On Tue, 2 May 2017 07:18:31 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Tuesday, May 2, 2017 at 12:41:42 AM UTC-4, Larry Jaques wrote:
On Mon, 01 May 2017 17:57:17 -0500, Tim Wescott
wrote:

On Mon, 01 May 2017 14:49:33 -0700, etpm wrote:

On Mon, 1 May 2017 05:21:51 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

Speaking of old tractors, I can't get a good contact to the battery
terminal on my old Ferguson. I cleaned the post and connector off with
a (3M) green scrubbie, but when I clamp it together and push the starter
button I get a puff of smoke from the terminal as I vaporize some small
section of lead where the terminal connector meet. Is there some goo or
other tricks I can use?

George H.


I just went through this George. Cleaned battery clamp with the wire
brush made for this. No go. Got out my pocket and went at the inside of
clamp. There was a very hard oxide coating on the inside of the clamp.
It shines up nice with a wire brush but doesn't conduct electricity
worth a damn. After scraping this hard coating off, and you can
certainly tell it's hard because it almost chips off, I could feel the
knife blade dig into soft lead. After scraping the inside it was nice
and bright and the old tractor spun right over. With a 6 volt battery.
Probably the same as your old beast.
Eric

I've had that happen. Yup. Scrape it out with a pocket knife.

Someone mentioned a proper tapered reamer to do this. Maybe it's good if
you live in the city...

C'mon, guys. Keep the taper. http://tinyurl.com/lwhch7l
My old one is from SnapOn. (Someone gave it to me. I don't have the
bag of hundreds for one.)

--
Average # of people killed in mass shooting when stopped by police: 18.25
Average # of people killed when stopped by civilians: 2

Save lives: Keep Civilians Armed!

Guys... Jim, Tim, Dan, Clare, Larry, Eric.. and whomever I missed.
Thanks for all the ideas!
I'm going to try scrapping (with a knife) the inside of the terminal, and also stop by the auto store and pick up some new terminals.

So a related story. My pick up was having battery issues.
I couldn't figure out what it was. (new alternator/ battery..
old truck) I have an electric winch which raises/ lowers the plow on
the front. Using the winch would often cause the battery light to turn
on, and the battery voltage (as read by instrument cluster) to drop.

I finally had my son engage the winch while I measured the voltage
right at the terminals. No drop! Turns out someone (it could have been
me or the previous owner) had put a washer between the lead terminal and
the copper ring that was bonded to the wire. Dang washer had corroded
over time, and now had ~1 ohm of resistance.

That'll do 'er. g I always checked the fuse box for tinfoil or
nails before buying a new used vehicle, too. My time with a shadetree
mechanic while going to UTI was of immense value. I found out how NOT
to do 101+ things. I saw him rebuilding an engine once. He dipped the
entire main bearing in pure STP. When I told him it wasn't oil, that
he had to mix it with oil (or use assembly grease) and that he
shouldn't put anything behind the bearing, he scoffed and continued on
the way he had. The poor buyer got 1000 miles into his cross-country
trip before the main bearing spun.

--
Average # of people killed in mass shooting when stopped by police: 18.25
Average # of people killed when stopped by civilians: 2

Save lives: Keep Civilians Armed!