Mil-Spec Battery Terminals 3/8 stud and 5/16 accessories
- Thread starter Berzerker76
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I ruined one doing it the wrong way with a drill.
Step drill works if you know how to pay attention. This works even better. Or just change the bolt.
- Thread starter
- #24
They are more robust than the factory clamps and allow, in theory, the easy hookup of accessories, like light bars, winches, air compressors, amplifiers, etc. using ring terminals clamped to the bolt on the battery terminal.
I like the idea of the adapter bolts since they allow an organized way of mounting both 5/16 and 3/8 ring terminals without further modification and, at least according to the marketing with the adapter bolts, by spacing the ring terminal mounts away from the post, corrosion is somewhat mitigated. I'm a little dubious about that claim but we'll see. At $10 for a pair, I don't see any downside.
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- Thread starter
- #25
Poor choice of words on my part. Nothing all that hard about screwing on an adapter bolt though. Admittedly, I can be a touch OCD at times.
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- #26
I did consider that too, but I have both 3/8 and 5/16 ring terminals for various accessories so having both options available suits me. If the fusible link was the only item of concern, I'd probably end up doing exactly as you suggest.
I attached all of my factory wires (fuseable links, starter leads, grounds) to the 5/16 bolt, and use the 3/8 bolt for my home made 2-0 3/8 lug winch wires.
Please forgive my Red ground wire, I ran out of black when I swapped to the yellow top. And the grommet... it took some custom adjustment to get this battery to work.
All of the factory terminals fit the 5/16 bolts, the factory ground wire I chopped the nasty corroded terminal off and soldered and crimped a 5/16 lug to the cable.
Since this, I have replaced the yellow top with an X2 from Batteries Plus and replaced the tired old Warn winch with a new 12k Smitty with much much heavier 2-0 leads.
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- #30
The way your winch leads are positioned, aren't you worried about shorting the lugs out on your battery hold-down bar?
Please forgive my Red ground wire, I ran out of black when I swapped to the yellow top. And the grommet... it took some custom adjustment to get this battery to work.
All of the factory terminals fit the 5/16 bolts, the factory ground wire I chopped the nasty corroded terminal off and soldered and crimped a 5/16 lug to the cable.
Since this, I have replaced the yellow top with an X2 from Batteries Plus and replaced the tired old Warn winch with a new 12k Smitty with much much heavier 2-0 leads.
I ran them in this configuration for 2 years with absolutely no issues. Since then, I have replaced the battery and upgraded to a full size 27F X2 AGM from Batteries Plus. The winch leads have no interference with the hold down bar any more. The issue I'm running into now is having to clearance the 2-0 3/8 lug to fit the military terminal with short clearance at the top of the battery. Nothing a quick file cant fix.
Good eye though!!! It was a point of contention for me, but worked out in a fashion where they never presented an issue. Even when that one time I forgot to tighten the positive leads down and let the lugs rattle loose.... never shorted out. The black box directly in front of the battery is the winch solenoid pack, probably propped up the leads more than I intended.
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- #32
Here's the finished product. I am going to reroute the excess winch leads so they no longer wrap over the battery tie down, I think they might chafe the way they are. All in all, a success. Thanks again for all your input!!
About tree fiddyAnd just how "tall" is a rat?
Adding Amazon link for anyone who'd prefer not to pay the $5 shipping
Amazon.com: WirthCo 30600 Battery Doctor Top Post Battery Bolt: Automotive
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- #35
Good call. That's where I ended up purchasing mine for that very reason.
I'll also add that the Amazon, and I believe the manufacturer, descriptions are inaccurate. They state that the coupler threads are 3/8-16 when in fact the coupler female threads and male post are both 5/16-18. I was still able to use them just not in the way I had initially intended.
What!? You're kidding. OP, your original ask was for something that would let you put the fusible link on those mil-spec terminals. You're saying that's not how it went down???
I have the mil-spec terminals from @Fourrunner and am trying to solve that exact issue
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- #37
Haha! Yeah I ended up using the clamp side for 5/16 rings/lugs and the post side for 3/8 rings/lugs. The "extender" bolts did come in handy though as you can see in my pic. FYI, my winch leads are terminated with 5/16 lugs.
I just installed mil-spec battery terminals and ran into this problem. Fusible link ring is too small for the 3/8 bolt. I currently have it hooked up to the thinner bolt but the mating surface isn't completely flat and the fusible link wires don't have any slack left due to being mounted further in.
What do you guys think of using an "extender" made up of 2 to 3 inches of 1/0 welding cable with 3/8 lugs on both ends? One end to hook up to the 3/8 bolt on the terminal and the other hooked up to the fusible link with a nut and bolt and then taped up to prevent accidentally shorting to ground. Would this be okay?
What do you guys think of using an "extender" made up of 2 to 3 inches of 1/0 welding cable with 3/8 lugs on both ends? One end to hook up to the 3/8 bolt on the terminal and the other hooked up to the fusible link with a nut and bolt and then taped up to prevent accidentally shorting to ground. Would this be okay?
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Kinda hokey. Better to get yourself an 8mm bolt to replace the 3/8" bolt.
I should point out that it is NOT good practice to use the post-clamp bolts for your electrical connections.