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Battery Terminal Connections

16K views 20 replies 8 participants last post by  OkieRich 
#1 ·
So the other day I was messing around with my battery, first mistake right there, and was look for the most convenient place to hook up my power wire for my amp. I was becoming to anxious and when I took one of the nuts off, it proceeded to fall down into the engine bay out of site...

My second mistake was after dropping it, I realized that nut was the connection for the alternator. I had previously had my amp hooked up to that connection not knowing it was coming from the alternator(even though in big letters it says ALT)...

So I went to home depot and found a nut that fit the connection, but was a little tight to put on. I believe it was a zinc plated or stainless steel nut. After putting on the nut, the battery light went off in my car, but would come on every once in a while.

Lastly, you'll probably get a laugh out of this.... I went to take that nut off to see why the light kept coming on and off, and what happens? I drop the nut again. (If you haven't been able to tell yet, I have amazing luck.... but it gets even better). I knew I only had to drive about 15mins to where I was going to see if I could fix it, so I started driving there. Ofcourse, as I was driving, dashboard lights start coming on and eventually I had to pull over. Car wouldn't crank, so I had someone come jump me. I let the car run a while to build up a charge while jumped to the other car. I drove the last couple minutes to where I was going and I noticed the lights had come back on again.


SO.... I have finally gotten to my questions.

Is there a reason the battery connection from the alternator wasn't liking the type of nut I was using and should I get a certain type?

Second, if my amp was hooked up to the same connection as the alternator on the battery, could I have been causing too much stress and blown the fuse next to the connection?


I know these all sound like stupid questions, but this is all I could think of that was causing the issue.

I left a picture to show you what I'm talking about.
 

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#2 ·
SO.... I have finally gotten to my questions.

Is there a reason the battery connection from the alternator wasn't liking the type of nut I was using and should I get a certain type?

Second, if my amp was hooked up to the same connection as the alternator on the battery, could I have been causing too much stress and blown the fuse next to the connection?
The threads are a different size. Hyundai uses "Asian" threads like Toyota/Honda. American threads are different.

If you hooked up a power amp, then quite possibly you overloaded the system
 
#4 ·
Just like already mentioned it doesn't matter where you hooked up the amp, the fuse protects the alternator. Is the fuse blown for the alternator? If not, I would check the voltage at the terminals with the car running and make sure the lead coming from the alternator is secure and not loose. You mentioned the nut went on tight so it may seem as if it is tight but in all actuality it is not holding down the lead all the way.

Maybe you need to invest in some magnetic sockets?:wink:
 
#5 ·
Thanks for all the replies. I went and tried a 1/4 non-metric nut on it. I used a portable jumper to jump start the car, and after putting the nut on, the jumper stated the battery was at 99%, which I assume the alternator was providing power. However, I noticed where the nut was at and near the fuse beside the nut was smoking just a little bit. Any ideas why?

Without the nut on the connector, the car can still be jump started, but does not read 99%... probably around 50%.

Should I try a certain type of metal metric nut? And/or replace the 180amp fuse that's in the picture?
 
#8 · (Edited)
You more than likely stripped the threads on the stud by putting the SAE nut on there. But you won't know till you try. Might be a good idea to chase the threads on the stud.

The fuse says 180A. It should be listed in the owners manual.

There is also a 7.5A cube fuse there. I would guess that is for the alternator field.

The nut is probably M8 x 1.25
 
#12 ·
This, is an interesting thread. Full of suspense, great references, a dash of humor (both self-directed and other), while offering some solid "Do's" and "Don'ts" when playing with spark-tricity.

A bit premature, perhaps, but I think if you can get that connector back in the good social graces that it was in BEFORE you contracted a near fatal case of butter fingers, you'll be just fine. But I wouldn't linger around or put it off very long. Smoke usually always precedes fire. Left unattended, you're playing with it! :eek:
 
#13 ·
I've been there before and dropped a nut or a bolt down into the dark abyss located somewhere within the engine compartment. The thing is I'm way too anal to let it go and I'll do whatever it takes to retrieve the ORIGINAL fastener (something about it being the original part and all, and I don't want to try to substitute something else). Have not had an incident with this or my previous Elantra, but I had several "omg did I really drop that?" incidents with the infamous Passat (something about how expensive out of warranty service is with that brand...). And yes, I've spent like an hour and a half on what should have been a 10 min job figuring out how to retrieve the wayward fastener from dark and barely accessible nooks and crannies using mirrors and extendible magnetic retrievers (probably would have had better luck with smoke and mirrors).
 
#14 ·
I'm always dropping sockets. Fortunately both cars are now 4 cyl and there is usually enough room to find things. Plus I have several pounds of extra nuts and bolts I've collected over the years.

My last car was a V8 Taurus and that thing could swallow more nuts, bolts and sockets that you would imagine. Took the engine out once and recovered three sockets and a wrench that had fallen into the nether regions.
 
#15 ·
I do know that if you DO NOT tighten securely a contact point in electricity flow, it will smoke. Maybe not enough for you to see right away, but it is starting to spark across there. Eventually this will lead to lots of corrosion at that point and then NO FLOW.

I have done too much troubleshooting on electrical systems over the years. Simple things like corrosion can cause all sorts of headaches. And these newer cars are even more sensitive to corrosion. If you will notice, a lot of contact points on the electrical system are using dielectric paste to help stop that corrosion.
 
#18 ·
Eventually this will lead to lots of corrosion at that point and then NO FLOW.

I have done too much troubleshooting on electrical systems over the years. Simple things like corrosion can cause all sorts of headaches. And these newer cars are even more sensitive to corrosion. If you will notice, a lot of contact points on the electrical system are using dielectric paste to help stop that corrosion.
:thumbsup: I got to the point where I couldn't stand it, anymore. I installed a couple of those red/green discs to help ward off against battery terminal corrosion. also lubricated those exposed areas with dielectric grease, as well. So far, so good.

And yes, I took the battery terminal/post wire brush to those areas before that install. None of the connection points were showing signs of corrosion. I just happened to be bored and got myself into a pro-active mood that day. Been about 3 months and they still look brand new. So, maybe I did a good thing. :rolleyes:
 
#16 ·
Appreciate the help guys, and I completely agree. It seems like my car sucks up anything. I went and picked up some Metric nuts and tightened that on the connector until it could be tightened anymore. Jumped the car and noticed there was no more smoke. Never knew that a loose connection would cause something like that to happen. The car was still throwing a Low Voltage error, so I took the car to AutoZone and erased the code. Code hasn't came back on....yet. Keeping my fingers crossed it stays off.

Definitely going to be more patient next time taking anything off near that engine bay.
 
#17 ·
It will be helpful if you use stainless steel or cooper plated nuts so you avoid any galvanic effect rust buildup in the future. If you damaged the thread by using the SAE nut you might need to remove the alternator and replace the screw or convert it to SAE with the proper tool.

It is very important that the connection is very tight since there is a lot of power passing during crank. You will find in the manual the proper tension that you need to apply to the nut.

You need to check the specs on your amp and also of your alternator since depending on the consumption of your amp you could be demanding more that the alternator can handle. There are some massive amps in the market that can consume a lot.
 
#19 ·
The connection does need to be good and tight. 1/4-18 nut is bigger than 8mm so hopefully the threads were not too destroyed.

SS will not cause any corrosion problems. It is preferred actually

The real reason he had any problem is the battery post is leaking.

Here's a pic of my OEM battery in my '08 Accent, no corrosion at all.

.
 
#20 ·
Back in the 60s and 70s we used to spend a couple of hours every Spring just servicing the battery. Clean off all the dirt and dust that collected. Remove and clean the terminals and cable ends. Remove the battery and wash it down with baking soda and water solution (to kill any acid). Clean out the battery tray and prime as needed. Top off all cells with distilled water. Re-install battery and connect terminals. Cover terminals in Vaseline to stop corrosion.

Afterwards you may have had to reset your clock and radio, but that was all. Now you have to wait for the computer to re-read the engine.
 
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#21 ·
Back in the 60s and 70s we used to spend a couple of hours every Spring just servicing the battery. Clean off all the dirt and dust that collected. Remove and clean the terminals and cable ends. Remove the battery and wash it down with baking soda and water solution (to kill any acid). Clean out the battery tray and prime as needed. Top off all cells with distilled water. Re-install battery and connect terminals. Cover terminals in Vaseline to stop corrosion.

Afterwards you may have had to reset your clock and radio, but that was all. Now you have to wait for the computer to re-read the engine.
Boy, o' boy...do I ever remember those days. Dad outside with a box of Arm & Hammer to aid in the rescue. And the smell of that battery acid. Phooey, we used whatever water was in the tap back then. I don't ever remember hearing about distilled water as a kid. Same for the radiator. Turn on the spigot, fill up the radiator. Antifreeze servicing was something that the affluent did to their cars. Lots of radiator repair shops around town back then. :laughing:

But, back on topic. You're correct, @jdmeaux2002. We wait for the ECM to reset. I'll settle for that over all of that other nonsense you so eloquently listed in your post! I guess we've made progress over the years. Maybe? :wink2:
 
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