Hi Folks: Well, whoever suggested that my starting problems were related to corroded battery terminals was right! Fixed it today. Thought I would post what I did as it was butt-ass easy and you could perform it on your own Trep if you ever have starting issues.
The Problem: My 1996 3.5L Intrepid was having issues starting in early January and eventually wouldn't start at all w/o a jump. I assumed cold weather -- at the time it was witch-titty cold, so I figured it was just being cranky. But then warmer weather came...no car. Uh. What? The battery was new 2 summers ago, the alternator 3 summers ago. I can't *believe* it is one of those, but maybe. So I take the battery back to Advanced Auto, it's under warranty, and they put it on the machine. The machine, after whirring and bleeping for a half hour, declares it perfectly good...778 cold-cranking amps. Ok...so...starter? It's clicking, but not hauling the engine over. So something's not right. BUT -- I find that if I jump it (either from a car or charger), not a problem. Hrm. Someone on here (forgive me, I forget who) suggested that maybe corrosion was the issue. So, I headed to Walmart. Looked for a terminal brush and found one, but also saw that nice, heavy-duty lead terminal ends were cheap ($1.67 apiece) so I thought I'd give a try at replacing them myself. The brush was $3.50 or something. So, this afternoon I gave it a go. Yanked the battery out, used the terminal brush to get the terminals nice and shiney. Put that aside. Took a look at the battery cables. The terminal clamps on this car are the thin copper ones, very corroded and oxidized -- probably not good. I'd rather have lead any day. So off go those. NEGATIVE: I cut off the boot and then took a look. I measured a bit and decided that I couldn't cut off the entire terminal clamp or I wouldn't have enough length and I could yank more from wherever it goes to. So, I decided to just cut off the clamp portion while leaving the metal wire clamp on it. This I did with a hacksaw. After that, I took the terminal brush and cleaned up the remaining wire clamp and then cranked it down into the one end of the new terminal clamp. Nice and tight until the lead bent. POSITIVE: Different story here, lots of wires coming into this one clamp (3) and more length, so the entire clamp could go. However, I had to watch it...one of the wires is an eye-terminal and the other two are clamped into the terminal clamp itself. So, I removed the bolt for the clamp and took off the eye-terminated wire, then hacksawed off right at the end of the wires. I put one of the bolts of the new clamp through the eye. I then stripped an additional 1/2 inch of insulation back from the bare wires and then clamped them down in the new clamp. Put both clamps onto the terminals and tightened them down really tight -- in fact, I got a bit too tight on the positive and it started to rip so I left off. Put the key in and ROAR! Up she went. MUCH zippier on the startup than before and hell...she starts! YAY! Easy fix for a potentially annoying problem. Pictures included are the terminals AFTER the repair. Nathan [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give the gift of life to a sick child. Support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's 'Thanks & Giving.' http://us.click.yahoo.com/5iY7fA/6WnJAA/Y3ZIAA/46t0lB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Web: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid> Subscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Unsubscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Moderator: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
