'91 Routing of Plus battery terminal

[Tony H]

It was late and it was nowing so pleae don't say "Crawl under and look"

'91 Stock 'X' looking at the PLUS Battery terminal. One red wire 9Smaller one) runs to the Starter Relay inside the Loom with small wire that runs to the Starter ( I assume). The problem is the Big honk'n wire that is also part of Battery Terminal. It runs a down then out of sight. Does that run to the Starer also?

Last night I had a very slow start issue so as I went to clean the terminals can see that this Plus Terminal was all broken up where the wires go into the Terminal. I had a Terminal from my boat. The kind with the Wing nut on top. So I cut and Lugged the two wires and put on the new Terminal. I want to just go ahead and replace the wires but all together. Just need to know how much wire I need to " liberate" from work for that Heavy gauged wire.

 

[98formulaLS1]

ok you are correct,the "Big Honkin" wire runs directly to your starter. then you have one small wire from the (+) terminal that goes to the starter relay. Thats all.

You should just replace the cable to the starter NOW, since they tend to corrode and go bad often anyways.

 

[Tony H]

That's the Plan, That's why I'm asking.
I have a wire that looks like it's covered with Heater hose running under my oil Pan, I wonder if that's it.

I can get 0 awg wire, I may run the wire a little nicer.

 

[EMG7895]

Thats it, do the negative too. Dont underestimate how long it will take to do it, I took at least a half day for me to replace all of my battery cables. I took out the passenger fender liner for easier access. Its also easier to pull the starter to install and remover the cables.

 

[Tony H]

Thanks, I was under there quickly last night.

You can see the connections to the Starter but you can't get your hands on it. If the Frame isn't in the way from the side then the Axle is in the way from the front; From the top... Steering column and misc hoses.

My thought was just that, drop the Starter, lay in the wires then run them toward the Battery.

Looked at an OEM Negative terminal....Three separate connections plus one that has a round connector on it? That's what it looked like i the PIC.

Ahh, I love my older cars. 1 heavy wire, 10 minutes= Job well done.

 

[EMG7895]

The first time id did it with the starter in place, at the time I had bad valve cover gaskets, what a horrible job. When my starter died I didnt mess around and did the wiring before I bolted it up. that round connector goes to the computer, I think, my new harness came with it so I just plugged it in.

 

[Tony H]

I know it's been a long time . Ther ewas no immediate wire issue so I was waiting for the weather to get nicer. Well, Last night when the Starter went bad, I figured late's do both jobs.

I didn't get to the Negative Side of teh battery yet but after looking It appears that one negative wire gets lost behind the Oil Filter..
The Positive wires ran under the oil pan and up and were grouped into a bigger Harness. I cut the old wires off there. Is there just the Negative wires in that bigger harness? Because I didn't (yet) take out the Inner Fender well, I couldn't touch, grab, or cut that harness.
My guess is that the Alternator connection is made at the Starter Relay? After bypassing the whole deal I thought about it, but I'm charging fine so I guess it's picked up there.

 

[Bmwz389]

The Positive battery cable runs from the battery post to the relay. thats the small wire that you can see looking right at the battery. The 1 or 2 gauge wire that dissapears into the engine bay actually runs down the passenger side of the engine into a holder no bigger than a roll of quarters. You'll have fun squeezing the new wire and loom through at the same time. Then it runs down a little futher and runs along the bottom of the tranny I believe. It has a squeeze bolt holder that I think connects to your transmission. The bolt is a ***** to undo lol. I had to use a 3/8 inch air ratchet to pull it out. Be careful not to strip it when you're trying to lossen it. It'll be a tightening bolt peg actually. It's not a nut that comes off. Then you'll have to pull of a red cap (yours well probably be black like mine from grime. Then connect the 2-1 gauge wire to the old bolt. The small wire has a plastic insulation around it and it easily slides on the connector. Learn to see with your hand hehe. The starter is so high into the bay that you can barely see any of the work you are doing. The cap is hard to get back on. I tried for 10 minutes. And when I thought I had mine on all the way I started the truck, the starter spun and sent the cap flying off, bouncing onto every object in the way and shot it across the shop floor lol. I can mine in my cupholder to remind me I need to put it on haha.

Best of luck to you. took me roughly an hour to do the whole thing again. I ran it once but I wanted to route the cable the right position =)

Post back it if helps

 

[mikeinri]

I recently had the positive wire go bad at the battery terminal. Bought a replacement, almost fell over at the cost. Then, I got under the truck and said to myself... "You've GOT to be kidding me!!!!"

It seriously looked to me like taking the starter out would be the "easiest" answer, and that's not looking remotely easy to do on this truck while laying on the ground. Let's not even discuss the design disaster on the passenger side. And yes, I've replaced starters and cables on other vehicles.

I cut the terminal, put a cheapie WalMart special on there, and I'm running it until it quits again. Then, I'm taking it to a garage and letting them deal with it!!!

This is just not a job that's worth half a Saturday to me. I'm still pissed that I had to go the the auto parts store twice (once to return that $80 cable).

Mike

 

[EMG7895]

I thought the starter was the easy part, 2 bolts and its off. $80 for the cable is way too much, I paid less than that for oem positive and negative. Removal of the passenger fender liner is required, in my expierance. Behind it the negative first grounds to the frame and then to the block where it also holds on the bracket that holds the positive cable before it goes under the pan.

 

[mikeinri]

I'm sure you're right, and it's easier than it looks, because it certainly doesn't take the mechanics at the shops 4 hours to do this. However, at this point, I think I have given myself a mental block with this one.

I probably should do that more often, my last experience with an "easy" job took up an ENTIRE weekend (tranny modulator)...

 

[Tony H]

Yeah, I DID do the positive terminals. I made them up myself with some nice quality stuff from work.

I took the Starter out because I had a bad Starter, that promted me to go ahead and do the Cables while the Starter wiring was accessible.

I ran the new cables Under the Oil Pan like the original and along the Passenger Frame up and to the Battery with the small wire to the Relay.
I used the one Clamp that is on the lower Starter Bolt, just like the old harness did. Then I tie wrapped the rest of teh Cable on parts of teh frame so they are even further away from the Oil Filter and Exhaust manifold the the original. Besides I couldn't get my hands up there to tie wrap it to the Clip that is on the back of theh engine ( where it belongs)
Anyway, when I tried to pull out the old wires, that's when I got stuck, It looks like these two wires were taped into another harness. True? So the best I could do was reach up and cut them. I hate a half assed job.
I was actually wondering, Do these Positive wires group together with the Negative wires that I did not do yet?

 

[EMG7895]

I couldnt tell you, my original battery exploded after 8 or 9 years and shredded anything around it.

 

[Bmwz389]

I don't believe so. I did cut mine a few times before pulling it because after i wired it i left it alone for 3 months. I don't remember any wires wrapped together though. Maybe they changed a bit in 92? Who knows. I never did my negative though. I need to do it soon. I just looked at it and its fraying