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My parents are New Jersey snow birds that travel to Florida for the winter. I just drove up to check on their house and their 2009 Nissan Sentra.
It seems like the cold winter has frozen the car battery because I don't get any dashboard lights when I put the key into the ignition. I know how to replace car batteries, but I cannot remove the negative battery cable from the battery terminal. The nut holding the terminal to the terminal post is rusted, and the terminal might be rusted to the terminal post itself.
Can I trace the negative cable to the car chassis and remove it there, or will I electrocute myself since there is no ground for the battery?
If the battery is dead, there is no current to electrocute you. Also remember this is direct current, once positive is removed from the battery, there is no electricity in the circuit either (unless you complete it my touching the positive pole of the battery to the chassis or something).
I would not remove the primary ground from the firewall. First I would spray the contact and bolt and see if I can get it freed at the battery. Worse case scenario I would cut the wire at the battery from the post, and put a new end on it to attach to a new battery.
You'll be fine, you won't get electrocuted. If it is an easy cable to replace just replace it. If it is tough to get to you can replace just the cable end, but not all cable ends are created equal, nor are their attachment methods.
The battery terminal is cone-shaped and so are the cable ends, so you may be able to pry it off the battery easily and then work on the nut/bolt. A hacksaw is probably all that would be needed at that point, and then replace just the nut/bolt. The batt terminals are lead, so it will not be rusted in place.
corrosion around battery terminals can make the bolts/fasteners a real problem to deal with.
however, you have several options to try to loosen things up before taking any destructive tactics.
1st: try using a caustic cleaner and water to remove as much corrosion as possible. A strong baking soda solution in warm water will readily attack the corrosion. Dribble some on the terminal and bolt, continue doing so as long as there's active foaming. Flush with plain water, and dribble some more of the baking soda solution. Time is on your side, let this work on the cable end for as long as possible. Several hours is good, overnight even better. Then flush again with plain water, preferably warm.
2nd: Then try to loosen the nut on the bolt. If it is rounded off so that a wrench won't fit anymore, then use a pair of vice grips or similar pliers (or dedicated "battery terminal" pliers). I've never had a battery terminal bolt in 50 years of working on these ever fail to come apart given adequate time to allow the caustic solution to work to dissolve the corrosion products. Sometimes, it's only a matter of minutes to clean up the terminal, sometimes it can take an hour or two.
3rd: After loosening the nut/bolt, you may still find the terminal somewhat seized on the battery. Use any combination of plier/big screwdriver to spread open the connection a little bit and wiggle it around on the battery. Ideally, the terminal end will come off the battery with minimal distortion to the terminal and will still be fit for re-use once you clean it up. Use a dedicated battery terminal wire brush (available at auto parts stores for minimal cost) to clean the terminal end. You may need to use a new terminal bolt/nut, also available at an auto parts store. These are a special bolt and will not corrode as readily as a standard bolt.
Overall, anything you can do with minimal effort to save the existing terminal for re-use will be a better strategy than cutting off a terminal end and using a clamp-on replacement terminal end to "fix" the cable. IMO, if you need to cut off the end, it would be better to replace the entire cable with a new assembly as most clamp-on terminals are pretty wimpy and cause for electrical problems.
Good stuff guys, thank you for the information and tips.
I already tried some WD-40 to see if I can get the nut to move, but it didn't work. There's no corrosion because my dad keeps the car well maintained, I just have no idea why the nut and terminal rusted in this cold winter weather.
Good stuff guys, thank you for the information and tips.
I already tried some WD-40 to see if I can get the nut to move, but it didn't work. There's no corrosion because my dad keeps the car well maintained, I just have no idea why the nut and terminal rusted in this cold winter weather.
WD-40 is a dessicant not a lubricant. Use Liquid Wrench, a very little bit in the nut. Leave it sit for awhile to work in. If there is corrosion (whitish, foam looking deposits) around the terminal rinse off with distilled water or Coke first.
If it's a top post, what you can do is take a pair of vise grips to the bolt, get them clamped on good, and by good, I mean once its adjusted to easily clamp, give it's knob about a quater turn more. Then you can remove it, or get it started enough for a socket.
If it's a top post, what you can do is take a pair of vise grips to the bolt, get them clamped on good, and by good, I mean once its adjusted to easily clamp, give it's knob about a quater turn more. Then you can remove it, or get it started enough for a socket.
Why make this difficult just cut the old one off and replace it, my god this is not rocket science.
Why make this difficult just cut the old one off and replace it, my god this is not rocket science.
I wasn't making it difficult, it would have to come off eithrr way. How hard is using vice grips to turn a bolt, versus cuting the end off, snd still have to remove it from the post- cutting through an 8ga wire made of 16ga wire...
I think vice grips, about six turns to loosen completely, and a few knocks to get it loose enough to pull off is pretty 5min easy. I don't know anything that'll cut a battery cable, fast, accept maybe some bolt cutters. KISS my friend. The bolt is rusted, he didn't say the whole cable was oxidized.
easy as can be, a matter of a second or two with the appropriate electrician's style cable cutter, readily available in the electrical supplies/tool section of your favorite box store or hardware store. Typically about mid $20.
We use a pair of these all the time to cut bulk battery cable when we're crimping up new/custom battery cables for our shop. They do a splendid job for this dedicated purpose unlike a bolt cutter which will mostly crush and destroy a cable instead of giving a clean cut.
But in the OP's situation, I wouldn't advise cutting the cable except as a very last resort.
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