sm

I was clamping the Iceshark positive terminal back onto the battery when I accidentally touched the metal part of the car below the windshield (or it may have been that metal disk that sits behind the battery). That resulted in some big sparks and a chunk of the top of the battery's positive terminal being MELTED away. Yes, I was scared. So please be careful when you guys are working on the battery.


Questions - What kind of insulation can we put between the battery pos. terminal and the car body so this won't happen to anyone again? I'll see if a piece of rubber can be glued there or something.

BTW, those Iceshark cables are great! I'm seeing higher voltage on the dash voltmeter at all times, especially when the headlights are on at night.
Some fool got a taste of the 100w high beams when he cut me off - I highbeamed him and the night just lit up

IceShark

Simpson, You ALWAYS disconnect the negative cable first and reconnect it last to prevent what just happened to you!

If you don't hit the body sheet metal with the positive clamp itself you will probably hit it with the wrench you are using to tighten the clamp. Pretty impressive how much juice your battery can dump into a short, huh? Arc welding here we come. And how old cracked battery cables can start your car on fire pretty damn quick if they short.

sm

Ah, I used to always disconnect the negative clamp (even though I didn't know the reason behind doing it), but didn't this time b/c I was in a rush. Now I know better.

Yeah, I was surprised by what the battery could do. Do you think I burnt or shorted any fuses by setting off the sparks? The dash lights don't look as bright anymore, but that could just be that I was getting used to your bright headlights.

IceShark

Naw, you should be just fine except for that part of the battery post you melted away which is no big deal at the end of the day. But don't do it any more! You shorted in front of all the electrical components of the car.

Dim dash lights have always been a problem with these cars due to old bulbs and the reflective coating deteriorating on the light "tunnels". Now that you have replaced those wax candles you used to have as headlights you are now noticing how dim the dash lighting is. Check the old threads and you can find repair procedures. Or go with Perry951's replacement LED solution ...... I think he is still making those.

Tremelune

My battery (Exide) has little plastic "table" that fits over the positive terminal--it looks like one of those pizza tables, but square. I guess this is why it's there...

Mike S

Yep...i've got that same table on mine...except that mine's neon orange(doh!). Nothing a spray can won't fix.

Bryans951

I wash cleaning leaves out from around the battery and had my watch hit the battery and window frame at the same time and it melted the band in half. Worst part was that its a metal band and it melted onto my arm. Nice little scar to remind me to not do that again. Also helped my figure out what that little plate thing was for.

nineeagles

My battery hold down was loose and one night I was hot ******* on a nice twisty road....the battery didn't have a cover over the + terminal and on a very fast left turn.....bam....the lights went out and alot of sparks came out from under the hood.....the battery slid over to the right and came in contact with the hood........luckily I realized right away what happened so I jerked the wheel to the right real fast and the battery slid back into place......after fixing the hold down I also put in a block of wood painted black beside the battery in case the hold down loosens again....duh

billybones

just another reminder that gets forgotten in this region of the car is that it is very easy to crack your windshield with a little tap on it there it is exposed and fragile the spiders move out quite fast from there.. careful swinging the battery around there or over extending the hood to get it out..

Chris_924s

I too have the orange plastic cap over the positive terminal. I didnt even have a holddown- the po removed it and never replaced it.. sheesh.

nine-44

A battery should be about double the ammount needed to weld two 1/4" aluminum plate together. That's alot! Alum requires more amps because it disipates heat more quickliy than most other metals. Becareful, the capability to weld 1/2" steele is there!

IceShark

Andy, a few Rennlisters understand that power, like Perry951, who caught the engine bay on fire from a battery cable short.

But most don't. There is a lot of power to melt everything in sight if you have a good battery!

Ag951

When installing my optima, I was so paranoid about a short that I wedged the negative cable under a pipe to minimize my chances of it touching the negative terminal. So what do I do? While tightening one of the side bolts on the positive terminal, I almost hit the negative terminal with my rachet. Fortunately the heel of my hand separated the two and my glove was a good insulator.

Techno Duck

I had a similar experience while helping my friend change the AFM on his Civic SI. We neglected to disconnect the negative battery terminal, and my genious of a friend places a wrench right on top of the battery terminal. The wrench moved a little as we wiggled the old AFM out and the wrench made contact with both the positive battey and part of the body under the hood. I saw the sparks and dove (yes i literally did a tuck and roll outta the garage). Needless to say it lit up like the 4th of July. My friend is screaming "GET THE WRENCH OFF!" and i just said "HAHA HELL NO ITS YOUR CAR!". He took a oil soaked rag (smart kid eh?) and picked the wrench up and threw it in the bushes (again..no comment). Amazingly the rag didnt light up in a ball of flames. That was one hell of a sight though.

Randy_J

yep, all been there done that..... only once tho'