87 5000CS Avant battery cable splice

[Steve Sears]

Louis-Alain is correct - here are a couple pictures taken of the battery 
cable and splice when I replaced it with #0 gauge welding wire:
Splice - rubber-clad section on the left goes into the engine compartment 
and alternator
http://gallery.quattroworld.com/d/9153-1/Img_4661_1.jpg
Wire - note the heat damage to the wire within a foot of the splice
http://gallery.quattroworld.com/d/9157-1/Img_4660_1.jpg
After the wire was replaced from the battery to the alternator, I had a 
solid 14 volts at the battery.
Cheers!
Steve Sears
2001 Audi allroad MT6
1987 Audi 5kTQ (sold)
1980 Audi 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes
193-something DKW F? Projekt (on the back burner)

----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <laraa at sympatico.ca>
> To: "'Stephen Sherman'" <spsherm at msn.com>, "'Cody Forbes'"
> <cody at 5000tq.com>
> Cc: quattro at audifans.com
> Subject: RE: 87 5000CS Avant battery cable splice
> Message-ID: <BLU0-SMTP12A129E4111164A168382CCEBF0 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Beware folks, bad connection is not always visible to the eye. I don't 
> know for that big cable, but we had a problem on a smaller wire going to 
> the ECU in a Saab (bad grounds to the O2 sensors, according to the trouble 
> code).
> The solution proposed by the Saab TSB was to cut the slice and replace it 
> with a length of wire welded and shrink-wrapped. When we reached the 
> splice, it was looking absolutely perfect : shiny stainless steel tube 
> crimped over the ends of 2 copper wires, no corrosion, nothing visible. We 
> nonetheless did what the TSB said, and bingo, no more codes.
>
> Louis-Alain
>
>
>
>
> -----Message d'origine-----
>
>
> Regardless, I did cut the heat shrink off the splice, and it looks
> perfect. No signs of corrosion, all the metal is bright and clean, looks
> new. No mechanical play in the wires to coupler either.
>
> I am just curious, did others split that big crimp connector and find
> corrosion even when things looked great on its outside? Hate to pull
> that apart for no reason.
>