How hard is it to replace the positive battery cable? I'm getting power dips while sitting at stoplights if my headlights are on. I can see some corrosion on the positive cable and am going to start diagnosing the problem there. Is it as simple as just buying a few feet of 4 gauge cable and splicing it in or am I looking at a huge job that I should buy factory parts for?
Battery Cable Replacement
- Thread starter GMUSSTN
- Start date
ttocs
Forum's #1 poster
not hard. Not running underdrive pullies are ya?
I'm not. I never had this problem until I finally installed fog lights (my car came with them but they were missing when I bought it). Fog light switch was broken so I hard wired it to the headlights and now they're on whenever the headlights are. I think the cable could handle it pre-fog lights, and now that I've got them it's putting too much strain.
if the car is in park or I've got my foot on the gas it's ok, just at stop lights.
if the car is in park or I've got my foot on the gas it's ok, just at stop lights.
ttocs
Forum's #1 poster
not sure how you wired it up but it sounds like you taped power for the fogs straight off the head/parking lights power? The switch in the dash is known to get hot from just driving one set, I would imagine that 2 sets of lights will not help things.
Nah I jumped the harness in the center console. Didn't mess with the dash at all. Followed this procedure: http://www.americanmuscle.com/driving-foglight-instructions.html
^ this.. I would clean the corrosion you found, check all gounds and add another for good measure.
ttocs
Forum's #1 poster
stock ground go from the battery straight to the chasis next to it(its 4" you will see it). The motor/chassis ground is on the passenger side bottom you will see a braided cable. Grab them both and give a solid pull on them. Don't be afraid to hurt them because if you can literally pull it apart then there is a VERY good chance that it is corroded and causing resistance and problems. If they move under the screw at ALL remove them, clean the connections and then put them back together tight. I would recomend cleaning them anyway though honestly.
As for adding ground I went to the source and used one of the bolts on the alt to go to the chassis. Wire was maybe 18" long and the bolt was long enough I could just put a nut on the back and tighten it down.
As for adding ground I went to the source and used one of the bolts on the alt to go to the chassis. Wire was maybe 18" long and the bolt was long enough I could just put a nut on the back and tighten it down.
So I checked it out last night and my ground terminal was a little loose. Tightened that down but I'm still having charging issues. I'm going to replace both terminals and see if that changes anything after cleaning the corrosion off the positive wire with some baking soda. Lines to and connections on the alternator looked fine, but I'll consider adding another ground if the new terminals don't do the trick. Ultimately it looks like the wire just behind the terminal on the positive side corroded to the point where some strands were actually not connected anymore; hopefully a new terminal connection will solve that. Might try the new terminal with a little solder for extra help.
rz5.0
Legend
Ground each side of the motor to the chassis regular ground cables you can get at an auto parts..
rz5.0
Legend
I would also check the ground on the actual fog lights.. Make sure your splice is making good contact. The ground from the battery should go to the engine block..
rz5.0
Legend
I took my fogs out so I can't look. But I though they grounded to the chassis. I would check that ground. That spice is the one I'm talking about make sure its making good contract not sure how you spiced it..
Ah good deal. I'll make it a point to check when I get under the car tonight. I'm still really suspicious of that battery cable though...it's already a bolt-on terminal which probably isn't helping the fact that it's also corrosion on the wire. Thanks for your help!
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