Bad Terminal Symptoms
Headlights intensity lower when rear defroster is used or when ABS activates. Lights are dimming in dash pod when electrical system is stressed. ECC unit lights flashes after car is started in freezing condition. Starter motor turns normally and alternator is charging well.
Bad Terminal Cause
B+ terminal has become resistive under main fuse box.
There is a voltage drop of .5 volt or more between the battery B+ terminal and main fuse box. This is measured under load, blower fan to maximum, rear defroster on, heated seats on with engine idling.
1- Main fuse box under hood
2- Cable feed from battery to main fuse box
3- Cable terminal under fuse box cover
4- Lost of .5 Volt. All the vehicle electrical current goes through this terminal (except for main starter feed).
5- Under hood undress for repair
6- It shows the overheated terminal at main fuse box. It is resistive and heats under load
7- Terminal end cleaned up with flux paste and soldered instead of being only crimped. Heat shrink installed to improve insulation
8- Drilling location for an additional cable to improve robustness
9- 6 AWG cable (fine wires) with grommet
10- Repair is ongoing
11- Crimped & soldered terminal for the main fuse box
12- Installed cable to reinforce the original circuit
13- Protective tubing under the air-box filter
14- Engine compartment back to normal
15- New reading of 50 milivolts with the same load as before
16- Heat test under load. The connexion is cold.
17- Drill bit of 7/16 ” for the hole
18- Terminals
19- Crimping tool for terminals / borrowed to a friend
20- The other half who is claiming her vehicle back. Note the sparkling eyes of car and owner
which indicates an electrical system in shape.
You would need about 42″ of 6 AWG cable of good quality (fine wires). A good alternative will be 4X lengths of 14 gauge (fine wires). You will gain in flexibility during the installation in the fuse box. There is very little space.
Terminals;
Napa 784581, 1 X but sold in 10 units per box. Around 4$
Standard BP 303, 1 X for .75 cents
You can find equivalent terminals locally at your AutoParts
The original wiring is an integral part of the car harness , it is hard to remove for repair. The wiring length isn’t sufficient to support the installation of new terminals.
I have decided to repair the existing one and add reinforcement. It costs me little since I already had the cable and protective tubing. Count 2 hours of your time if you have the material and tools.
http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm
I think we would be surprised of the number of S/V70 on the road having this problem at high millage.
It is a good idea to verify if you have this voltage drop & if the terminal overheats in the main fuse box. This will give you a good indication of the wiring condition.
Since I made the repair, the overall car driveability has improved and everythings is now back to normal. Blower fan comes on strong after start up.
