How to restore the battery terminal with your own hands in garage conditions

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How to restore the battery terminal with your own hands in garage conditions
How to restore the battery terminal with your own hands in garage conditions
Anonim

The current-collecting leads or terminals on batteries are made of soft, fusible lead. This is done for a reason - in the event of a short circuit, the terminal will simply melt and the circuit will break. This is very convenient, but due to the softness of the metal, the terminals may need to be repaired during the operation of the battery. Collector leads can oxidize, break, burn out. Let's find out how to repair the battery terminal.

When repairs are needed

Most often found on trucks. The need for repair will be indicated by poor contact with the battery wires. Since large currents flow on trucks, the terminal burns and melts in areas with poor contact. At one fine moment, the current collector either breaks off or melts completely. This can often happen when the car owner connects two batteries in series and there is poor contact at the junction of one of the batteries.

Second frequentcase follows from the first. The terminals are destroyed due to poor contact between the negative battery wire and the car body. In the people it is called "bad mass". If the contact with the “ground” is unreliable, then the positive contact heats up and burns out or requires repair.

The third case when you need to restore a car battery is mechanical damage to the terminals. There are many types of damage. It often happens that the battery is installed on the car, then the contact terminals with wires are put on. Then tighten the bolts on the terminals tightly with a wrench to achieve better contact. When the bolt is already tightened enough, the car owner pulls again and again. Current leads are made of lead, and from such force effects they bend and break off.

Here is another popular example of mechanical damage. The battery is not fixed under the hood of the car. And when the driver drives on the roads, the battery dangles as she wants, and bounces merrily over bumps. What can happen to him there, the car owner does not suspect. But often the terminals do not withstand such mockery and break.

The last option is short circuits. As a result, huge currents are generated that can melt not only the lead terminals, but also the wrench on “13”.

battery terminal repair
battery terminal repair

How to restore the battery

So. There is a relatively new or just a well-functioning battery, but without one or without two terminals. No worries - everything can be repaired. Motorists with experience offer effective ways and share secrets on how to restore the terminalon the battery. In this case, the terminal will be no worse than the factory one.

oxidized terminals
oxidized terminals

Building solder POS-30

To work you will need a powerful soldering iron. Solder is an alloy of lead and tin. POS solders, including this option, melt when a temperature of 183 degrees is reached. Also, for work, you will need a special form, similar to the diameter of the terminal. With a soldering iron, solder is melted into a mold and melted onto what is left of the terminal on the battery.

This method is definitely good and deserves respect, POS-30 solder has low melting points, and compared to analogues, it is not dangerous for polypropylene cases of modern batteries.

Among the disadvantages of this method, the deposition process itself can be distinguished. The temperatures that are sufficient to melt the factory lead-antimony terminals are higher than the melting point of POS-30. A strong connection of the new terminal with the remainder of the old one in this case will not work. This repair deserves the right to life, but it is more decorative. Even if it is possible to connect wires to the battery, under the influence of vibration and heating from high starting currents, such a restored terminal will collapse in a few months.

oxidized terminals
oxidized terminals

Antimonous solders POSS

And here's how to repair the terminal on the battery using other materials. You can use solder, or you can use old sawn-off current collectors from worn-out batteries. Melt the solder with a soldering iron slowly, this is more preferable than pouringmolten alloyed lead. In the first option, there is a possibility that the remnants of the factory current collection will melt and a metal-to-metal connection will occur. If you quickly pour lead, then what is left of the old terminal will not have time to heat up and again you will get a fragile decorative repair.

The disadvantage of such a restoration of the battery terminals is that the melting temperatures are too high compared to the melting temperature of the polypropylene from which the battery case is made. It is important to work very carefully so as not to burn the battery cover. Liquid lead will leak into the battery very quickly and short out the battery. Even if the circuit does not happen, the contact between the case and the current lead will not be tight and the electrolyte will run away from the case, and the terminals will oxidize.

car battery recovery
car battery recovery

Garage technology

Here's how to repair a battery terminal with a graphite electrode and lead. This is the most barbaric way, but affordable and inexpensive. It is barbaric in relation to the battery being repaired.

The bottom line is that the current-collecting terminals are connected to each other in a short circuit mode. The only resistance in this circuit is the graphite electrode. You can gut a thick AA battery or use an old starter brush. The solder melts in a shape similar in diameter to the terminal. Melting occurs with an electric arc. Such battery repairs can be carried out even in the field, but you need to remember that a weak battery will not allow you to ignite an electric arc.

battery repair
battery repair

Conclusion

This is how broken or melted terminals can be repaired. Most people use the graphite electrode method. But we must remember that such a repair is still short-lived and cannot be as reliable as at the factory. If the current collector leads can be repaired, you need to lubricate them with grease so that the terminals do not oxidize in the future.

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