Saturday 2 June 2018

Battery Terminal Upgrade

One of the many projects I've had sitting on my to-do list, was upgrading the battery terminals on my Jeep TJ from stock to military style clamps. I know marine style is the usual upgrade, but after seeing Dave from Redneck Garage install these, I knew they were the right way to go.

I'm embarrassed to say that I've had the kit sitting around for nearly two years, and I can't find the original kit I ordered. So here are the current Amazon.ca and Amazon.com if you're interested.


As you can see, the original clamps have definitely seen better days. Adding accessories was a pain, the clamps were rotting out. I felt they were one removal away from breaking. 







The first step is to remove the stock clamps. This is pretty easy, just hit them with a a hot torch, MAPP Gas works really well. The stock clamps are lead, and lead has a fairly low melting point. Probably best to not do this in shorts, but I did, and my legs survived. Once the stock clamps are off, heat up the new lugs, fill them with solder, and shove the exposed wires from the old clamp into the molten solder. Make sure you use pliers, vice grips, and various other safely precautions. You are playing with molten metal here. I added some heat shrink tube, and sealed them up really well.




After everything has cooled off, route the wires, add the protective covers, and you're set. It's a solid upgrade that makes it easier to disconnect the battery or add accessories. I've previously added an auxiliary fuse panel, so while I may not need to add directly to the battery, it's nice to know I have the option




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