preventing and removing corrosion in leads

sandydan · 09-03-2015 11:23pm #1

just thought of starting this thread as result of speaking to a few locals about their experiences dealing with corrosion in leads and connections as well as my own problems
has anyone come with a solution for preventing corrosion in battery/ lug leads. ive had to pour boiling water on lug to clear corrosion off where cable is screwed into on battery lug.
this lug is fairly prone to getting covered in muck, also saw fella spraying all his wiring connections with Contacts Cleaner spray.
i was wondering if when battery lead is fitted or made , could the whole lot be soldered as well ie completely fill remaining space with solder or someone suggested lead to me .
ive recently done some sorting on wiring in MF 399 with lots of help from emaherx see MF gearbox thread for details

Caddyvanman · 09-03-2015 11:53pm

Coat with Vaseline !

sandydan · 10-03-2015 12:01am

Caddyvanman wrote: »

Coat with Vaseline !

works fine on lugs but in connections and leads im referring to. ive used copper grease as well.

Pkiernan · 14-03-2015 5:14pm

Any dielectric grease will work:

http://ie.farnell.com/dow-corning/2793695/compound-silicone-dc4-tube-100g/dp/537019

gctest50 · 14-03-2015 5:22pm

Pkiernan wrote: »

Any dielectric grease will work:

http://ie.farnell.com/dow-corning/2793695/compound-silicone-dc4-tube-100g/dp/537019

that might rot the seals if they are silicone ? no skull n crossbones anyway

skull & crossbones = mark of quality

42000 volts per milimetre :

http://www.dowcorning.com/applications/search/products/Details.aspx?prod=02913364&type=PROD&country=IRL

Pkiernan · 14-03-2015 7:58pm

gctest50 wrote: »

that might rot the seals if they are silicone ? no skull n crossbones anyway

skull & crossbones = mark of quality

42000 volts per milimetre :

http://www.dowcorning.com/applications/search/products/Details.aspx?prod=02913364&type=PROD&country=IRL

What seals are on a battery lead?
And silicone is about as inert a material as you can get.

gctest50 · 14-03-2015 8:07pm

Pkiernan wrote: »

What seals are on a battery lead?
....

better off without it around - it'll end up getting used everywhere

silicone will cause all sorts of paint reactions even at low level

/link above is example of there-is-better-out-there , dunno if it has silicones

101sean · 14-03-2015 8:47pm

I use military grade vaseline (no idea where it came from!) on mine and get no corrosion on the terminals. Strange thing is the battery clamp frame on one of my Land Rovers does get furry! Should probably clean up the main earths.

sandydan · 17-03-2015 8:02pm

i use hot water or heated leftover tea to clean the furry stuff off ,works a treat,but contacts cleaner and paraffin are good too,also saw a 50/50 mix of acetone/mineral brake fluid/oil, recommended as degreaser,rust remover, good rubbing of wire brush to give clean metal to metal and coating with grease, ive seen that sprayed over with paint, not sure of how good its. but coating a frost plug in paint a week before fitting does prevent corrosion.
but i was thinking of filling the gap in lead sides of lug with solder or melting lead into it, as in factory made up cables the end of lug is sealed or was, met an auto electrician during week who said the blue connectors were mighty job :eek:,needles to say i disagreed with him, corrosion in those with copper wire is a nuisance and imo they are nearly impossible to crimp properly. got a bucketful of them removed in MF 399, and seen then put into fog and spot lamps fitted in trucks and cars and think they should be banned from permanent wiring as NCT or MOT failure.

CJhaughey · 17-03-2015 8:07pm

sandydan wrote: »

met an auto electrician during week who said the blue connectors were mighty job :eek:,needles to say i disagreed with him, corrosion in those with copper wire is a nuisance and imo they are nearly impossible to crimp properly. got a bucketful of them removed in MF 399, and seen then put into fog and spot lamps fitted in trucks and cars and think they should be banned from permanent wiring as NCT or MOT failure.

I'd be in agreement with you there, you mean the blue plastic sleeve over the crimp?
They are pure crap to crimp, I use metal crimps and then run a bit of good heat shrink over them with some dielectric grease over the crimped part where the wire is to stop corrosion.
At least when you crimp metal ones you can see if the crimp is good or not.

Kevin McCloud · 17-03-2015 8:07pm

Solder and heat shrink over joint is the only job for a bullet proof joint. Them blue/yellow/red crimp connectors are ok if crimped properly and are in a location that is free from dampness, muck and oils.

sandydan · 17-03-2015 8:22pm

CJhaughey wrote: »

I'd be in agreement with you there, you mean the blue plastic sleeve over the crimp?
They are pure crap to crimp, I use metal crimps and then run a bit of good heat shrink over them with some dielectric grease over the crimped part where the wire is to stop corrosion.
At least when you crimp metal ones you can see if the crimp is good or not.

i mean the blue connectors you can buy in most hardware stores,bought by most diy and farmer in country and usually crimped by a vice grip and about as pliable as Dutch-harrow, im not naming the manufacturer

also another cockeyed connection is 2 wires twisted with end cocking out through the heat-shrink, its not capable of coping with that

Kevin McCloud · 17-03-2015 8:25pm

sandydan wrote: »

i mean the blue connectors you can buy in most hardware stores,bought by most diy and farmer in country and usually crimped by a vice grip and about as pliable as Dutch-harrow, im not naming the manufacturer

In fairness no wonder these crimp connectors are being branded bad when they are being crimped by a vice grips. A properly crimped connector does its job.

sandydan · 17-03-2015 8:45pm

Kevin McCloud wrote: »

Solder and heat shrink over joint is the only job for a bullet proof joint. Them blue/yellow/red crimp connectors are ok if crimped properly and are in a location that is free from dampness, muck and oils.

CJhaughey wrote: »

I'd be in agreement with you there, you mean the blue plastic sleeve over the crimp?
They are pure crap to crimp, I use metal crimps and then run a bit of good heat shrink over them with some dielectric grease over the crimped part where the wire is to stop corrosion.
At least when you crimp metal ones you can see if the crimp is good or not.

id say there is nothing i can add to improve on content of those 2 quotes , other than not all blue ones ive had problems with were crimped with vice grips,when pulled apart corrosion was problem

101sean · 18-03-2015 8:46pm

I use crimp connectors from reputable suppliers and use the proper tools and have had no problems. I'll solder and heatshrink if I have time and near a power supply.

Scotchlok connectors are what I think some of you are talking about, they are the spawn of the devil and probably the cause of a few fires, horrible things.

sandydan · 20-03-2015 10:41pm

auto electrician made up and fitted new battery connections for me, he heated lugs with gas torch and soldereing wire using electric soldering iron, took quite a bit of solder and he coated wire well,coating and sealing end of cable. will be interesting to see how it lasts. fecking slow though, without a work-bench

sandydan · 04-04-2015 1:35pm

is there a recommendation not to grease certain parts of starter when putting it together. got starter fixed and Au Eletricion told me he greased Bendix and solenied when putting it back together, now its clicking and some times wont start without using a spanner to cross bolts on solenied

preventing and removing corrosion in leads

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