www.mcmaster.com/battery-terminal-lugs/

Any opinions about what works and what doesn’t?


Thanks !

 

[John C.]

They all work for awhile. I use solder when I'm in the field just because I don't have a crimper and have no wish to purchase one. I have used the punch type like in the last photo and not had any problems in the short term, but it can break off some of the individual wires at times. The fancy crimpers that look sort of like a big bolt cutter seem to work the best but I've had people who don't dial the proper combination on the dies and end up wasting a terminal end.

The real key to long lasting battery cables in sealing up the area between the terminal and the insulation. Keep the air out and the corrosion doesn't get started so fast. I haven't been able to find any good shrink wrap in years that gets good adhesion and proper tightness, so I generally use good electrical tape.

 

[Swetz]

I know others here have opinions, but if it were mine, I would purchase welding wire (wire used for leads). It is flexible, which helps in routing. As far as size, I usually go #1 or 1/0 (stated ought) depending on the application. I usually crimp the connector, then solder it. A soldered joint will have very low resistance, however, if for some reason the wire gets hot, the solder could melt and fail. This is why I first crimp, then solder. After it cools I like to add heat shrink (which must be installed prior to the connection), the kind that has adhesive sealer in it. I personally prefer to use the terminal lugs like you linked, not the traditional battery terminal end. In fact, I like the series 31 battery with the 3/8" studs instead of the lead posts. Most of the trucks that I serviced had this battery setup without issue.

 

[John C.]

For equipment with twenty four volt systems, I've always seen and used 2/0 cable. How do you get solder into a lug that is attached to the cable? I've always filled the lug with solder and then pushed the cable into it. The solder packs into the cable and freezes to the inside of the lug and around all the individual wires that way. When I've tried to drop solder into the back of a married lug and cable, it just burns the insulation and the solder doesn't flow. When kind of heat source are you using and is there some kind of flux that works better than what is in the solder?

 

[Swetz]

John C makes a good point about heat shrink...they are not all created equal. I must confess, I purchased a heat shrink master kit from Snap-On at least 15 years ago, and have been running on that kit till today. I actually went on their site with their part number one time, but It didn't match any products...I guess they discontinued it. Anyhow, I did try some off Amazon and it was total China junk. The good stuff will be dual-wall, and have a 3:1 shrink ratio or higher. The adhesive on the inside is the key to really sealing it up. If you get this type, you keep heating after the shrink till a white gooey sealer comes out the end of the shrink.

I have never used this place, but I have linked a site that looks like they sell the good stuff. Again, I have not tried this stuff, but looks like it may be higher quality than the Amazon crap I purchased.

https://www.cabletiesandmore.com/3-...rink?msclkid=05b6cb2d9f57155888ef94ffae28507a

 

[Swetz]

John C,
I use a plumbers torch. Yes, It does burn some insulation, but it has always worked for me. I am able to fill the entire connector just as you say you do prior to inserting the wire.

 

[Tinkerer]

Birdseye ;
You have some nasty looking corrosion starting on the cable in you last photo.
Myself , I prefer to replace the entire cable with a new one. I can buy them at a really decent price in local farm supply stores. I have never needed one over 4 feet long tho.

 

[Delmer]

I get a 2/0 tinned connector at the farm store. The secret with that cable is to pickle the end in sulfuric acid until it's clean copper. Apply a tinning flux to the wire strands, crimp the connector if you can, and heat the connector with the propane torch and feed the solder against the connector to melt it. The downside of the solder is that the cable will be stiff where the solder is so break sooner than a factory designed crimp. I don't see the solder heating up and running out to be much of a problem for me, if it's that hot, the cable is corroded too far already and will never perform again. The solder will keep the joint corrosion free, still need grease for the cable, and soak it for a day to remove the acid flux from the cable.

 

[56wrench]

ok, my 2 cents. on diesel engines, i prefer to use 2/0 cable( bigger is better) but more expensive. in some applications two 1/0 cables have been used( one set of cables from each battery) in dual battery installations but there are twice as many connections to check and maintain. i have the fancy crimping pliers and have used them enough to have justified their purchase. they are hard to beat but i also have a hammer-style crimper that also works but not nearly as well- it is harder to get the heat shrink to seal on these type of crimps. i use brand name good quality heat-shrink( its worth the extra cost). i have used welding cable but the rubber insulation is usually not oil resistant and may not be desirable in some applications. also the rubber has to be of good quality otherwise it deteriorates and cracks off, leaving bare patches of wire

 

[edgephoto]

The terminal end shown in the picture is a temporary repair terminal.

The best method is a proper crimp. The equipment to do a proper crimp is expensive and only works with specific terminals. Using a hand operated crimper will not give a repeatable crimp.

Too much crimp and you damage or break strands. Not enough and you have a poor connection.

Solder is good for electrical connection, if done correctly. Solder is not made to provide a mechanical connection. Ideally combine a crimp with solder. Don’t overheat the wire and don’t use too much solder.

 

[excavator]

NAPA sells a good adhesive shrink wrap made just for battery cables, available in red or black. There's also some good quality electrical tape out there but there's always that loose end that eventually starts to come loose. Lately, anytime I wrap larger wires with tape I finish by putting a zip tie around it and that keeps the tape end from coming loose. I would say that for 90% of all equipment a good crimp works just fine but like John C said, the crimper has to be used right. I have several different types of cable end crimpers and have never had any issues using them but if there is any doubt then solder it. NAPA also sells solder pellets, drop a pellet into the cable end, heat it up and push the cable into the melted solder.

 

[Birken Vogt]

NAPA sells crimpable/solderable terminal ends that are a lot heavier than the one pictured above. They have colored stripes on them to designate crimper size. They are made of copper or brass under a tinned coating and much stronger than lead. Somewhere in my dusty computer I have poached the catalog pages but I can't find them at the moment.

 

[Birdseye]

Tinkerer, I included those pictures for the “Dint do this!” category! ;-)

Any favorite good/bad/ugly photos of cable connector schemes that work or don’t ?

 

[Coaldust]

Crimp and solder, or just crimp or just solder, depending upon the mission. Wire of choice is Polar Wire Products Arctic Ultraflex Blue and Polar Ultraflex Tray Cable. Great product line and easy availability.

I’ve switched from the hand crimped to the 10ton handheld hydraulic crimper. If you are not familiar, check them out. In many situations, there isn’t enough room to swing the handle on typical crimper. The hydraulic crimper is small and works when you just need to replace a terminal in a tight spot.

Replacing a entire Kenworth battery cable on a T800 when the batteries are located under the passenger seat can be an all day project. That’s a 18’ cable, so I’ll fix them, instead.

 

[JL Sargent]

I prefer to do what this guy does in the video.

 

[NH575E]

I cleaned my cables and installed new solder on ends when I got my tractor. It NEVER started right. Come to find out the solder didn't tin as it entered even though I used flux and fed a bunch into each end. I heated one up and pulled it off to find it all corroded inside. The outside of the terminals looked clean and solder sealed.

I went to a local welding supply and bought 2/0 cable and took that to the Interstate Battery store to have ends crimped on. Tractor starts as it should. Your battery or electrical shop may have the cable AND clamps but I had to use two different sources to get it done.

Don't bother trying to put new ends on old cable. Replace all with new and be happy.

 

[Delmer]

You didn't clean the cables good enough if the solder didn't sweat in. Use a wire brush and then acid till they're clean. The youtube guy makes it look easy, but he forgot to wash off the flux, those cables will rot off in a few years while the soldered connection will be clean as ever.

 

[Vetech63]

I always use 2/0 cable on everything. I also crimp the ends with a impact crimper then tape the ends.

 

[Willie B]

I'm sort of obsessed with the problem. Inside a crimp connector is a finely stranded copper cable. Assembled dry, these strands begin to oxidize immediately. As they oxidize, your starter loses voltage. Your starter desperately NEEDS the voltage it was designed to have.
In every starting system there are a dozen points where cable connects with terminal, just as many points where terminal connects with whatever it connects to.
We are talking of the journey of electrons; in most machines these days they leave the negative terminal of the battery, pass through four of these connections, then flow through "frame". "Frame" is an assembly of many pieces of cast & or Fabricated steel. Each of these joints offer little resistance new, but resistance grows with age.

No where else in the electrical world is there this level of confusion about OHMS LAW.

A series circuit shares available voltage. Each of these resistors steals a bit of the voltage. If your battery supplies 13 volts, your starter is designed for 12 volts, only a bit of loss is tolerable.


The answer is to renew everything. Then, a few years later, It won't start.
Battery charging is limited, voltage is lost on the way. Each connection wastes some voltage. At some point, it won't start.


All I got to offer is either all new cables & jumpers across each bolted iron conductor every ten years, Or......... use NOALOX on the crimp & other connections.

I don't say there aren't other brands. I do say protect copper from oxidation, replace everything less often.

 

[Stanley the dog]

Birdseye its very hard to stop the air from getting into the cable termination that is one of the reason original factory cables last better than shop made ones so if at all possible try using new OEM cables . The sad part in all of that is it can be costly and not practical at the time as other members have stated just try and seal up the connections and get them as air tight as possible . I've used heat shrink to splice underground of much high voltages which need a very good seal but the ones i use some from a electrical supply house and have the cream colored paste that comes out of the ends as it gets good and hot and shrinks and have been doing this for many years and today have never had one fail as of yet the only problem i see with doing this this way is it makes a very stiff joint where the heat shrink is, there is a lot of very good post with the other peoples replies I'm sure they all work just some better than others