TheSamba.com :: View topic - Replacement Battery Terminal

Thu Dec 08, 2022 9:39 am

Hi, The positive side battery terminal on my vanagon broke and all the local parts store had in stock were horrible.

I was able to get by with those but they occasionally ground out against the battery compartment.

What kind of luck have you guys had finding a decent replacement and what type did you use?

(originality isn't important )

thanks.

Thu Dec 08, 2022 11:13 am

You may wind up having to order a similar terminal from NAPA Online or perhaps Summit Racing's web site. Most terminals on the shelves at a local FLAPS aren't that great.

Fri Dec 09, 2022 5:21 am

Just add a pair of terminal covers to prevent contact with the walls of the battery box or the lid.

https://www.amazon.com/Fastronix-Black-Flexible-Ba...&psc=1

Fri Dec 09, 2022 6:11 am

Sadly, with our clearance problems and extra wires, there are few solutions available to us.

This quoted post below is one of the nicest solutions I've seen .......

puchfinnland wrote:

I did the electrical math on the cable sizing, honestly the 2 AWG was sized correctly, it can handle 200 Amps at 10 ft, the vanagon cable is around 9 ft,

In my opinion 2/0 is way overkill, I chose a 1/0AWG and it really is a noticeable difference,

for a few extra bucks I chose Anchor Marine tinned multistrand from west marine. it can be purchased by the foot, and if you go in the store, you can even swage on the ends for free.

my terminals I purchased from Delcity

Fri Dec 09, 2022 6:50 am

you grounding thru the carpet there, Sonny??

Fri Dec 09, 2022 6:52 am

That's a really nice setup, Dave. A fuse for the positive and many take offs for the aux leads. I see by the color that's your old car. What do you have in the new one?

Duncan

Fri Dec 09, 2022 7:27 am

Rusted64 wrote: Hi, The positive side battery terminal on my vanagon broke and all the local parts store had in stock were horrible.

.

Are you saying that the positive cable terminal broke and you need to replace it? I like puchfinnland's approach to create a separate buss/fusebox to accommodate connections away from the battery.

For an immediate correction, here's an approach:

Ring terminal:
https://www.amazon.com/SELTERM-Gauge-Copper-Weldin...amp;sr=8-4

Crimper (or Sodo's hammer and combination wrench crimper - I can't find a picture of that solution now):
https://www.amazon.com/Hydraulic-Crimper-Battery-T...s9dHJ1ZQ==

Ring terminal added:

Battery post clamp:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LLWKXV6/ref=ewc_pr_img_5?smid=A2GNZBM8JSG24J&psc=1

My guess is you found something like this at the FLAPS which is serviceable:

Sun Dec 11, 2022 5:03 am

djkeev wrote:

puchfinnland wrote:

I want to see more pics of what looks like a hinged lid under the seat!
(Here they are:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9426081&highlight=#9426081 )

I do have a question on how easy is it to get the cables out of the way when removing the battery being that the cables with the terminals swaged on do not look like they will fit through the feed-through holes? Or am I not seeing it from this angle?

Sun Dec 11, 2022 6:00 am

Steve M. wrote:
I do have a question on how easy is it to get the cables out of the way when removing the battery being that the cables with the terminals swaged on do not look like they will fit through the feed-through holes? Or am I not seeing it from this angle?

The ground wire is easy enough, just unbolt it from the body.

The plus side? Where the wire passes through, It looks like a slot?

I posted this as an inspiration not as a tried and true method.......
i for sure would want a cover over all of those terminals.
And, what it the red bar on the right where the + feeds into the block?
Why not just connect the + wire to the block directly?

Dave

Sun Dec 11, 2022 6:38 am

djkeev wrote:

And, what it the red bar on the right where the + feeds into the block?
Why not just connect the + wire to the block directly?

Dave

It's great inspiration and thinking outside the box.

That is just a copper "BUS" bar covered with shrink wrap as protective cover. That short of a distance might have been useless to crimp terminals on a cable as the distance between the terminals would be too short to give the cable any flexibility. It would work, but it would be a waste of 2 terminals imo. This works just as well.

Sun Dec 11, 2022 9:22 am

On my daughter's Jeep Cherokee both battery cable ends were bad, so I bought a jumper for a 24v battery setup, cut it in two, and then used splitbolt connectors to attach the new cables to the old, applied some dielectric grease on the connections and a layer of self adhesive silicone tape, and some heat shrink and all looks good many years down the road. Not a lot of room to make a similar repair in the VW battery box, but you could buy a premade cable and make the connection under the vehicle.

If your van has seen a lot of road salts, then replacing the entire cable might be the way to go.

Sun Dec 11, 2022 1:10 pm

As most have surmised here, you are referring to repair of the “battery cable end” not the battery terminal itself. Carry on…

Mon Dec 12, 2022 12:28 pm

Amazon Mil-Spec kit- battery terminals, eyelets and heat shrink all in the kit
Plus boots… 8)

Fastronix Military Spec Battery Terminal kit
That battery cable is new in the picture, several gauge sizes larger than the old stock VW cable I removed. Outer diameter of the cable just fit inside the plastic cable routing clips from VW that I was able to reuse. Cable is Metric, not sure of the gauge size, but fit the eyelets from Fastronix in their kit nicely.

Mon Dec 12, 2022 5:16 pm

According to their site, none of the terminals can handle wire the size needed to go to the starter.

Duncan

Mon Dec 12, 2022 9:32 pm

jimf909 wrote: djkeev wrote:
Why not just connect the + wire to the block directly?

Dave

My guess is the pos cable goes to a kill switch mounted in the seat base and the kill switch connects to the block via the copper bar covered in heat shrink. Then the current runs through the fuse before the cable heads back to the starter. Or something like that...

Tue Dec 13, 2022 4:48 am

DuncanS wrote: According to their site, none of the terminals can handle wire the size needed to go to the starter.

Duncan

Typically you are looking for a lug to fit a 2/0 cable

McMaster Carr........... Welding lugs

https://www.mcmaster.com/welding-cable-lugs/

Another source for terminals.......
Quick Cable

https://www.quickcable.com/product-category/battery-terminals-lugs/page/19/

Tue Dec 13, 2022 5:18 am

Here is an older but great thread on cables .......

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=641333

Dave

Tue Dec 13, 2022 7:55 am

From Dave's link https://www.quickcable.com/product/3720p/ A solder or crimp connection for 2/0. So far this looks like the only one that has surfaced. Tried to get a price, but they didn't like my lack of a web site for a company. Maybe some of you will have better luck.

Duncan

Tue Dec 13, 2022 9:01 am

DuncanS wrote: From Dave's link https://www.quickcable.com/product/3720p/ A solder or crimp connection for 2/0. So far this looks like the only one that has surfaced. Tried to get a price, but they didn't like my lack of a web site for a company. Maybe some of you will have better luck.

Duncan

There's no shortage of crimp, solder or compression battery post cable terminals in 4/0, 2/0, etc. available on the web.

Grainger is always a good bet and seems to offer a few dozen variants. McMaster-Carr is probably a good source too:
https://www.google.com/search?q=2%2F0+battery+post...YesH0_u-aM

4/0...
https://www.google.com/search?q=4%2F0+battery+post...p;ie=UTF-8

2/0...
https://www.google.com/search?q=2%2F0+battery+post...s-wiz-serp

That said, ignoring VW's choice, what's the cable size needed to provide the ampacity needed for the duty cycle of a starter motor 10' from the battery at a given temperature rating? As puchfinnland points out, 2/0 is more than enough and 2 will probably suffice.
https://www.anixter.com/en_us/resources/literature/wire-wisdom/wire-and-cable-ampacity-ratings.html