New IT Mod Everyone Must Do: Epoxy Coated Marine Battery Cable Terminals

[BullittTheBlueSky]

CRC and NOCO both make battery terminal protection sprays that will prevent corrosion. I've used one or the other for years and not had any corrosion to speak of.
Clean the post and connector nice and shiny, clamp it tight, spray a couple of coats over all exposed metal and you're good to go.
No need to add extra/altered cable to the situation.

I'm not sure whom you're addressing, but I've used the sprays and they did nothing. Corrosion as always.

And no one is discussing adding extra/altered cables to the situation

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[G.T.]

From what I understand the corrosion is caused by acid fumes that escape through the battery case at the hole around the battery post.

Some batteries have no problem, some have mild to extreme corrosion.

I guess its a combination of charging system activity and battery sealing at the post area that will be factors in that.

So solutions will also vary I guess. Some get by with the felt washers or sprays, some may need more extreme measures.

 

[Keeffa]

I use a terminal spray to protect them. I think if your getting a lot of fluffy crap corroding your terminal it's a sign that the battery is dieing?

 

[WD Pro]

CRC and NOCO both make battery terminal protection sprays that will prevent corrosion.

2020 car with original battery, Noco grease applied from new - photo taken this year :

Yeah I'm not coastal (kind of sad from a life perspective, but happy from an automotive perspective ... lol)

From the terminal failures I have seen photos of, I suspect the bond between the lead insert (what is pre supplied in the lid before assembly, and ultimately forms the outside of the taper terminal after assembly) and the plastic lid have been compromised - either from a poor moulding prior to manufacture, or some form of mechanical stress after manufacture / during fitment etc.

I think the main reason for those marine terminals is to convert from taper to stud connection.

I also suspect the red / black thing is mostly for visual identification.

If we are honest about it, protecting the lead casting with red / black epoxy is kind of pointless from a corrosion perspective - the nut, bolt, stud, and wingnut will surrender to corrosion long before the lead part, even without the nice decorative colour coding ...

WD

 

[Garfy]

Three words;

Epoxy coated.
Marine.
Battery Cable Terminals.

The negative battery terminal/post turns into a corrosion encrusted Christmas tree over time. Duralast makes epoxy coated marine battery cable terminals for just such an occasion. Now........I just installed it, so I have absolutely no idea if it will actually do anything about corrosion. But it's only $13, is the easiest things to install ever, and looks cool.

Why? Battery I replaced last October guano'd the bed. Starting had become intermittent and hard the last few months. Jumped the car and drove to Vato Zone, figuring the battery was bad. Turns out that it was the negative battery cable terminal not making proper contact with the post, so the battery wasn't getting charged properly. And my voltage reading was a constant 14 volts, no variation at all.

So for $13, and 30 minutes of sweating in this awful heat and humidity, I got a new battery and a Duralast Epoxy Coated Marine Terminal installed. And suddenly I could see the alternator varying it's output from the volt gauge.

Enjoy. It's cheap and something to do.

You mean 6 words... ;-) Was your battery OEM Motorcraft or something else? My OEM battery has absolutely no corrosion or anything on any terminals (almost 6 years old now). Still passes battery capacity tests.

 

[Jccams]

You mean 6 words... ;-) Was your battery OEM Motorcraft or something else? My OEM battery has absolutely no corrosion or anything on any terminals (almost 6 years old now). Still passes battery capacity tests.

Put my 2019 mustang away last winter with original battery. On a tender the whole time. Took the battery cover off in the spring and the negative was very corroded.

 

[BullittTheBlueSky]

You mean 6 words... ;-) Was your battery OEM Motorcraft or something else? My OEM battery has absolutely no corrosion or anything on any terminals (almost 6 years old now). Still passes battery capacity tests.

Battery was a replacement from AutoZone. If you want to know the health of your battery, only a load test shows the truth. At 6 years, I would recommend replacing it, no matter what a voltmeter tells you.

I am given to understand that heat kills batteries, and it's hot down here.

 

[Garfy]

Battery was a replacement from AutoZone. If you want to know the health of your battery, only a load test shows the truth. At 6 years, I would recommend replacing it, no matter what a voltmeter tells you.

I am given to understand that heat kills batteries, and it's hot down here.

Yes, I'm planning on replacing it soon as I've never had a battery last this long, especially OEM ones. I'm surprised that for a non-maintenance-free battery that it's still testing just above the rated CCA and not spewing acid around the caps (I've topped off the cells a couple times a year). I don't use a voltmeter alone as that often is misleading due to surface charge on the battery. The capacitance meter actually does put a load to get rid of surface charge as if I don't have the clamps on securely, there's a spark when I try to test it and display goes off. I used to use the old-school resistor load tester that draws over 100 amps and has a voltmeter on it (you can see the resistor wire inside turn bright red when you flip the switch) but I found the capacitance tester is fairly accurate. Most new batteries test well above the rated CCA but once it tests about 10% below rated capacity it's time to replace it or risk getting stuck (which is why I carry a booster pack just in case). I do want to find a battery that doesn't have acid leaking between the case and battery posts resulting in corrosion on the battery terminals. I pretty much check it monthly or so to ensure no corrosion is accumulating.

 

[Garfy]

Put my 2019 mustang away last winter with original battery. On a tender the whole time. Took the battery cover off in the spring and the negative was very corroded.

I do the same in winter here with the maintenance tender on it. But when I checked it, my terminals were pristine. I do have the felt pads with the acid treatment in the pads under the cable ends and spray the terminals with the red type battery protection spray (which also neutralizes acid) and they were fine. Will probably get a new battery before I store it for this winter.

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