Replacing positive battery cable?
12-05-2007, 12:53 PM
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Replacing positive battery cable? Ya so i didnt know how bad the leaking battery was. Well now the car wont start at random times and both terminals are clean and tight. However wiggling the positive a little gets the car to come back to life. So I'm guessing its ate to **** in there.
Whats the p/n for a new cable and is there any how to anywhere on replacing this? Haynes, online, etc..?
Should I let the dealer do it?
Whats the p/n for a new cable and is there any how to anywhere on replacing this? Haynes, online, etc..?
Should I let the dealer do it?
12-05-2007, 01:06 PM
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Sorry, how to..
If I'm thinking correctly its got 3 cables all tied to the one battery terminal.
Every other end is connected with a 13M nut, the fuse might be 15M.
1 - Goes to Alternator rear (Black)
1 - Goes to fuse on drivers side (Red)
1 - Goes to starter (Red)
This is obvious and logical, but make sure the battery is totally disconnected when doing this, prob common sense if your replacing battery cables but I'd just pull the neg - too.
You'll need the front jacked up a bit to do this BTW as to snake all the original cables off you'll need some room underneath to get at the clips and the plastic sheath the entire thing is wrapped in.
Also you'll need access to the starter, prob easiest to remove the starter to get the connection off, just support it when its off so its not hanging by the other smaller black wire that goes to the block.
You'll likely need an extension for the 13M socket that the 2 starter bolts use to mount it to the block.
The ALT connecting nut is 10M I think and IIRC easiest with a small 1/4 drive and a deep socket going at it from the back, but I may have used a U joint and extension. The rubber sheath is a small pain too.
Basically just unscrew all nuts, snake it out of its original location, and put the new one back in.
It'll prob be a white chalky mess and have a bunch of melted tape and plastic along with it, mine did when my battery essploded.
If I'm thinking correctly its got 3 cables all tied to the one battery terminal.
Every other end is connected with a 13M nut, the fuse might be 15M.
1 - Goes to Alternator rear (Black)
1 - Goes to fuse on drivers side (Red)
1 - Goes to starter (Red)
This is obvious and logical, but make sure the battery is totally disconnected when doing this, prob common sense if your replacing battery cables but I'd just pull the neg - too.
You'll need the front jacked up a bit to do this BTW as to snake all the original cables off you'll need some room underneath to get at the clips and the plastic sheath the entire thing is wrapped in.
Also you'll need access to the starter, prob easiest to remove the starter to get the connection off, just support it when its off so its not hanging by the other smaller black wire that goes to the block.
You'll likely need an extension for the 13M socket that the 2 starter bolts use to mount it to the block.
The ALT connecting nut is 10M I think and IIRC easiest with a small 1/4 drive and a deep socket going at it from the back, but I may have used a U joint and extension. The rubber sheath is a small pain too.
Basically just unscrew all nuts, snake it out of its original location, and put the new one back in.
It'll prob be a white chalky mess and have a bunch of melted tape and plastic along with it, mine did when my battery essploded.
Last edited by DirtyJohn; 12-05-2007 at 01:13 PM.
12-06-2007, 07:46 AM
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Those kits from Autozone won't work, I looked at em.
Our assemblies have 3 cables leading to the terminal, the ones from your typical store don't have all we need, and they're mostly in the $15~20 range.
Hell I spent a couple days searching around hardware shops for the right gauge wire and terminal assemblies that would fit that gauge wire together into one terminal.
In the end I just bought the assy from the aforementioned website and I'm glad I did.
I'd save yourself the heartache and get the one from gmparts direct.
It will be a new factory part with the nice red rubber sheath on top of the terminal screw to match the black. Just a detail, but if its just as easy and is the right part...
This is the part from AC-Delco I bought
You can also type the GM part # found here into that website and get their price for it.
positive battery cable (98-02 V8) (AC-Delco #4SX53-2) = 12157131
Our assemblies have 3 cables leading to the terminal, the ones from your typical store don't have all we need, and they're mostly in the $15~20 range.
Hell I spent a couple days searching around hardware shops for the right gauge wire and terminal assemblies that would fit that gauge wire together into one terminal.
In the end I just bought the assy from the aforementioned website and I'm glad I did.
I'd save yourself the heartache and get the one from gmparts direct.
It will be a new factory part with the nice red rubber sheath on top of the terminal screw to match the black. Just a detail, but if its just as easy and is the right part...
This is the part from AC-Delco I bought
You can also type the GM part # found here into that website and get their price for it.
positive battery cable (98-02 V8) (AC-Delco #4SX53-2) = 12157131
Last edited by DirtyJohn; 12-06-2007 at 07:52 AM.
12-06-2007, 08:20 AM
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I "rehabilitated" mine (two Delco batteries in a row
with leaking side-posts). It took me a couple of hours.
I got the plastic boot off the end and slid it back
on the cable, exposing the wimpy copper (?!?) part.
I diligently wire-brushed it with a small stainless brush
and rinsed it a few times along the way with distilled
water, then re-tinned it (once dry) with a big soldering
iron, the 150W pistol type and rosin core flux solder.
I used a little bit of plumbing paste flux (the self-tinning
kind) to get it started but didn't want too much acid
flux in the work.
I got the end-piece and the cable soldered so any
more oxidation should not bug that. There was a lot of
pitting on the copper piece but I got most of it to tin
up.
So far, so good with an Autozone gold battery and a
year or two down the road.
with leaking side-posts). It took me a couple of hours.
I got the plastic boot off the end and slid it back
on the cable, exposing the wimpy copper (?!?) part.
I diligently wire-brushed it with a small stainless brush
and rinsed it a few times along the way with distilled
water, then re-tinned it (once dry) with a big soldering
iron, the 150W pistol type and rosin core flux solder.
I used a little bit of plumbing paste flux (the self-tinning
kind) to get it started but didn't want too much acid
flux in the work.
I got the end-piece and the cable soldered so any
more oxidation should not bug that. There was a lot of
pitting on the copper piece but I got most of it to tin
up.
So far, so good with an Autozone gold battery and a
year or two down the road.
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12-06-2007, 09:34 AM
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I think replacing your stock AC-Delco stock battery should be one of the first things in the "READ ME FIRST" stickies on this site cause it seems to happen to everybody and its a Bi+ch to clean up.
