[odyowner04]

Auto Gurus,

I changed my battery last week and I started having starting issues. Found out that the positive connection was very corroded and the battery installer told me to get a new one because that conneciton has some play and was moving. Are there any good step by step with some photos to change the positive cables in a 2004 Odyssey? I am planning on buying a Honda cable (dealer seems to be too expensive ($90), may be online.

How difficult is this job and how long does it take?

 

[rberman999]

odyowner04,

If you are so inclined to follow what I'm about to outline you can have what I've found to be a permanent fix (until the positive terminal breaks?). I had a small piece of lead flashing which I used a ball peen hammer to flatten out to a very thin sheet of lead. I used scissors to cut a strip the height if the positive terminal and I wrapped it around the terminal and then installed the positive clamp. This approach work great for me, still using it and I did this 4 years ago. This works simply because the positive terminal is lead, the flashing is lead and since lead is soft the material virtually melds together into one. Please note that the positive cable end needs to be strong enough to clamp the "thicker" terminal tightly, if it won't then this approach would not work.

To change the plus terminal / battery cable on the Odyssey you will likely need to remove the cable down at the starter. That can range from easy to fairly difficult depending on how accessible the starter is. The cable could go to a solenoid or terminal block but that would make for a short cable which should not cost $90.00.

Either way lots of luck, Russ.

 

[odyowner04]

i like this idea a lot. where do you find lead which can be made as a sheet? i have some soldering leads but those are not big enough to be made as a sheet.

 

[gregersonke]

I bought a new positve terminal piece. Cut,respliced the wire and installed. There is enough slack in the line to do this and you usually only need to do this once in the ownership of the vehicle.

 

[rberman999]

odyowner04,

I was able to pick up a piece for free from a local lumber yard, I told them I only needed a very small piece, I used a piece that was ~ 1" X 3" and they had a small piece laying around. Russ

 

[nwf_snake]

I had a similar problem and replaced the entire cable with one from Honda. It started corroding again almost immediately, even with liberal grease and some battery terminal protectors installed. Had to clean it every couple months. The battery finally failed, and I have not had the problem with the new battery. I think the post itself was outgassing and causing the corrosion on the old battery. Just a guess though...

 

[sontakke]

You can buy the lead "hats" for the battery post terminal in Advance Auto / Auto Zone type stores.

However, what I have found work the best is to bend a penny (or two) and jam that between the cable clamp and the battery post.

At least for me, penny worked better than the lead "hats" and that is what my van has for last couple of years.

- Vikas

 

[odyowner04]

I am going to try the penny idea first. Loosen the clamp and tighten it with penny in place. If that doesn't pan out, then I am going to get that clamp and re-splice the wire.

 

[sontakke]

Bend the penny first. I used C-clamp and a plier because I did not have a vice clamp.

 

[William Wiles]

Any time you are getting corrosion on the battery terminals it is time to replace the battery. 99+% of the time the corrosion is off gasing from the battery.

 

[odyowner04]

on second thoughts, using penny may not be good for long time corrosions with lead-copper interface. so, i am going to buy a terminal connector and replace that.

 

[odyowner04]

I changed my positive battery terminal connector today.

I bought an Everstart terminal from Walmart. The problem was with that ground connector which has an eye lug soldered to the wire which connects to the terminal bolt itself. The brass bolt was too big. So, I went to Home Depot and bought a Zinc bolt (they didn't have brass) - 1/4" x 2" so that I can re-use the original lug from the ground cable.

I am worried about corrosion in this zinc bolt so I sprayed the terminals with the battery saver spray.

Some before and after pictures are here.

Before

Almost there!

Finished!

 

[wormguy]

Very nice job!

 

[gregersonke]

Awesome job!!!

 

[sontakke]

How did you remove the old connector? Did you cut the wire or "unwrap" old clamp? Which tools did you use to do either?

 

[Mom'sTaxi]

I tried a universal replacement clamp from the parts store, but it didn't fit very well. A new Honda cable assembly was only $33 and simple to install.

I've been using "Noco NCP-2" spray for years and it, along with the felt washers, helps prevent corrosion. It seems every Honda I work on has problems with the + connection corroding.

Also remember to pop the caps off your "maintenance free" battery and top off with distilled water.

 

[nmpatel]

OEM Honda Positive Battery Terminal is made of copper. if the terminal clamp doen't hold the battery terminal tight, you can add extra copper ring around the lead battery terminal and then tighten the clamp. You can find the copper ring in Home Depot /Lowes in plumbing section. They use this copper rings for PEX tube plumbing.

Best way to stop corrosion on the + battery terminal, is to remove any existing sulfuric acid and hydrogen crystals (White Powder stuff) build around the terminal. It has to be ABSOLUTELY clean so that it won't form again. Disconnect the Battery terminal wire and soak it in the glass of water concentrated with Baking soda. you will see the chemical reaction and copper terminal will look really clean and brand new. You may have to scrape it with the wire brush and soak it multiple time until the wire terminal is clean. ( DON't use baking soda water on battery terminal. Use sand paper or wire brush to clean it). Install the clamp. In my case, I did not apply any grease and terminal stayed clean since 4 years I have done this. Stiil look clean.

Hope this helps fellow Hond Odyssey drivers.

 

[Zilla]

I have both (mechanical and electrical) official service manuals for the 1999-2002 Ody. What section contains instructions on how to replace the positive battery cable? I did look to no avail.

 

[John Clark]

If you need instructions to replace a battery cable then you probably shouldn't be changing it. The positive battery cable usually oes to one place only. The starter. There will be some other connectors on the terminal at the battery and those will usually go to the fuse box. I'd recommend sticking with the OEM cables as they have all the proper connections for all the other wires at the battery terminal.

 

[Zilla]

If you need instructions to replace a battery cable then you probably shouldn't be changing it. The positive battery cable usually oes to one place only. The starter. There will be some other connectors on the terminal at the battery and those will usually go to the fuse box. I'd recommend sticking with the OEM cables as they have all the proper connections for all the other wires at the battery terminal.

LOL, true that! I've done more complex mechanical work, and am an electrical engineer to boot. However, some "simple" jobs sometimes fool us so I'm just double-checking. Shouldn't the cable go to the solenoid first before it goes to the starter? The solenoid (an inductor) protects the starter from current spikes correct?