Pos&Neg Batt cable replace

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95azSHO

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I'm looking into replaceing both cables. I looked under the car and it looks like a maze of wires. Can I just replace the wires or is it some kind of harness? What are the best wires and where can I find them?
 

Ishodu

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There quite easy to replace and fabricate your own if you want. There just in the wire loom that makes it look like its hard. Just follow the black loom down by the rad toward the front motor mount then over to the starter.
 

Racer X

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How long are the positive and negative cables, from end to end? I was thinking about picking up some replacements. Mine have seen better days.

Much better days. :frown:
 

Ishodu

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I can't remember the total length I made mine but I think the stock MTX ones are in the shed. I will measure them if I think about it later when I am out there.
 

95azSHO

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I measured ( guestamtated) when I was underneath. Pos about 45" and neg about 51". This would be to give some slack in order to run everywhere without rubbing too much on ther parts.
 

Ishodu

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"battery cable length" that I have measured off the ones in the shed are 46" for the positive and 50" for the negative. Thats measured from end of terminal to the end of the lug. A few inches extra would make a nice set.
 

Joe_SHO

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thread revive: i need a battery cable for a 94 auto. the guy at oreilly's sold me a 25" cable and i'm thinking it will be short. is the 46" measurement for an automatic or manual car? do they use the same cable? how many auxiliary leads are there for a 94 auto and how long do these leads need to be? thank you for all the help to come. -Joe
 

JRA2000TL

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You may need to fabricate your own. When I had my 90, I was going to replace my neg. battery cable, and I went to quite a few parts houses with no luck. NAPA, I thought, had one according to their website, but it was slightly too long. Car Quest (which is a good one--they usually have an in-house machine shop) said they couldn't even fab a new one for me for some reason I don't remember.

I wound up having to tape it up and re-use it. There has to be somewhere that has them though. I've found Motorcraft OE replacements on Ebay, but for $$$$.
 

Joe_Cool

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thread revive: i need a battery cable for a 94 auto. the guy at oreilly's sold me a 25" cable and i'm thinking it will be short. is the 46" measurement for an automatic or manual car? do they use the same cable? how many auxiliary leads are there for a 94 auto and how long do these leads need to be? thank you for all the help to come. -Joe

Definitely too short. I just did the cables in my 94 today, with 60" (-) and 56" (+) universal replacement cables from CarQuest. I didn't replace the whole harness, just cut off the dangling ends and ran the new wires down there. It left me about 8" of slack in each one, which I'm ok with.
 

Joe_Cool

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FYI, I called a ford dealership and a junkyard for quotes for the replacement harness, and was told $228 IF it was available but it's obsolete, and $75 respectively.

For the two cables and a pair of spare terminals, I paid $29.50 at CarQuest.
 

Joe_Cool

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Interesting. I just walked 3 miles from my stranded car to my house, because the alternator isn't putting power into the system. What's wrong?

Like I said earlier, I bypassed the wiring harness, but all I did was run a cable from the positive battery terminal to the starter solenoid, bolting it together with the wires from the harness (alternator, and, I presume, fusebox), and a cable from the negative battery terminal to the frame - in both cases, attaching the new cable where the old one was connected.

Any ideas would be most appreciated.
 

HUTCH

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Try moving the ground to the block. Just a stab in the dark, but worth a shot.
 

HUTCH

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If you have access to a volt ohm meter, check to see how much voltage your battery is getting from the alternator before changing anything and then retest as you make changes so you know your battery is getting a charge when you do find the culprit,
 

hawkeye18

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Also, there are fuse links in the two wires going from the battery to the alternator - the plug at the top of it. Those supply reference voltage to the alt so it knows how much voltage to put out - if those are broken, the alt won't put out anything, as the battery has to supply voltage to the alt in order for the alt to supply voltage back (weird, I know, but it's true).
 

Joe_Cool

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Found the problem, it was nothing complicated. Just a small wire on the starter that had pulled loose from a blade connector.
 

Deathacus

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"battery cable length" that I have measured off the ones in the shed are 46" for the positive and 50" for the negative. Thats measured from end of terminal to the end of the lug. A few inches extra would make a nice set.
thread revive again: What year are those measurements from? And what about the smaller wires? There are two coming off of each terminal. Someone had already redone and probably shortened what i've got, and it has caused the conduit to rub against a pully.

Also, where can I find an OEM style terminal? like, the '94+ variety?
 

zak

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Deathacus

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