Hi Mike

I have used those terminal ends and want to give you my experience with batteries

Those bolt on terminal ends will work for a short while, and are easy to replace with a minimum of tools, but keep a close eye on them for future corrosion

They seem to corrode very easily at the spot where the wire was stripped back and inserted into the battery terminal, for some reason

I was surprised some kind of anti corrosion compound was not applied to the stripped wire ends

Now you have to be careful about what kind of anti corrosion compound you use as you need to have the full current available from the battery post to your starter. Checking your starter terminals is not an easy job and best if you ask that part to be cleaned etc when servicing your vechicle, if you have an older vechicle This does not have to be done every time you service , just ask to keep an eye on your starter cables/wires

Not all anti corrosion compounds are alike as they are designed for different applications

If you have your wires already attached, just lift the hood occasionally and look for signs of corrosion which will be visible to the naked eye

If you see corrosion, then replace with a new set of terminal ends, as trying to clean the old set is an exercise in futility. You will repeat that cleaning often, so just throw them away and start over, with a new set.

Battery terminals are one place that is often overlooked. A quick check is mandatory on older vechicles and any sign of corrosion needs to be addressed immediately as it will only get worse, until some thing fails and then you have a really big problem, if you are miles from home, and can't walk to the nearest NAPA store to buy the required tools and terminal ends.

Another thing you should check is the top of the battery. On the farm, dirt etc will collect on top of the battery and any moisture with foreign material is an excellent conduit to drain a battery dead. A dry battery and enclosure, corrosion free, is just good practice to ensure trouble free starting of your vechicle

The fact the old wires had electrical tape should have been a dead give away that somebody had tried to save the old wire terminals, probably with a quick wire brush job and then cover up, hoping to stop the corrosion

That never works, just a cover up for what should have been a proper fix, much earlier. Imagine being at the shopping mall and your ignition just goes click

What I do is buy the terminal ends that you stuff the stripped wire into an enclosed round holder around the end of the wires and then fill with oxy-acetylene welder rod using the oxy-acetylene torch to heat the  rod compound to melting temp and then let it fill the holder. However, I realize I probably have access to tools and welding equipment that most people don't have

Your fix will work so long as you keep a close eye on any future corrosion and you will be just fine

Just grab the wire terminal and try to move it. If it wiggles then look for a lose fit. Fix immediately, not next week as that will become next month and your wife will be calling you because all she can get from the ignition is a click some 20 miles from where you are.

This rarely if ever happens in your garage or drive way, at home

 Then you have a problem

Thanks Wayne, it looks like I may only need to replace one of them.

https://www.remybattery.com/cable-connectors-accessories/connectors-lugs-and-terminals/compression-lug-and-terminal-connectors.html

Yes:

Those are the kind of battery terminals we use

As you can imagine, 4 batteries takes a considerable larger cable than a car cable. The open end is where we stuff the bare cable in and then fill with melted compound [an oxy-acetylene rod usually works] so long as the compound is suitable for the purpose and corrosion hardly ever is a problem, for a number of yrs.

We can order from your side of the border but the cost savings has to be considerable as we have to have it delivered to a courier service that is familiar with cross border papers that customs wants, and then drive to Detroit to pick up the pkg in person and then bring back home

We have ordered a lot of machinery parts, from your side of the border, as the price is enough to make it worth while. Most couriers have a tracking system so we know when it arrives in Detroit

Most parts with computer attachments and screen display in picture and numbers, which we locate inside the cab has to come from the manufacturer as nobody has very much that is standard other than a lap top

We traded our combine but bought the same manufacturer so we were able to make the switch as it was mostly the same display and electrical hook up, as our older trade in.