Changing Battery Cables-HELP!Extra wires!!
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Junior User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: canada
Changing Battery Cables-HELP!Extra wires!!
Okay, for those of you who know my on going saga, I'm replacing the negative battery cable. This is the first and hopefully last thing I will have to do to correct my crazy van problem. Yesterday it started every time no matter when I tried. It seemed that it was drawing harder than normal to start. I checked out the -cable and it has about 3 or 4 splits and actually chunks out of it! Green and oxidized in at least one place. It must be the original from 1990. Now a new problem,, the negative cable is long. Leads under the block basically, the problem is the accessories it seems to be carrying with it!! One wire leads away from the cable about a foot down and has a fuse casing on it. Another wire leads down in a sleeve with the neg cable. What the heck are these things? The universal cable I got from Canadian Tire store has no added wires on it and no place to connect them to the clamp! Help Help Help! The two wires are thinner by quite a bit and both black. Thanks again in advance to all my guru's!
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 7,013
Likes: 205
From: SoCal
I've never heard of anyone putting a fuse onto a negative (ground) wire before. Arfe you sure it's not a connector?
I think you should be able to just cut those smaller wires off of the old cable and connect them to the new cable. There are a number of ways to do this, but the cleanest may be to find another cable that already has a wire attached to the battery post clamp. Attach the old wires to this wire.
Another way would be to cut the battery post clamp off of your new cable and get another battery post connector that uses two 1/4-20 bolts to clamp down on the copper strands of the cable. You will need to get a spades for the smaller wires with a 1/4 inch mounting hole. Crimp the spades onto the wires, and then fasten them to one or both of the 1/4-20 bolts that you will be tightening down onto the cable.
I think you should be able to just cut those smaller wires off of the old cable and connect them to the new cable. There are a number of ways to do this, but the cleanest may be to find another cable that already has a wire attached to the battery post clamp. Attach the old wires to this wire.
Another way would be to cut the battery post clamp off of your new cable and get another battery post connector that uses two 1/4-20 bolts to clamp down on the copper strands of the cable. You will need to get a spades for the smaller wires with a 1/4 inch mounting hole. Crimp the spades onto the wires, and then fasten them to one or both of the 1/4-20 bolts that you will be tightening down onto the cable.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,570
Likes: 20
Since you live in Canada and your life may depend on whether or not the van starts I'd get a Ford battery cable, and hook it up with no splices, if you do splice make sure you solder the connection. There's something called "Suck Out" were a crimp connector will pull off the wire from extreme cold. The Factory crimps normally won't do this. I would check on line for genuine Ford parts, and see if a Dealer can match price and delivery times.
