Has anyone had to replace their battery cables? It seems as though mine loosen overtime from presumably driving causing start up problems. If I tighten them back down aggressively the issue resolves for a period of time and then reoccurs again. Thank you.

 

What torque value are you tightening the terminal bolt to??

The SPEC is 11 ft/lbs.

Make sure that the plastic cable end cover is not being tightened between the cable and the battery terminal. Ive seen that happen a couple times.

BC

 

Thanks. I think my theory go shot down this morning. Yesterday was the dash was showing battery volts just under 13. Was having starting issues. Bought new batter. Cleaned terminals etc. worked fine this morning on a few starts and was reading around 14 on the dash. But just tried starting the car for a third time after it idled for a bit and starting issues came back and now I'm back to 12.9. Perhaps a short somewhere? May be time for a trip to a shop.

 

Also, your threads IN the battery itself are probably a little fubar... IT's soft metal there.
I'd try just replacing the cable side post lugs themselves first..
You can get them anywhere for under $10.. Just "unscrew" them out of the plastic
sleeves and screw the new ones in.. Then install onto the battery

 

Thank you. So you are saying that the "male" lugs that are attached to the battery cables that screw into the batter terminals unscrew out of the cable and can be replaced?

 

If you have a SHORT on the battery buss, you would expect to see SMOKE, FLAMES and the fire department!

The meters IPC analog voltmeter and the DIC Digital voltage in your cabin DO NOT show you actual BATTERY VOLTAGE!

They show you the voltage that is provided on ONE contact of the IGNITION SWITCH. If your ignition switch contacts are burnt/dirty/damaged, you will see lower voltage than is actually on the main battery buss.

You can also have a dirty, loose, damaged connection at the STARTER SOLENOID. If you actually are having unsteady and fluctuating battery buss voltages with the engine running, CHECK that solenoid connection and or the large BATT terminal on the back of the alternator. ALL the battery buss terminals/connections carry LARGE amounts of current and MUST be perfectly clean and tight to function properly. If the battery buss connections are LOOSE, you will have a large voltage drop at the poor connection point. That poor connection will cause the joint to heat up and sometimes damage the connection.

MAIN TERMINAL Large red wire :





The alternator BATT wire goes through the connection on the solenoid and them UP to the battery. If that connection is faulty, your charging voltage will be FUBAR and inconsistent.

Bill

 

Thank you very much for the info. Appreciate it.


QUOTE=Bill Curlee;1595266499]If you have a SHORT on the battery buss, you would expect to see SMOKE, FLAMES and the fire department!

The meters IPC analog voltmeter and the DIC Digital voltage in your cabin DO NOT show you actual BATTERY VOLTAGE!

They show you the voltage that is provided on ONE contact of the IGNITION SWITCH. If your ignition switch contacts are burnt/dirty/damaged, you will see lower voltage than is actually on the main battery buss.

You can also have a dirty, loose, damaged connection at the STARTER SOLENOID. If you actually are having unsteady and fluctuating battery buss voltages with the engine running, CHECK that solenoid connection and or the large BATT terminal on the back of the alternator. ALL the battery buss terminals/connections carry LARGE amounts of current and MUST be perfectly clean and tight to function properly. If the battery buss connections are LOOSE, you will have a large voltage drop at the poor connection point. That poor connection will cause the joint to heat up and sometimes damage the connection.

MAIN TERMINAL Large red wire :





The alternator BATT wire goes through the connection on the solenoid and them UP to the battery. If that connection is faulty, your charging voltage will be FUBAR and inconsistent.

Bill[/QUOTE]

 

Yes Sir they can... Check NAPA or the HELP section at any autoparts store

 

I actually just went through this recently. On my car the OEM plugs to the cable side had begun to wear down and the remaining threads couldn't obtain a proper torque on the battery. I bought replacements - can't remember exactly what size they were now though - and swapped them out. Well under $5.

The only issue I had was I couldn't simply unscrew and slip them out from the plastic shrouds. I had to make two small slits on the inside. When tightening I just have to make sure the plastic doesn't bunch up against the threads.

I also cleaned the front chassis grounds during this job as they're so easy to get to.