Positive Battery Cable Problems?

[civic2odyssey]

I have a 2005 Odeyssy EX and just needed to replace the positive battery cable and one of my co-workers had the same problem last week. Lot of corrosion on the terminal and when I went to clean the terminal it broke into 2 pieces. This seems like a poor design or faulty system that would cause such corrosion in just 52K miles. Both vans are 2005 and within 5K miles of each other. Have others experienced similar problems? When it happens it can leave you stranded since the car cannot operate without the battery connected. Not like the cars before electronics and computers where you could get the car started and drive without a battery as long as you didn't use lights and accessories. My co-worker needed to have the van towed to the "stealership" and had a new battery and a positive cable installed. Cost without towing was over $500.....WOW!
I cleaned things up and removed the old connection and replaced with a standard battery cable connector I bought at WalMart for under $2 and it worked great. Connector should last much longer than the OEM thin stamped metal connector. Keep and eye on the corrosion under the red terminal cap and be ready with replacement or your stealership might get you too.

[RobertA]

We are having this same problem with our 2006 Odyssey. Started around 35,000 miles. At first I thought it was the battery and replaced it when the warranty expired. However, it started happening with the new battery a week later. After seeing the corrosion on the Positive Battery cable, I figured it out....it's not the battery, it's the cable & constant corrosion that is the problem.

So when the Van won't start (happens 1x or 2x per month now), each time I simply wiggle the Positive Battery cable on the terminal, and it works again. I'm not sure what is the cause of the problem, other than a bad cable design...but if anyone has a permanent do it yourself fix, I'd like to know.

I took it to the dealership once when it was still under 3yr/36K miles, and they said it's the owner's responsibility to bring the Van in 1x per year and have a battery cable cleaning service done, which is routine maintenance. I've never had to do that on any of my previous autos and it just sounded like bunk to me.

[HandA]

no need to pay for a 'cleaning service' just scrub the area down with a baking powder paste. ( wear safety glasses and gloves )

Then use something like those little felt pads under the connector or something like dielectric grease over the connector


-Trevor

[elizabeth48]

I think a bad solenoid can also cause starter problems. The solenoid acts like a relay to route power directly to the starter from the battery. It may be mounted on the starter or located elsewhere in the engine compartment, and is usually connected to the positive battery cable. Corrosion, poor ground at the solenoid mount or poor battery cable connections will prevent the solenoid from doing its job.