Replaced the Battery Cables in my Jeep Today!

[SwampSurvivor]

After nearly 6 years of ownership, I have finally got around to replacing the battery cables on my Jeep.

On a whim, I have decided to go to Rausch Creek in June. In addition to a few other things, I figured I would need a winch. In the rocks, spinning and being hard on stuff to get around ends up leading to a broken Jeep!

The factory battery cables were quite bad. At least 1/2 of the strands were broken, and the green fuzzy corrosion goes a few inches up the positive battery cables.

It is something I have been meaning to do since I bought the Jeep 6 years ago. It has always cranked like it has a dead batter, but generally always starts.

I figured the winch would just be too much for the factory battery cables, so I went through and did some cleaning up.

I put on the following:
- 1 AWG battery negative to fender
- 1 AWG block to battery ground
- 4AWG Battery to starter (factory is 6 or 8)
- 1 AWG battery to PDC

I will be putting a 4AWG from the head to the body to replace the factory ground strap.

Used marine terminals and premade battery cables with lugs on both ends. The winch's breaker will be connected to the positive terminal. These lugs are pretty nice!

Immediate observations:
- Jeep no longer cranks like it has a dead battery
- Headlihts don't flicker any more (the old terminals were shot and couldn't be tightened)
- Electric fan doesn't cause a voltage drop
- Electric windows go up and down quickly!

I should have done this years sooner!

 

[Kuato]

It was time, wasn't it!

One vehicle I had would run intermittently with the greened cables...once replaced never an issue.

 

[JHZR2]

Nice!!!

Just remember, the conductors are only as good as their high resistance interface point. You could have 500mcm in there, and if you have a high impedance connection point it can make issues.

Great job. What was your source of cable and terminals?

 

[SwampSurvivor]

It was starting to get to the point that I would have to jiggle the cables once in a while to get it to start.

I cheated and bought already-made cables and marine terminals from an auto store. The battery cables came from Tractor supply and the terminals from Advance.

I wanted to take the time and make my own and use some flux in the lugs on the crimps. But things came up too quickly and this was the best option. Instead of using some sort of captive nut, it's just a bolt threaded through some steel. It just spins when trying to remove it, but it has been opened up and it is good to go!

I also cleaned up the body ground area and the PDC connection along with the alternator to PDC connection. It was corroded or fuzzy but needed to be cleaned.

The hardest part about the whole project was removing the fender ground. That REALLY did not want to come out.

The connections have been sprayed with white lithium grease. That should provide a nice non-runny coat so they don't corrode.

Can't wait to get the winch on this. Alternator, battery are less than a year old and now new cables

 

[Nick1994]

Nice. Did you replace the cable going to the alternator?

 

[SwampSurvivor]

That one was actually in good shape on both ends, surprisingly enough.

 

[CT8]

How old is the battery?

 

[barkingspider]

Pics, please

 

[wrcsixeight]

The Autoparts store cables I have used that had ring terminals, well those ring terminals are steel, crushed with copper stranding in the middle, with a hole drilled through both.

Steel is not a great electrical conductor. SAE gauge is 12 to 20% thinner than AWG

Bust out a strong magnet on Autoparts store battery cable terminations. If it is ferrous, don't waste your money.

Genuinedealz will make custom AWG tinned copper cables with top quality terminations crimped with a high $ crimping tools and free shipping for barely more than AP stores junk cables and terminations. Plan ahead if you can, spend ~ the same, have a vastly superior product compared to most store bought battery cables.

 

[zzyzzx]

I also want pics. And how old is the vehicle, and were they the original cables? You only say that you have had the car for 6 years, so I assume that you bought it new. And quite frankly, the only time I have ever been tempted to replace any battery cables in on my 1999 Alero, and even then only so I could install slightly linger top post cables.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I'll try to grab some pics tomorrow.

Battery and alternator are new as of 10/2015 ... they got replaced in a pair when the Jeep took a swim.


It's a 2000 Jeep Cherokee with 202k on the odometer. Definitely the original cables. One can't buy OE replacements and it's an odd cable. They were what rolled out of the Jeep factory in 2000.