[Ducati Scotty]

Forgive my lazy searching.  I know someone posted not long ago about the ends of their battery cables cracking off.  I think I have a solution:



These are some nice, heavy ring terminal ends I got at Napa.  Very heavy and would fit the battery cable ends on a UCE well.  I think the box was under $4.  Part #784572.

Scott

[GSS]

+1. I used similar ones from another store.....they work great.

[shamelin]

+1.  Those are nearly identical to the ones that my local bike shop gave me.  I had to bend them, but o/w they were perfect.

[mattsz]

Can you bend these things to the "double" right angles of the original terminals without breaking them?

[gremlin]

http://www-public.tnb.com/pubint/docs/colorkeyed_spec.pdf

[TWinOKC]

+1 to what Scott said.

Good to have some in the garage and in your jacket pocket.

If the battery terminal breaks,  a kicker won't help.

[shamelin]

You can't do a double bend, but a single bend is all you really need.  My 90 degree elbow is at the neck of the terminal, and my battery cable simply goes perpendicular from the battery.

Yep, when your terminal breaks, kicking won't work.  Neither will popping the clutch.  The terminals take up very little room in the tool kit and will save you in a pinch.

[mattsz]

Well, there's so many threads that talk about broken battery cable connectors, I couldn't decide which one to grab.  This one is as good as any...

Either we've been too hard on RE for their crap connectors, or too easy on NAPA by praising their replacement terminals Part #784572, like in Scott's photo at the top of the thread.

Why, you ask?  I got stuck on the side of the road again - you guessed it:



For the second time, I road-repaired the cable by cutting off the broken connector, stripping the wire, and simply wrapping it around the battery's screw.  I'm tempted to leave it that way!

Is there a way to come up with a more flexible solution, but that wouldn't fatigue so quickly?  Either way, I think I'm going to have to replace the ground wire - it's getting too short!

The good news: though I was on my way home on a long trip, and it was getting late in the day, I had my tools with me, and I had no worries about not being able to fix the problem.  Even as I was pulling over on a safe spot on a side road, I was already thinking through the troubleshooting steps and ideas I would try that I've learned here on this forum.  It seemed like an electrical problem, and even though I'd already fixed the battery terminal issue, I checked that first.  Sure enough...

So, thank you again everybody!!!! 

[Norm]

Forgive my lazy searching.  I know someone posted not long ago about the ends of their battery cables cracking off.  I think I have a solution:  some nice, heavy ring terminal ends I got at Napa.  Very heavy and would fit the battery cable ends on a UCE well.  I think the box was under $4.  Part #784572.

Scott

Great idea!  Last year I stopped to help a gentleman whose new(ish) B5 was conked out.  The terminal metal had snapped off.  Some temp repairs and he was good to go, at least for a while.  Do the new RE's come with beefier terminal connectors?

[mattsz]

Great idea!  Last year I stopped to help a gentleman whose new(ish) B5 was conked out.  The terminal metal had snapped off.  Some temp repairs and he was good to go, at least for a while.  Do the new RE's come with beefier terminal connectors?

As far as I know, they still come with the thin terminals.  My point is, the beefy NAPA connector should have been a great idea, but it broke, too.

Any thoughts?  Is there a beefier still connector than that particular NAPA one?

[Craig McClure]

Thin Metal Battery Cable Ends will break if the cable continually flexes back & forth enough. Try to route wires, so there is enough slack to zip cable tie both cables to the battery, thereby limiting cable movement & metal battery cable end fatigue.
   Also, one could by Replacement Screw On Auto Battery Cable Ends, then trim them (hacksaw & vice) to mate up to your Bike Battery. they are rigid soft lead & should be easy enough to cut.

[mattsz]

Food for thought, Craig.

Any problem with replacing the ground cable with a longer one of the same wire gauge, to give me a better lead?

BTW, I'm still using the original Exide battery - I plan to change it out this winter.  Hopefully a new battery will give me some other wire lead options...

[High On Octane]

Longer cables and rerouting them will definitely help with the terminals not breaking off.

Scottie

[JVS]

Why, you ask?  I got stuck on the side of the road again - you guessed it:

Is there a way to come up with a more flexible solution, but that wouldn't fatigue so quickly?

That sucks! Most likely I'm wrong, and the picture says otherwise, but I'll ask it anyway...did that connection have any signs of corrosion?

[mattsz]

That sucks! Most likely I'm wrong, and the picture says otherwise, but I'll ask it anyway...did that connection have any signs of corrosion?

Negative ( ).  Clean as the day I installed it, early last spring.

Actually, I was lucky and it didn't really suck at all - I had the tools I needed, and I found the problem pretty quickly.  Only about 1/2 an hour lost.  It would have sucked big-time if I was on my way to work, though.  Or, I could still be sitting there scratching my head...

[JVS]

Haha  That is good to know..but at the same time I'm kind of surprised and confused as to why a new and robust (was) connector will also succumb to the vibrations of a Bullet. Thankfully, I haven't had any broken terminals or other connections yet..I do keep a check on them and apply petroleum jelly to the battery terminals to keep away the moisture. Overall, they seem very secure. Maybe there will be a day when I'll get the same broken terminal. Spontaneous things these Enfields are 

The terminal wires need to go in a way so that they are not bending too much near the connector side and are not forced to suffer any direct external force/movements whilst the bike is running. Maybe tightening the connections too much weakens the connectors somehow...I guess we'll never know. What a bike this Bullet is.   

[Craig McClure]

WHEN YOU DO CHANGE YOUR BATTERY, USE ONLY AN AGM TYPE BATTERY. It will not cause corrosion anywhere, or puke acid on your chrome or paint. & it lasts longer & is stronger.
   Also I prefer my terminals to the out side of the battery, so no frame contact can occur. You can always put a rubber/bubble wrap cover over it to prevent frame cover panel contact.
   I have had good success with Motobatt, Deka, & Odyssey brand batteries. Mottobatt being cheapest, Odyssey being highest. I'm Running a medium priced Deka in my 2010 G5 Deluxe,& like it fine.

[Ducati Scotty]

Did you solder the new terminal on to the cables?  This makes for a great connection but does make that section of the cable less flexible, which could transmit the stress to the ring terminal.  I'd get some longer cables made so you can tie them to the frame and lower the vibration getting transmitted to the ring terminal.  Also, severval layers of heat shrink near the terminal can help transfer any stresses over a wider area.

Scott

[gashousegorilla]

   Something like this from your local auto store... it's what i use. But i don't crimp them on, I solder them on.  Heat the end, near the ring, and float the solder in and fill it around the wire.  A little butane or a propane torch works nice.....  http://www.ynzyesterdaysparts.com/index.php?_a=product&product_id=258

  Or better yet... just take out your ground strap, and bring it down to the store. And they should have one... in a heavier gauge... that you can match yours up with.

[Ducati Scotty]

Going to a heavier gauge is always a good idea on bikes, makes for much easier starts. 

Scott

[D the D]

Do like the factory did: Go thinner.  Hot wires burn easier.  Very easy to smoke check if you're not sure.

[mattsz]

I crimped the lugs on.  I wonder would it help in the long run to secure the cable directly to the battery somehow, so any vibration or movement between the battery and the frame is "absorbed" by the stranded copper cable rather than the solid metal terminal ends?

I've paid careful attention to the new battery threads, so I'm ready for that, Craig!

I'm pretty sure I'm done with long trips for this year; I'll probably just leave it as it is until riding season ends, at which point I'll make up some new cables to go with the new battery.  I seem to remember that somebody here found their positive cable "glued" into the solenoid.  I wonder if I'll find the same thing?

[Ducati Scotty]

New cables with enough slack to tie it right to the battery would be a great idea.

Scott

[Arizoni]

I think the lugs breaking is because of the vibrations of the engine.

If the wire is just hanging there it will develop sympathetic vibrations causing it to move back and forth hundreds of times a minute.
The movement will fatigue the metal causing it to harden and break.

Tying the cable to the battery with a twisty tie or some electrical tape so it isn't hanging free will keep this from happening.

Crimping the cable to the connector is better than soldering it in place.
Yes, the solder will provide better electrical contact but it also bonds the wiring strands together so they can't move.
Without being able to move, the strands will develop very high stresses where the solder stops.   Small movements of the remaining wire will result in the same high stresses and hardening that can affect the connector resulting in the wires breaking.

[Ice]

 Welding cable can be had in smaller guages perfect for motorcycle battery cables.  It's many finer strands resist vibration fatigue better and guage for guage it carries more load with lower resistance than comparable size cable.