How To Fix A Loose Battery Post

Tony Lawrence was born in 1948 and spent most of his career as a self-employed figurer troubleshooter for Unix systems.

A normal battery post and cable. — A normal bombardment postal service and cable.

Battery Post Replacement

We are able to drive golf carts on the private roads where we alive. Information technology's a swell convenience for running down to the postal center or the clubhouse.

That convenience came to a sudden halt one day. I pulled into my driveway afterwards a trip to get our mail service and noticed that my bombardment meter was fluctuating on and off as I hit pocket-size bumps.

Well, that'south easy. Something is loose, right? Probably just the clips to the meter. I pulled open the seat to take a look.

I felt around with my finger and plant that one concluding was very hot. I could also experience that the nut was loose, so I went to get a wrench and came dorsum to tighten it. I accept to check these things every at present and then; they don't usually loosen up, merely I wasn't concerned. That is, until I institute that I couldn't tighten it downwardly with the wrench. It just spun, considering the thread it was attached to was spinning loose in the atomic number 82 of the bombardment lug.

How to Repair Broken Last Post


Follow these steps advisedly.
• Remove battery (use strap if you accept one).
• Disconnect battery cable.
• Drill pilot hole in bombardment post no deeper than 3/iv inch.
• Use appropriate size screw and washer to secure cable tight.

You tin can see what a normal bombardment last looks like in the movie in a higher place. There is a threaded lug that sits in a lead tab. That is what had come loose.

In the table higher up yous'll find a summary of the steps I took to repair the loose lug. For more detail and photos, here is where I went to detect instructions. It was obvious that these were the correct steps to have, only I was in a hurry and took some shortcuts. I'm going to go back and "do it right" earlier long, merely I was able to get the cart going.

The trouble was that I couldn't observe my tap fix. That's non something I use very often. I might have lent it to someone and forgotten about it, or mayhap it just disappeared when we moved. For all I know, information technology got sold at our yard sale along with other tools I thought I would never need once again. Who remembers? Not me.

Secret Male Removal Methods

I called a poker buddy who lives upward the street and asked if he had a set. He'd misplaced his as well (I nominate tap and die set as the most commonly lost tools in our customs), and suggested just setting a screw into the pb.

Lead is soft. Why not? Drill a picayune pilot hole no more than 3/4 inch deep (deeper and y'all'll be into the acid) and screw in a screw. Not smashing for maintenance, but it sounded like a program. My poker pal collection down to assistance.

I take a lifting strap I bought from Buggies Unlimited. I think information technology would have been almost incommunicable to remove the battery from the carts without information technology. I highly recommend buying ane of these.

Of course we couldn't easily disconnect the cable. In that location wasn't any way to catch the bolt to go along it from turning, and then I disconnected the cablevision from the other battery instead and so pulled the battery to go it out where nosotros could piece of work on information technology.

We fussed with it for half an hour, trying various futile schemes. I even tried sawing information technology with a hacksaw. No luck. We finally gave up and I applied the time-honored traditional secret male removal technique: brute strength. I tore the damn matter out of the lead with my very angry blank hands.

More Broken Stuff

We were at present fix to make a hole for the screw.

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Fixed!

We constitute an advisable screw and a brass washer of the right size and screwed that cable downward tight.

Yeah, I know it volition probably come up loose only that might exist some fourth dimension from now. These batteries don't concluding forever, anyway. They say ii-7 years, with the longer life coming if yous avert discharging them fully between charges and maintain them religiously. I do that, and so I might be expert for another five years with some luck.

If it does come loose, I'll either put in a slightly bigger spiral or try to find somebody here who still has a tap fix. We can't have all lost everything we ever had, right?

Postal service Replacement Update

A few days afterwards I drove down to our garden to choice some squash. Imagine my delight when I got dorsum in the cart and found the bombardment meter apartment at cypher. Of form, I cursed myself for taking the easy fix and called my wife to come get me.

While waiting for her and kicking the ground petulantly, I opened up the seat to see how bad it was. To my surprise, the spiral repair was belongings business firm. That wasn't the trouble. Wiggling cables while watching the meter led me to the true source: the other battery concluding!

In our haste to put everything back and my joy at fixing the trouble and then easily, I had but paw-tightened the reverse, positive final, and had put away my wrench without always snugging it downward. That had worked loose from the comforting jolts of a golf cart suspension.

I didn't take a wrench with me, but I had my fingers, so I applied the Hush-hush Male Brute Force Bare Finger Tightening Technique. This actually worked well enough to get me home—with my wife following, just in case. Once dwelling, I tightened information technology downward, still cursing softly under my breath.

For some reason, my poker buddy thought that was rather funny when I saw him again the following week. Judge which game I plan to deal every time it is my turn?

It's been two weeks now and I have had no more than problems. If I do, and tin can't find anyone with a tap set, I'll apply another Hugger-mugger Male person Technique that involves going to the store and buying an overpriced tool that I may never need again other than to lend to someone and so promptly forget all about it—until I do need information technology once more, of course. Just past then I won't recollect who I lent it to.

This article is authentic and true to the all-time of the writer'southward cognition. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business organisation, financial, legal, or technical matters.