Battery terminal

This is the Forum for all your Citroen Technical Questions, Problems or Advice.

Moderator: RichardW

Post Reply
User avatar
froggy
Donor 2023
Posts: 640
Joined: 05 Jul 2010, 20:24
Location: too far from citrojim"s
My Cars: S2 Xantia Forte 185435.
Peugeot 306 Meridian, the boss.
x 2

Battery terminal

Post by froggy »

Hi, my series 1 Xantia. just noticed that I can pull the positive wire out of the clamp , with ease ! my question is, should I be replacing the positive lead or is there a way of repairing the lead. ( I have tried to tighten the two screws on the battery clamp, but it is still very loose ! any advice gratefully received, Terry. :)
Terry
Xantia TD lx series1 SORN
Peugeot 306 meridian [ the boss]
Xantia HDI Forte 1997 CC
taffy
Posts: 1018
Joined: 08 Oct 2012, 00:35
Location: swindon
My Cars:
x 1

Re: Battery terminal

Post by taffy »

is it the origional battery clamp or is it an after market one which you put the wire in and tighten two screws?..if its the later and its not hold ing the wires properlt i would try strip it back abit more say an inch and hopefully ul have some uncrushed wire to guide in and hopefully it will work ok :) the origional conectors can loose there lead and start to loose hold of the wires but normally an aftermarket one would cure this as its a bugger to do...maybe even consider using some solder into the clamp? ;)
99 silver 2.1td exclusive xantia
99 red 2.0 hdi exclusive xantia..
00 black 2.0 hdi exclusive xantia
99 blue 2.0 hdi exclusive xantia
06 silver 1.6 hdi vtr c5
57 blue C4 GP 1.6hdi exclusive
08 black C4 GP 2.0hdi vtr
User avatar
Mandrake
Posts: 8615
Joined: 10 Apr 2005, 17:23
Location: North Lanarkshire, UK
My Cars:
x 664

Re: Battery terminal

Post by Mandrake »

If you can pull the wire out of the clamp easily get it fixed ASAP as it is a fire risk! :shock:

As long as the wire itself is clean and not corroded 3rd party clamps are the way to go as replacing the positive cables is not easy.

Less than £10 from halfords did the trick for me:

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... 39#p391139" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I tried a couple of other types but they didn't fit the wires. These have been on my car for 6 months with no trouble, and the quick release is quite handy when you're doing work under the bonnet.
Simon

1997 Xantia S1 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive in Silex Grey
2016 Nissan Leaf Tekna 30kWh in White

2011 Peugeot Ion Full Electric in Silver
1977 G Special 1129cc LHD
1978 CX 2400
1997 Xantia S1 2.0i Auto VSX
1998 Xantia S2 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive
sparksie
(Donor 2016)
Posts: 595
Joined: 04 Jan 2014, 22:35
Location: R.O.I.
My Cars:
x 33

Re: Battery terminal

Post by sparksie »

Hi
There is a very common misconception that "heavy duty" clamps are better.
Not so.
You should always choose the clamp that fits your cable. It should be barely possible to get all the strands into the battery clamp, with the screws out as far as they can go without getting lost. If you take them out, you can bet some of the strands of cable will come out the screw holes!
If you have the right size clamp for your cable, you'll find the screws get tight before the screw heads bottom out on the clamp.
If you simply have to use a clamp thats too big, find a way of filling all the extra space. Make a ferrule from copper pipe that just fits over the cable, or if really desperate, fold some of the cable strands back on themselves.
Don't use solder to secure high current cables. There MUST be a good mechanical fix, independent of the solder.
When passing high currents, solder (particularly modern low lead formulations) will crystalise and form a resistive join, causing heat, which exacerbates the problem, until eventually either the joint fails or the battery post melts!
Once you have a good join between cable and connector, then it can be a good idea to run some solder in, to keep moisture out and secure screws against vibrating loose, though even in seaside locations, this is really not essential.
Even so called "solder on" battery clamps should be a tight fit to begin with and get a further tighten with mole grips, or similar, prior to soldering.
This is my field and I often get called out to "no-start" situations, where the problem turns out to be shoddy high current leads!
OP, check your battery lead carefully. Heat from the loose connection may have made the insulation brittle, even some distance away from the bad joint. If it's a positive lead this would be a "Very Bad Thing", trust me!
Sparksie

2000 Xantia 1.9TurboD
User avatar
Mandrake
Posts: 8615
Joined: 10 Apr 2005, 17:23
Location: North Lanarkshire, UK
My Cars:
x 664

Re: Battery terminal

Post by Mandrake »

sparksie wrote:Hi
There is a very common misconception that "heavy duty" clamps are better.
Not so.
You should always choose the clamp that fits your cable. It should be barely possible to get all the strands into the battery clamp, with the screws out as far as they can go without getting lost.
Very true. When I was trying to replace my clamps I had trouble finding ones which would actually fit the size of the bundle of wires - most of the more heavy duty looking clamps simply had wire holes that were far too big and I didn't like the idea of too much packing.

The quick release type I used don't look very beefy and wouldn't normally be my first choice but the clamp that holds the wires is a very tight fit with plenty of adjustment so those wires aren't going anywhere. It clamps very securely to the battery post too due to the lever action when clicking it shut. (like a pair of vice grips) Looks a bit unusual but 6 months later still working perfectly, all for under a tenner... :)
Simon

1997 Xantia S1 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive in Silex Grey
2016 Nissan Leaf Tekna 30kWh in White

2011 Peugeot Ion Full Electric in Silver
1977 G Special 1129cc LHD
1978 CX 2400
1997 Xantia S1 2.0i Auto VSX
1998 Xantia S2 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive
Post Reply