Battery cable
Man, I did that job a few weeks ago. "How hard could it be", I asked myself. :roll:
Four-and-half hours later...
But, now I know how to do it.
You could cut the wire off at the clamp, but I don't recommend that. The replacment clamps that they sell don't seem to me to provide a strong enough contact to the cable. For the starter, any little bit of electrical resistance spells doom. When my positive cable failed (somewhere under all that lead in the battery clamp). The lights and accessories would run, but the voltage drop was too high to run the starter. The first time I just got her rolling and put her in gear (manual trans). Then I got smart and found that I could get it started by connecting a jumper cable between the big wire on the starter motor and the (+) battery terminal. If you have the same problem, here is a temporary fix:
Take a drill and drill into the lead battery clamp (the clamp, not the post on the battery) just above the big red wire. Drill until you hit copper. Then tap the hole for an 8-32 screw. Put a screw in the hole and tighten it down. The truck will now start. :exporange
I figured that the temporary fix would not last (though it probably would have been fine) so I replaced both battery cables, since the lead on the negative clamp was already cracked. The new plated steel clamps are fine. They just look wimpy because all the manufacturers are going lead free, so they don't make those heavy lead clamps anymore.
I got both cables from NAPA. They are made by Belden. Getting at the starter motor does take a lot of body contortion, but that wasn't my main problem. The big problem is that the whole cable assembly is "built Ford tough". The (+) and (-) wires are bundled, taped and clamped together, so you have to remove them together.
Start by disconnecting both cables from the battery, of course. They run together down the passenger side to the engine block ground. The negative cable clamps to the block here but there is also a support clamp for the (+) wire attached here. Fortunately, you can get at this bolt through the passenger side wheel well, if you have a long extension on your socket wrench. There is also a ground clamp on the (-) cable a couple of feet away for the frame ground. You need to remove the screw from the frame, also in the passenger side wheel well. Now the cables should be free of the passenger side.
The (+) cable runs under the engine and up to the starter. There is another support clamp under the truck for the (+) cable that has to be removed. You already know about the two wires on the starter. Just be careful not to brend or break the push-on terminal for the small starting relay wire.
You will have to remove the support clamps from the old cables in order to use them on the new set. I used a big screwdriver and pliers to take the old clamps off. Put the clamps on, then tape everything together as before.
Installation should be the reverse of removal, but I had 2 surprises:
(1) The two small black wires from the negative cable terminate in a connector that did not match the connector on my truck, so I had to cut the small wires at the old (-) terminal and solder them to the new cable, after cutting the non-mating connector off the new cable.
(2) The big fun came when I found that the lug for the frame ground on the new cable wouldn't reach the hole in the frame.
I thought about clamping on a metal or wire braid extension, but I wanted a really good ground to avoid problems so..... yes, I drilled a new hole in the frame. What a pain. Fortunately, the original screw was self-tapping.
Its a bear of a job, but if you are only replacing the (+) cable you can avoid some of the work. You still need to remove both cables to do it right, since they are bundled and clamped together.
Good luck, and allow lots of time to do the job.
Bob
