After replacing the battery in my '96 GXE the car will not start. I'm fairly sure it's a problem with the battery cables (the terminals are badly corroded and both cables look like they're in bad shape). I know I'm not getting a solid connection because turning the ignition switch to 'On' or even pressing the brake pedal causes the interior lights to go out.

I tested the battery with a voltmeter and the reading is fine so I'm assuming the cables are the problem. Can anybody walk me through replacing them? Where can I buy replacement cables/terminals for a good price?

Thx

 

anybody ever changed their battery cables before?

 

What type of battery did you purchase ??
What are the symptoms of the non-starting car ??

-matt

 

Any auto parts store should have battery cables for under $20.

 

tesing the battery with a DVOM will give you a bum reading. you need to put a load on the battery and test it that way. check the resistance between the battery negative and ground then postive to starter, fuses, ect. if you get a bad reading though the cables and or terminals then you can replace them. usually the terminal fails and the wires are fine.

the positive side has 3 wires. 1 thick one that goes directly to the starter. the other 2 smaller wires go to the fuse box next to the battery. the ground wire goes from the terminal to the chassis then to the head. i have replaced the terminals on a few nissans and only once was the negative wire bad.

my guess is the terminals are shot.

 

i am guessing its just ur terminals.........the ends of the cables may look pretty bad...but they are prolly still good

 

You probably got a junk battery..it does happen

-matt

 

Thanks for the input everyone. I'll try to be a little more specific. My car has been sitting for about 6 months. I was able to jump start it 2 months ago to move it out of the way of hurricane Rita. Upon trying to start it again there is no electrical activity whatsover. I bought the new battery last weekend ($40 Everstart) and hooked it up. The interior lights come on, radio works, but trying to start the car causes everything to go dead. Also, pressing the brake pedal causes the lights to blink off until it's released.

Before parking the car I had an intermittent problem with it not starting. I could fix it by popping the hood and jiggling/reconnecting the negative post cable. The cables/terminals are in really bad shape, tons of corrosion etc. This is the reason I suspect that replacing the cables/terminals will solve my problem. I guess the new battery might be defective; should I try swapping the battery from my wife's car (ford focus)?

thx for the help

 

Where does green fuzzy stuff come from when if forms on the Postive terminal. When i bought the car, there wasn't any green/light blue fuzzy stuff. 2 weeks after i bought the car it grew. I wiped it all off and it re-grew again. this is my 3rd time wiping and it keeps coming back. Is this just a leaking postive terminal?

 

The cables aren't hard to replace, you just remove the battery and battery tray and trace down what you have until you can remove it. Looking at the new battery cable makes it obvious.

I replaced both of mine this summer, it was about a 30" job for pos and neg. I recommend www.worldpartsexpress.com

Dave

 

Dave, did you use OEM replacement cables or aftermarket? Can you tell me how much the new ones cost you?

Thx

 

They are OEM, about $85 for the pair. See here.

 

ouch, that's a little steep. Thx for the info though. I think I'll pull the old ones out this afternoon see about replacing just the terminals.

 

I would first check to see if you have a bad starter

 

try baking soda and water to clean terminals

 

thanks, I don't think it's the starter. When I push the brake pedal all the interior lights go out so it's definitely an electrical problem. I had to work late tonight so I didn't get to mess with the car (it gets dark so damn early these days).

 

check out auto zone or advince auto theyll take a quike look at it and help you out buddy

 

If you're going to just change the terminals, be sure to get the better quality brass ones for an extra buck per.

I just did this on my F-150 and it really helped the problem. However, in that case I was able to confirm there was a high resistance going from the terminal post to the battery cable strands.

Dave

 

just use a metal wire brush to clean off your terminals

It sounds like your battery is dead to me. As someone else had said just because your multimeter says 12 volts doesn't mean your battery is good.

 

It's a good indication that the battery is good. When the engine is running, you should see about 14v due to the alternator charging it. When the engine is not running, anything around 12.5v suggests a good battery.

If you want to really test that battery, one way is to crank it and immediately stop the engine, then check the voltage.

Dave