Corroded battery cable

My Port Engine Neg Battery cable is badly corroded at the lug where it attaches to the back of the starter. I pulled the cable off the starter today and noted that easily half the wire on what appears to be 1/0-2/0 cable (about 1/2" dia) is corroded away. I didn't peel back the insulation on the cable yet but it looks like I have about 6"worth of slack in the existing cable. The battery end looks pretty good, the cable is fairly flexible so I may attempt to cut back the bad area and attach a new lug. My boat neighbor has a giant crimping tool (looks like a very large lock cutter) that will allow me to crimp on a new lug. I know that over time copper loses its conductivity and my question is whether I should just replace the whole cable or can I safely re-use the cable as I suggested above. I have just replaced the battery with a new 8D with 1275CCA. Engine is a Cat 3208.

If it is marine grade cable it should be tinned. If it is, then (in theory :rolleyes: ) you should be able to cut it back and crimp on a new connector. I would look to see if there are any markings on the insulation that can help to identify the cable. If it is not marine grade then it is probably junk and will require total replacement.

It's tinned Ancor material, type III which I believe is better than type II in that's it more flexible.

Then I would cut it back and see what it looks like. If there's no green, crimp a new lug on. BTW I would also recommend a trip to the auto parts store to pick up some dielectric grease (also called tune-up grease) pack the new lug with it. Insert the cable, crimp, and use adhesive heat-shrink to seal the joint and you'll probably never have to look at it again.

BTW what's the HP on your 3208's and what gears do you have? Mine are 260 HP turbos with MG502's. Is yours original from Hatt?

Scrod,

210 HP. Actually it's 3160 just before the name change to 3208 in '74. Same engine with 502 gears and 1.97:1 ratio 1 1/2" shafts. All original with some replacement spider gears on the port engine in the trans. Pretty much bulletproof and sloooowwww too...

Yeah, mine too. I could jack mine up to 320 HP, but it would blow the gears off. I was thinking about finding a set of MG506's or 507's, to boost the HP and pitch the engines back instead of forward. Then I could lower the deck back to factory height (turbo clearance) and almost stand up in the salon. But of course, $$$ and a lot of re-engineering. Still thinking about it.

I've seen your gallery, that's a real nice looking boat. I hope mine looks that good after I get done.

thanks, I'm do to update my gallery pics to show some recent work. Take a look at this 36C on yachtworld. Great price for a diesel conversion candidate. Prices are really coming down on some of these boats, not so good for us though :(

http://yachtworld.com/core/listing/p...oat_id=1607694

When you get a new lug, make sure you get solid copper, not one of the cheap hollow copper ones. Also make sure there is as much surface area on the lug end where the bolt will press it against the starter contact as the one you're taking off has. Small or cheap end lugs just won't do for a starter.

Doug Shuman

Whaler23,

You're right, that appears to be in nice shape. Looks pretty original too. I think I'll save some of those pictures for reference. Not that I'm doing a restoration, but it's nice to see how it was done when Hatteras made it.

I'm looking forward to seeing your new pictures. Hopefully during this season I'll have some worth showing too. If I'm lucky, when I'm done the boat will still be worth what I paid for it :rolleyes: