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78 battery connection

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Old Sep 10, 2005 | 10:57 PM
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geoc
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From: Henderson Ky
Default 78 battery connection

On my 78 about every 2 weeks my car wont start until I tighten the positive side of the battery cable just as tight as I can get it. I've checked the connections and the're clean. Would it help to spray something like WD-40 on the connections?
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Old Sep 10, 2005 | 11:01 PM
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From: Austin Texas
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Take the positive cable bolt out and clean or replace it. Also clean the inside of the cable where the bolt sits.
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Old Sep 11, 2005 | 12:24 AM
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Originally Posted by big_G
Take the positive cable bolt out and clean or replace it. Also clean the inside of the cable where the bolt sits.

Use a light coat of vaseline or wheel bearing grease to coat the bolt and the connectors after you clean them to retard further oxidation.
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Old Sep 11, 2005 | 12:04 PM
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in addition to all of the above, i always carry a 5/15" box wrench, just so i can tighten those side posts. a few years ago, I participated in the 25th anniversary parade of the local corvette club, I am not a member, but the parade was open to all vettes. a lady drove from some 25 miles to be in the parade, and when it time was to line up, her vette was dead. everyone scrambled all over her car for 5-10 minutes, hood up, not really doing a darn thing. I went back to my car , grabbed my wrench, asked the guy to get out of the drivers seat, flipped up the compartment door, 1/4 turn on each post, flipped the key over and her vette fired right up. guy asked me how I knew it was the battery, I said the courtesy light wasn't on when he was sitting in the seat with the door open.
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Old Sep 11, 2005 | 12:22 PM
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From: Montreal Qc.
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Originally Posted by geoc
On my 78 about every 2 weeks my car wont start until I tighten the positive side of the battery cable just as tight as I can get it. I've checked the connections and the're clean. Would it help to spray something like WD-40 on the connections?
Happened to me last spring, I cut the terminal off, stripped 3/4" of the wire and put on a generic 3 dollar side-terminal-cable-end. Now I only have to clean and tighten it every 4 months instead of every week.
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