Negative battery post hook-up

[al's28/33]

Installing a new battery I just realized how close the cable-to-battery hookup end is to the battery hold down frame. Any of you guys have something in between to prevent shorts ????

But since the battery hold down frame is powder coated, that should be protection enough, no ??

[davehc]

How about turning the cable hookup over , putting the nut on the other side , you would gain at least another 1/4" clearance . Just a thought .

[Benson]

Al,

Most battery terminals are tapered. So if you remove the clamp from the battery, tighten the bolt a little, this will reduce the inside size of the clamp so that it will "ride" higher on the battery terminal and increase the clearance.

The clamp only needs to be LEVEL with the top of battery terminal.


If bolt is too close to the brake rod, some clamps are designed so that the bolt can be removed and installed from the other side to increase clearance.

[Mitch//pa]

Al, i hear what your saying and thought the same thing. even though the cable end can be raised a little it was still to close for comfort. i cut a tire tube and made a hole in the middle to go over the post. the rubber overhangs the battery holder and gives me piece of mind. i use a main cut off also but the last thing you want is it to ground out.

[Joe K]

Plastic coffee can lid with a hole cut in it (to pass the terminal) and then put underneath the cable clamp?

Not very dressy but would work.

The bolt in the clamp reverses I think.

Joe K

[Fred]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

I ground down the big round end to the size of the cable, put several layers of heat shrink wrap on it & works for me.. Plus you can`t even see it from under the car..

[JTW]

You can buy red and black plastic covers that cover the whole clamp/terminal, and prevent shorts. They side up the cable and out of the way when not in use.

[Boston Bruce]

I wrap the clamp that is close to the bracket with a few wraps of electrical tape.

[SDJason]

Originally Posted by Boston Bruce

I wrap the clamp that is close to the bracket with a few wraps of electrical tape.

That's what I did when I had the same observation as in the OP.
The peace of mind is worth it.

[Tom Endy]

I cut part of the hold down frame away directly under the cable. Another feature I added was to drill a hole at the top of each frame hold down stud. I replaced the nuts with castle nuts and inserted a cotter pin in each stud.

years ago while on a tour one of the regular nuts backed off and fell off. The frame shorted against the battery lead and created some tense moments when it caused a lot of smoke and burned a hole in the battery. The regular nuts can easily come loose because they cannot be securely tightened as it could do damage to the battery case.

Tom Endy

[Purdy Swoft]

The simple fix is the original style corner clamps that was used from May 1929 untill end of production. These corner clamps are fairly heavy pressed steel and work great. This part is pictured on page 33 of the newest Brattons catalog, part# 6870 $3.90 per pair. This is a less expensive way to go, works better and should appeal even to the purists because it is original. I have used this style clamps on the last two that I've done with good results.

[jmeckel]

Part ofthequedtion was does the powder coating protect from a short. The answer is no it does not. It will rub off fast. Electrical tape may work however it is soft and if any thing gets a little loose it will wear through fast. I would use something that is harder, like a peice of plastic as stated in the other posts. If this is not a high point car I would also remove part of the metal brace as others have stated. Anything to keep it from shorting out.

[Joe K]

Originally Posted by Purdy Swoft

The simple fix is the original style corner clamps that was used from May 1929 untill end of production. These corner clamps are fairly heavy pressed steel and work great. This part is pictured on page 33 of the newest Brattons catalog, part# 6870 $3.90 per pair. This is a less expensive way to go, works better and should appeal even to the purists because it is original. I have used this style clamps on the last two that I've done with good results.

I like Purdy's idea of using the later clamps - but one has to remember that the aftermarket batteries sold for the Model A are frequently "group 1 case" which is a size slightly smaller than the original Model A battery case.

The popularity of the frame style clamp is at least in part a compensation for this difference in size.

Now if one could somehow "encase" the group 1 battery in a wood or plastic box and effectively make it the same size as the Model A OEM battery, then both the frame retainer AND Purdy's clamp style have a better chance of working.

Heh. I have several layers of common corrugated cardboard folded around the battery corner where it meets the battery holder to keep it from shucking around.

But I pine for a home-made wooden box suitably thin with the "Ford Oval" stenciled on the side similar to Model T battery boxes. Alas for time.

Joe K

[Michael M]

Something like this....

[al's28/33]

All good ideas boys! I am going to wrap the end of the cable with electrical tape AND glue down a scrap strip of rubber floor mat over that corner of the hold down frame using super duper industrial grade double sided sticky tape! I check things every so often so if anything starts wearing or shifting I'll catch it, but this seems good prevention from an obvious fire danger.

[Purdy Swoft]

Originally Posted by Joe K

I like Purdy's idea of using the later clamps - but one has to remember that the aftermarket batteries sold for the Model A are frequently "group 1 case" which is a size slightly smaller than the original Model A battery case.

The popularity of the frame style clamp is at least in part a compensation for this difference in size.

Now if one could somehow "encase" the group 1 battery in a wood or plastic box and effectively make it the same size as the Model A OEM battery, then both the frame retainer AND Purdy's clamp style have a better chance of working.

Heh. I have several layers of common corrugated cardboard folded around the battery corner where it meets the battery holder to keep it from shucking around.

But I pine for a home-made wooden box suitably thin with the "Ford Oval" stenciled on the side similar to Model T battery boxes. Alas for time.

Joe K

Joe,
Actually the original style corner clamps worked good with the six volt battery that I got at Advance Auto Parts. The 12 volt battery in my roadster seems to work good with them also. The long battery support studs can fairly easily be bent and slightlyangled if needed. The corner clamps hold the battery in place good for me. I bought a pair many years ago and decided not to use them.When I built up our roadster twelve volt I decided to try them because the twelve volt terminals were different from the common six volt and the corner clamps gave more clearace.

[Quigley1930]

I'm like Purdy, use the corner clamps and problem is solved. Really easy and the battery ain't going nowhere.

Sewall Tyler

[Elcastor]

I noticed the same problem you did and inserted a small piece of rubber between the cable and the battery hold down frame, and then held the rubber there with black electrical tape. Since mine was a driver it gave me much piece of mind, and has not moved since I put it there.