Anyone tell me what THIS is?

[drifter sx]

its corroding like crazy and giving me headaches. hard to get new ones when i dont know what they are. two electrical connections, from the wiring harness, connected to the positive battery terminal cable, thru the terminal. if this isnt clear ill get another photo tonight. anyone?

http://img517.imageshack.us/my...1.jpg

just in case that didnt work:

[SullivanRacing06]

there should be two high amp fuses in that connector, sort of sure prtectors for your main fuse box, urs messed up? u can get extras from a junk yard if u need extras

[the converted]

Pour some coke over it (yes the soda) and it will kill the oxidation. Then go to auto zone and get battery terminal pads. They are red and green and will keep the corrosion from coming back.

[LeroyBrown]

Pour some coke over it (yes the soda) and it will kill the oxidation. Then go to auto zone and get battery terminal pads. They are red and green and will keep the corrosion from coming back.

if its acidic corrosion dont use soda. use baking soda and water.

[SullivanRacing06]

bump

[drifter sx]

i already cleaned off the corrosion, that pic was taken before i started the process. the corrosion is pretty bad on that contact, hardly on the battery terminal itself. thats why i inspected those connections and they're rotten to the core.

so they're surge protectors eh? they're not exactly messed up.. but they're corroded beyond belief and im about to replace the battery, may as well replace them while im at it.

but i wanted to know what they're for before i go cutting things off. man i already know these wont be easy to find new.. guess junkyards are my best bet unless someone has a front clip laying aruond they're not using?? thanks for the info fellas, any more is still appreciated

[SullivanRacing06]

i know all the local junk yards have s13 in them, next time i go for parts ill see if ne of the 13s have these connections in good condition, ok?

[drifter sx]

sounds good man.. let me know what you find and if you could post pics of their condition, i'll buy 'em off ya. thanks again

[Hijacker]

Clean it off and put some di-electric grease in the connector.

They are not surge protectors, they are the main feed lines for the car's electrical systems. One goes to the EFI system, the other goes to the chassis system. They are fused in line via the fuse box.

[drifter sx]

they're hardly worth cleaning man, i'll take better pics tonight and post 'em. you'll see what i mean. for the trouble id go thru to clean them, i may as well replace them

[drifter sx]

a dead issue by now but just to show what im talkin about. please excuse the crappy quality but it was pitch black out and raining and i tried to get as close to show without bleaching everything with the flash. i should probably do this in daylight

anyway.. see all the orange crusty crap? its caked in there and theres barely space for the connecting prongs to slide in to the copper slots, its covered on all sides.

[ShootToKill]

well one goes to your starter/ starter relay, and the other is the alt. charging wire. the route is not that direct, throw a few relays in between the two and you got it. i know the one with the thicker wire is your charging wire from the alt.

[drifter sx]

bit of an update. the folks at the parts department at a local nissan dealership says these are better known as fusable links (male/female).

the female link is attached to the positive battery cable, and sold together apparently , which runs down to the starter. the male links are the ends of a 10" cable [roughly] that leads from the positive terminal down to beneath the fuse box.. then ties into the wire harness.

guy at the desk tells me 'there are severeal ifferent types, configured a bit differently. which type you need depends on your VIN.'

so here are the prices i was quoted:

1. positive battery cable with female fusable link: $180 - $200

2. 10" male fusable link cable to fuse box: ~$30

i'll see what i can find by way of used parts or junk yards. just thought id post the info in case anyone else got stuck with this problem.

[Zyphar]

I'm having similar corrosion issues on my connector next to the positive battery terminal. No way could that cable and connector cost ~$200

Their should be a cheaper alternative.

[JayArr]

What you have to worry about is how far up the wire the corrosion has run. Once corrosion starts at a connector like that it will continue to creep up the wire inside. To repair you'll need to cut the wires and when you do inspect them carefully, if there is any corrosion where you cut you need to move back a few inches and cut again. Keep moving back until you get what looks like brand new wire. If the wire doesn't look shiny and new it will be an absolute ***** to try to solder, solder sticks really well to copper but not at all to oxidation.

I don't reccoment you spend hundreds of dollars at Nissan. Your loacl parts store should sell pattery terminal posts with extra wing nut connection points on them. You'll need to buy some end connectors and some wire and just replace the damaged section of harness. If you can solder you should be able to fix this up for $20-$30.

Look here:

http://www.jcwhitney.com/Batte...1.jcw

See the DEKA marine battery terminals? Get a pair of those from your local auto shop. You'll also need some new wire and some end lugs. You'll need a really heavy duty soldering iron or a mini torch to put the end lug on the wire properly. Crimping won't be good enough for very long at this size.

Get a couple of regular fuse holders like this:( you cut the loop to make them inline)

http://www.circuitprotection.c...X38mm.

There is a trick to soldering the end lugs to avoid having it look like a dogs breakfast. First clamp the end lug in a vise, cup facing up, and heat it up and fill it halfway with solder, then heat the end of the wire and melt some solder onto it so that it gets absorbed into the wire and 'tins' it. then while it's still hot heat the lug again until the solder in it gets liquid and then back to the wire for just a second or two to 'wet it again then place the wire into the lug apply some heat so it all melts together and then hold the wire steady while it all cools.

HTH

JayArr

[drifter sx]

here's an update: [for anyone that's interested]

its been a few months but the situation has finally been fixed. here's how it happened:

after an exausting search of many junk yards i finally found one with a 240sx that had a front end intact. it also had these fusible links. i cut 'em out and took them both home for $35.

once i got to the car i cleaned it all up and prepared for the splice. cut off the old crappy fusible link [female off the + batt terminal] and cleaned the male links. i recharged the battery and went to Lowes.

picked up 12" x 1/4in. copper tubing, a new bolt/nut for the fusible link, thicker electrical tape, and a pack of di-electric grease. total cost was $11

back to the car, i cut a 2" piece of copper tube and stuffed the cables into it. took a bit of 'finessing' but i finally got it all in there. crimped it tight and taped it all up. connected the male links to the new female link and hooked up the battery.

the car started right up without skipping a beat. so there it is folks, the verdict on a situation like this is just to get stuff from the junkyard. the dealership price of $200 is absolutely absurd. for a total of $46 and 90 minutes of effort im satisfied with the results and at least the car is running again.

didnt take any photos but honestly it was pretty straight forward

[backseat240]

on one f the shells i bought those to connectors were cut off so i just ran the exposed wires underneath the battery connector and in between the post... this doesnt serve a problem does it?