TimStaci Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Hello folks. I went to my shop to start the Reatta and ended up with a horrible clicking sound when I tried to turn it over. After many years messing with my Harley, I realized that it was probably a loose or corroded connection. I undid the battery cables and cleaned them, cleaned the negative ground terminal, and cleaned the positive side at the terminal block. As I was going back together with it, I saw that the positive battery cable connection thread was stripped. I've never dealt with the rubber boot style cables, so I came here to find out how you can get the bolt out of the rubber boot in order to replace it? The battery threads look ok, but I definitely don't want to strip them out trying to screw a stripped bolt into it! Anyway, if you've got any ideas on how to get the bolt out, I'd appreciate the help. It's supposed to be nice here this weekend and I'd like to get it out.Thanks,Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry yarnell Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Heat the red plastic around the bolt with a hairdryer, and work a small screwdriver around the inside perimider and the bolt will just pop out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonlabree Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Turn the bolt upside down in a deep socket and give the bolt a good whack with a hammer and it will pop out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimStaci Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Thanks!!! I figured it had to be something simple. I'm assuming that they are available at most auto parts stores? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Since you lack experience with the plastic covered terminals, once you get the bolt out you can peel the plastic off the metal connector (it will still be on the cable) allowing you to do a much better cleaning of the corrosion. Then coat the metal with whatever product you like before returning the plastic to its original position. A not so pretty fix for your problem is to take a 1 in long screw (think they are 1/4 in) and run a nut almost to the head, install it thru the terminal into the battery....run it in with by hand until it bottoms.... then run the nut down to the terminal and tighten. You will have almost twice the threads in the battery and much less likely of stripping either.... but use caution when tightening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Corvanti Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 What Mr. Yarnell said in post #2. i did that with the negative cable bolt on my Reatta. the battery bolts are available at most FLAPS. i usually use about 1/4 cup of baking soda with around a 1/2 cup of hot water in a cup to clean cable connectors. and a wire "battery brush" (at flaps) to clean the battery connection."rinse, lather, repeat". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry yarnell Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Heating (warming) the plastic isn't really necessary, but it makes the plastic more pliable. Cold weather makes this more difficult. I harvest these bolts when time permits at the man's mall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol' yeller Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 After replacing mine a year or so ago, I also ran a tap into the battery to clean up those threads. It worked for a couple months but evidently the threads in the battery were too stripped to hold the cable tight. My solution was to replace the battery and 2 years later it is still working great. It did kind of pain me to toss a good battery because of the bad connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WEB 38 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 After replacing mine a year or so ago' date=' I also ran a tap into the battery to clean up those threads. It worked for a couple months but evidently the threads in the battery were too stripped to hold the cable tight. My solution was to replace the battery and 2 years later it is still working great. It did kind of pain me to toss a good battery because of the bad connection.[/quote']All you needed to do was put a piece of solder wire in the battery hole and thread the cable in it. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Helicoil ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimStaci Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Solder wire would work best with the battery threads as they are soft lead. Not sure how they would handle a helicoil. The threads on the battery look ok, so I'm going to replace the cable end and hopefully all will be well. Thanks for all of the help!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Bad threads in the battery is probably due to over tightening the bolt. Sometimes the reason it is overtightened is because the bolt won't clamp the cable to the battery as it should due to wear in the hole in the cable end. Take the time to read about what happened to me and how I fixed it in the links below.Interesting ABS malfunction. Battery Cable Checks & Repair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry W Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Resist any temptation to use a longer bolt when dealing with stripped threads in a battery. I did it, and poked through the captive backing and into the battery itself, causing an acid leak. That solder trick sounds good to me, I have to remember to try it if I ever strip the threads on a battery again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PontiacDude210 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I've changed terminals with heavy corrosion over to aftermarket ones, I like the look better. The bolts for the aftermarket ones are a tad longer and plated as well. I understand not wanting to bottom the bolt out, and I hate seeing a nice car with 2 inches of extra bolt hanging off the battery, but some of the later GM cars I've seen barely have any thread on the original battery bolt. I wish I knew about the solder trick before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimStaci Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 Bad threads in the battery is probably due to over tightening the bolt. Sometimes the reason it is overtightened is because the bolt won't clamp the cable to the battery as it should due to wear in the hole in the cable end. Take the time to read about what happened to me and how I fixed it in the links below.Interesting ABS malfunction. Battery Cable Checks & RepairThat's some good reading! Thanks Ronnie. Just goes to show what all can happen with one little loose or corroded connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol' yeller Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I tried the solder repair and it worked for about a month. That's when I decided to toss the battery and fix it once and for all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WEB 38 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I tried the solder repair and it worked for about a month. That's when I decided to toss the battery and fix it once and for all.Mine has been in for over a year. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol' yeller Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Bill, I guess mine must have been a lot worse than yours. Glad you were able to fix it cheaply!Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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