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Need to replace negative battery terminal...thoughts?
Hi All,
I have a 2004 (transitional) battery cable issue. The GM odd concoction of beveled nut and crappy terminal clamp are bad on my car. The little slotted thing that tightens up has cracked and fallen off from a previous owner. So I have rigged copper strand to make the connection, but I need to replace the terminal.
Hoping to not have to replace the entire cable! There is no extra room to cut the old terminal off and replace with a standard terminal due to the length of the ground wire that goes to the chassis.
Here is a photo of the OEM cables, notice how the ground (my year only) is a "elbow" so I need a angled terminal to replace, with a little length similar to the OEM terminal. I have spent a day or two searching and cannot seem to find the correct type.
Ran in to a similar issue with my positive terminal and cable. I found it was just much easier to go order the whole new cable. Ecklers carries the A.C. Delco original equipment and I don't recall it being all that expensive. You might also have luck finding a used cable from Vettenuts. I found that you can not get this the terminal piece itself without the entire cable. Make sure you specify that it's for a 2004 battery with the TOP posts.
Ran in to a similar issue with my positive terminal and cable. I found it was just much easier to go order the whole new cable. Ecklers carries the A.C. Delco original equipment and I don't recall it being all that expensive. You might also have luck finding a used cable from Vettenuts. I found that you can not get this the terminal piece itself without the entire cable. Make sure you specify that it's for a 2004 battery with the TOP posts.
Thanks for the input. I have a oem cable on order but was really hoping to avoid changing it as it looks like a major pita to get to the connection by the starter.
Make sure it has a quality coupler. You can use this and see how it goes or use it in the interim until you decide on your final repair. I would seal up the connector and run it.
Personally, I wouldn't buy a used battery cable that's a decade and a half old. I'd repair or buy new or do something like the Saccity Big 3 kit.
Last edited by Ed Ramberger; Feb 4, 2018 at 12:28 PM.