On the positive battery cable is a small lead that goes to the junction box on
the passenger side inner fenderwell. About 1 1/2 years ago my car lost all power and I find this small wire looks like it had the battery dropped on it. I spliced in a new, slightly larger guage wire in and all was good, until 3 days ago. While getting off the expressway at a traffic light the car died, no electrical power. I pushed the car out of traffic and found the splice done previously had gotten hot and looked burned.

Cliff notes: Total loss of electrical power, small lead from positive cable at fault. Did the crimp on butt connector and slightly larger guage wire to the junction box cause the recent failure ? Some other electrical draw/problem I need to look for ?

Thanks.

 

I never use crimps if I don't have to. They aren't what's referred to as "gas tight". They allow corrosive elements to the connection and over time degrade it. As probably happened in your case. The joint corrodes and it gets more and more resistance.

Use heat shrink tubing and solder for the best connection possible. You can even get heat shrink tubing with sealant in it too.

 

thanks for the reply, I'll keep an eye on it and should maybe invest in a soldering gun. I have been known to seal up the ends of a crimp on connector
with some black high temp sealer too. Its probably time I fixed this stuff the right way.