I've been fighting battery corrosion for a long time. Lately it has gotten so bad that it was sometimes hard starting the engine, and then today the positive cable broke off at the terminal. It was corroded all the way through and I had to go over 2 inches back to get to relatively clean copper.
So, a couple of questions:
1. First, is it true that the cause (or contributing factor) is the winch cables bolted on the side of the terminals? I had a YJ for 5 years that had the same winch setup and I don't remember corrosion problems on it. I've had this XJ for 10 years now and have had a bad corrosion problem from the beginning.
2. I've used those felt pad thingies for the last 5 years at least, without noticeable effect, although I guess it could have been even worse without them. This time I also used that insulating grease all over the outside of the terminals. Has anybody used it and does it help prevent corrosion?
3. Is corrosion like rust where if you don't clean off all the old rust, it comes back faster?
4. As a temp measure, I am using one of those bolt-down terminals, with no soldering. I cut back the cables until I got to relatively clean wire, although there's a little corrosion still at that point (I was running out of wire). I had to go back over 2 inches on the main power cable and over 3 inches on the winch cable, but the cable to the fuse block had very little corrosion. I put all three connections under the bolt down plate, so there's nothing bolted on the side any more, and I screwed down the little plate just as tight as it would go. Then I slathered lots of insulating grease all over the outside, and then wrapped all the connections in electrical tape. Does that sound like it should last a while? Any over/under bets on when the corrosion will come back?
5. Does anybody make a good aftermarket wiring harness that's made to fit? I tried to get one from the stealership but what they gave me doesn't fit. I took it back and they said that the original 92 one had been discontinued but the one they gave me was supposed to fit (I think he said it was the 93 replacement cable).
So, a couple of questions:
1. First, is it true that the cause (or contributing factor) is the winch cables bolted on the side of the terminals? I had a YJ for 5 years that had the same winch setup and I don't remember corrosion problems on it. I've had this XJ for 10 years now and have had a bad corrosion problem from the beginning.
2. I've used those felt pad thingies for the last 5 years at least, without noticeable effect, although I guess it could have been even worse without them. This time I also used that insulating grease all over the outside of the terminals. Has anybody used it and does it help prevent corrosion?
3. Is corrosion like rust where if you don't clean off all the old rust, it comes back faster?
4. As a temp measure, I am using one of those bolt-down terminals, with no soldering. I cut back the cables until I got to relatively clean wire, although there's a little corrosion still at that point (I was running out of wire). I had to go back over 2 inches on the main power cable and over 3 inches on the winch cable, but the cable to the fuse block had very little corrosion. I put all three connections under the bolt down plate, so there's nothing bolted on the side any more, and I screwed down the little plate just as tight as it would go. Then I slathered lots of insulating grease all over the outside, and then wrapped all the connections in electrical tape. Does that sound like it should last a while? Any over/under bets on when the corrosion will come back?
5. Does anybody make a good aftermarket wiring harness that's made to fit? I tried to get one from the stealership but what they gave me doesn't fit. I took it back and they said that the original 92 one had been discontinued but the one they gave me was supposed to fit (I think he said it was the 93 replacement cable).