I had previously determined via the voltage drop test that my positive battery cable needed to be replaced: the volt-drop test showed 13.92 at the alternator at idle, and 12.89 at the battery, a loss of just over 1 volt; the battery terminal was hot. By probing various points in between the alternator and the battery post, I was able to determine that almost 100% of the voltage drop was at the crimp connection of the starter cable to the battery terminal itself. ( I did this by gnawing a small hole in the insulator that covers the cable/terminal connection using an exacto knife, and then probing through the hole.)
Armed with the replacement cable from fcpgroton, fully discussed in https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=47706, I headed out to the garage.
I have big hands, so I removed the battery, the fan, the turbo air duct, and the ram air inlet pipe. This gave me good access to the starter and the wire loom that leads between the battery and the starter. I snaked the replacement cable through the maze, and began to position it before securing it with zip ties.
But as I did so, I felt a growing sense of dissatisfaction with the solution. I didn't like snaking yet another bulky cable through an area already crowded with the original cable harness, the lower rad hose, the transmission dipstick, the transmission cooler lines and the pnp switch. I also didn't like the idea of leaving the old terminals hanging at each end, or cutting them off and leaving an otherwise perfectly good cable there. I also, for some reason, I always really liked volvo's battery clamps with the bolt coming from the top, much more than the replacement with the angled bolt. (Yes, I totally realize that these last two reasons are nothing more than fashion statements...Shallow, I know.)
Recognizing a nothing-to-lose situation, I decided to see if I could fix the attachment of the battery clamp to the cable.
I started by removing the remainder of the rubber insulation that covers the attachment of the starter cable to the battery clamp. Scissors worked well for this. This left about 1/2" of exposed copper between the battery clamp and the cable's red plastic insulation.
Turning the clamp upside down, and holding it in small vise grips which where in turn held in a small vise to free up hands, I applied paste solder flux to the exposed cable and to the inside of the terminal. I then heated the terminal with a small butane torch until the flux boiled off and began to smoke. I continued heating until the terminal was hot enough to melt solder, at which point I applied more flux, because the solder was not sticking to either the terminal or the cable. More heat, applied now to both the cable and the terminal, and the solder began to wick into both the cable strands and the cavities in the terminal as well. I tried to maintain that temperature on the joint, while I kept feeding solder into it, feeding and feeding, until it was pretty much full. I was using a rather fine strand of rosin core solder that I use for electronics, so it felt like I was shoving a lot in. I learned to stop once the terminal is full, because otherwise the strands of copper in the cable wick the solder into the cable making it very stiff and hard to straighten.
- The setup.
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- The resulting joint.
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I wrapped the junction in disco red electrical tape to match the color of the cable, and reassembled everything.
- Reassembled.
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It remains to be seen if this is a lasting fix. If not, my replacement cable is in my parts box standing by. In the meantime, here is a pic of the tools and materials I used, in case it helps anyone else who wants to give it a try. I imagine that many different kinds of flux and solder, and colors of tape will work.
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