I have a 2015 F250 CC 4X4 PSD. How big of a nightmare is it to replace the positive battery cable on the drivers side? It looks like the wire joins another loom then disappears into the abyss under the engine.

My fault for not checking it sooner since i noticed the Motorcraft original battery had some leakage from the caps. The acid corroded the clamp so bad, the copper was eaten away and the clamp fell apart when I removed it. It left me stranded while on vacation.

I ended up having to get creative in fixing it so I could get home, using a marine battery clamp. Some corrosion has started to creep into the cable, otherwise I would just crimp on a copper eyelet and call it good with my current set up.

Anybody out there tackled this job??

 

And here I thought I was the only one with this mess. I cleaned, cable end, terminal and battery top 3 times in 9 months and, even thpugh battery top was never moist, corrosion still kept coming back. The passenger side needed it for the first time at cleaning #3. When corrosion was back 6 weeks later, I finally tossed in the towel and bought 2 new batteries. That was 3 months ago (65k miles and 38 months from vehicle mtg date). No problem since.

I too found the drivers side terminal clam so corroded that it needed replacement. For the reason you cute, I did not replace the cable, just the terminal clamp, but I had to undo tape, plastic buttons, and partially remove the battery cable from the bundle as it wraps around the antifreeze degas bottle) to get enough length for a new end to work. None of that would provide enough slack in the wire to allow connecting to battery without some tension, and that was without the engine vibrating. So I used electrical supply house water proof Allen-key couplers for heavy gauge wire. They are made for many wire sizes, most of which are much larger than this cable. Rather than having two connectors (bolt on cable end plus the allen-key coupler), I bought a short, but heavy gauge battery cable (almost all readily available were either too thin, or "universal" so sized for the smaller negative terminal; both unacceptable so lots of running around). Works great and a solid tight fit, unlike the oem that always seemed weak. Maybe that weak feel was really the termal coming apart since day one.

So, if I had it to do all over again, at the first sign of heavy corrosion, I should have replaced the batteries (40k miles and 24 months from mfg date in my case) and been miles ahead of the problem if it wasn't terminal all along. If next time around I see that the termina end l is shot, I would buy a complete new oem cable and save all of the running around.spending that time instead on routing the cable. Yes, and buy a couple of those tiny plastic buttons that hold the cable to the degas bottle.


yes I too had those felt terminal protectors on after the first corrosion event - no help. Your solution looks rock solid, I would not bother with a new cable.
don't know why signatures don't show on phones or tablets. I too have a 2015 6,7 mfg in March 2015.

 

Thanks for the reply, I guess next step would be to pull back the heat shrink and see how bad corrosion is in the wire. I see 2 Optima batteries in my future.

just a thought, the manual states if you put on an aftermarket part, or mod that causes a Ford part to fail, they won't cover it. But since it is their battery that causing the cable to fail, shouldn't they cover it then??

 

I would think that would fall within the 3/36 warranty.

AGM batteries do not cause corrosion like that. I like the Odyssey AGM batteries for that reason (as well as a few more reasons).

On my RV trailer the increased corrosion was an indicator that the batteries were near the end of their life. I couldn't justify the price to go AGM in the trailer yet so I went with flooded cell again.

 

This is a 2015, bought new 11/2014 with 51,000 miles currently, so the 3/36 is not available. If my cable looks real bad (looking this weekend), it should only cost me $100 for deductable on the ESP. Unless they find a reason to not cover it.

 

The base part number for the cable is 14300. Replacing the main battery cable is a monumental task. I've replaced one already on a landscaping truck that was completely corroded through at the starter cable terminal.

 

It sounds like the $100 deductible is well worth it.

https://parts.autonationfordwhitebea...RpZXNlbA%3D%3D

 

There is plenty of cable there to work with. Just cut the cable back 6 inches. Use a swage style splice and battery terminal. I use the 3M glue lined shrink wrap.

 

 

I hope your right!! Without pulling back the shrink tubing, looks like I need to trim only an inch or so, but will know more this weekend. What is a swage style splice exactly? Is that the copper eyelet that you crimp onto the wire?

 

Yeah they are zinc coated copper or solid copper. Finish up with the heat shrink and it's a solid job. Hand swage tools are inexpensive. If you have a dedicated heavy equipment or battery supplier near you then they will have everything.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I have an Interstate battery store here in town. If you looked at the pics I posted, do you see any problem using the same clamp? It's actually a top post to marine clamp that I stole off my boat to get home.

 

Yeah I wouldn't use that clamp. I would get the correct terminal connection. You also will need a short length of wire and a splice connector to make it work.

 

 

Shortly after I got my '13, I had a frickin' squirrel decide he liked the taste of that harness. I replaced the entire thing, as I didn't want to deal with fixes that failed 10 years down the road. It was a mild PITA, but nothing too bad, as I remember. It does go under the front of the engine and back up to the passenger side. I don't remember it being all that expensive, given what the part encompasses. It can be done and you don't have to rig it, if you don't want to.