Bad Battery

[Speary8]

I’m not sure if what I am about to say is wholly correct but for all the Aston owners who have had battery issues here is what I have found.
My car was plugged into a friends Foxwell diags kit with my ignition on while he ran tests. After about 10 mins I got a low battery warning on the dash. My battery is only a couple of years old and when starting the car it nearly spins the engine out of the car. When I got home I thought I would check the battery terminals. These are a ring clamp type of connector with a not on the top but I can’t see how the position of the nut can tighten the clamp. Anyway I tried the negative first, it was quite tight but did move a bit. I then tried the positive, this moved and nearly popped off the post. On further investigation it looks like the post has a slight taper and the clamp can’t tighten enough. I gently tapped the clamp back down onto the taper but I reckon it will work loose again unless I figure out how to keep it tight. My thoughts are that perhaps many people have been having low battery issues due to this and not necessarily a bad battery. Perhaps it’s worth checking your battery connections on a regular basis.
Note: I cannot be held responsible if you electrocute yourself whilst checking the positive terminal.

[john ryan]

All battery posts are tapered. Loosen the clamp, push the terminal fully on, and then tighten. BTW you won't electrocute yourself on 12v, but you might get a nasty burn if you short the positive termjnal to earth.

[Riddochg]

I did that on a triumph spitfire years ago. Touched the positive terminal with a screwdriver and my wrist touched the bodywork. Still got the scar 40 years later!

[Aldhun]

I'm sure that on the cars in my younger days - late 60's onwards, the battery clamps were tapered to match the taper on the terminals. Problems only when you got the clamp upside down.

[Speary8]

Thanks for the advice