Last week, I disconnected the negative connection on my battery because I needed to play around with one of the airbags. Anyways, I have been having trouble with the connection since then. It seems that no matter how tight I screw on the screw that holds the negative connector onto the battery, it is not holding it on securely. About twice a day now, when I go to start my MINI, I get nothing, so I get out, and go wiggle the connector so I can start the car. That is all it takes - just a little wiggle. Does anyone know what I am doing wrong when connecting the battery back up? I will try and get a picture tommorow.

 

did you try taping the connector all the way down?
if is not all the way down it will wiggle itself loose.

if that doesn't help you can try getting a new connector from the auto store!

 

hey there! i suggest you unplug it again and clean the contacts
real well both the battery side and the terminal side. Then get some
switch lube and put some on the post (battery side). should work.

As far as cleaners go, I usually use RC car motor spray, but you can
use some brake cleaner on a paper towel (just squirt a little bit) or
some alcohol, or even some simplegreen.

you don't need to tighten down that 10mm nut all that much. I use
a tiny 1/4" ratchet and just tighten it snug, not cranking it.

 

The next step is to use a hose clamp over the split end. I use one on my positive terminal and it can be tightened much more than the rinky-dink stock fastener.

 

Thanks for the responses, guys!


I am going try cleaning it first to see if that helps...if not I will give the hose clamp idea a shot .

 

Make sure to loosen the bolt quite a bit first, then press the terminal down firmly while twisting it back and forth; the terminal and the battery post are tapered. If the terminal is resting too high on the post, you wont have enough 'squeeze' left to make a tight connection. The post should extend slightly above the terminal, if it's recessed, it's not on far enough.