My battery cable clamps have seen too much abuse and they can no longer clamp the battery posts reliably. The ground cable clamp cracked.

I replaced the ground clamp with a really nice copper fitting with a compression cable clamp but I couldn't find a quality hot terminal clamp replacement. I don't want one of those gold plated monstrosities as big as my fist. This is a racecar, I want something simple and bulletproof.

I guess the best thing at this point is to replace the entire hot lead from the battery to the starter motor. I won't cut apart the wiring harness, I'll just cut off the ends of the old cable and leave it there.

Where can I find the original length of the battery cable from the battery to the starter motor?

Any other advice on this problem?

ed

 

I cut mine apart from the harness and removed the battery cables. Then measured its length and bought some at Home Depot or Lowes, and crimped/clamped on new ring connectors and terminals. I re-wrapped the loose wires excluding the battery cables. All the battery cable was black, so I wrapped some red electric tape around the positive just to eliminate confusion.

tip: don't do it outside if it's real cold, that cable is a pain to work with when it firms up!

 

IIRC, the negative run was replaced by a 52" cable, and had some spare, but not too much. Don't forget about the chassis grounding point on the left strut tower, I used a seperate 10 gauge for this (there was a pigtail already on the new cable assy to crimp it to), instead of stripping the main cable's insulation and installing a standoff crimp at the strut as in the OEM version. Work fine, last long time

Haven't done the positive yet...

 

I used two plated copper (Toyota style) clamps.

 

I used two plated copper (Toyota style) clamps from Wal-Mart.

 

I can't see from your picture how the cable was attached to the clamp. I don't want some flat clamp style because that looks like it will become a maintenance nightmare after a year or so. Since it's a race car, the battery gets removed often when I work in the engine bay.

I've seen the replacement cables at the auto parts stores. They come with both ends terminated and the second power cable already attached and terminated with a heavy gauge butt connector. It's not a copper battery clamp but it looks like it would be a clean installation. I just don't know which length to buy.

ed

 

The connection was crimped then soldered using a small butane tourch.

No worries.

 

If all else fails, grab a tape measure and guestimate. Try to follow the twists and bends in the harness as well as you can...

 

I always get confused between positive/negative hot/ground unless I'm looking at them. After re-reading I think you mean the hot supply to the rest if the car? I haven't teased out that wire yet but the drawing in the manual looks like it goes to the main fuse block right? (in my car both cables go right into the battery clamp - no standoff)

ed

 

Yeah, the positive big boy runs straight to the starter solenoid, and on the way "splices" off to the alternator and the engine bay fuse box.

The negative big boy runs straight to the engine, near the starter, usually at either the front or back of the upper starter bolt, and on the way, a grounding lug clip thingy bolts to the left strut tower from a stripped section of the cable...

On our cars, don't think of a ground as being "hot" or "cold". Think "a ground is a ground is a ground", lol...

 

I just redid both my negative and postive battery terminal cables. I just went to kragen and got 2 48 inch lengths of wire and they fit fine. For the positive you will need the one with an extra lead going off the terminal to crimp into the wire going to the main fuse block.